Deloitte or other big consulting firms

[namasteak]

If you or your spouse has worked for them can you let me know your experience? Bonus if you are a SAHM whose spouse worked for them.


Background:
DH currently works for an IT focused consulting firm and a client tried to poach him last year. We declined because he did not have to travel at the time. Since we moved he has to travel Monday - Thursday and while its not ideal it’s actually working out since we live with FIL (who is very helpful). A minimum of $20k/year raise would make a huge difference to our family finances so it’s pretty damn tempting.

[dirtyred]

My DIL (accountant) worked for them and quit because there was too much travel involved.

[namasteak]

Nov 13, 2017 14:06:22 GMT -5 dirtyred said:

My DIL (accountant) worked for them and quit because there was too much travel involved.

We fully anticipate weekly travel as he knows current employees and job listings say “80% travel required”.

[mrssandro]

I work for a large consulting firm. I am lucky that I am currently on a project that is local. I have been on it for nearly 3 years now. There is pros and cons to a project that is local. I feel like I will be here for much longer and sometimes that feels limiting. But being local means more family time and my job ends at normal times. My coworker's husband also works for the same company. He is often gone from Mon-Thursday. They seem okay with it but it means that she has to do all the appointments etc. She says that she is okay with it though. The time they are together is really good.

I like my non travel job but I think I would be fine with trying for a travel role as well. I have heard the people who do travel most of the week appear to be more limited since technology has greatly improved. Being a consultant that does travel all the time is more expensive for the project. They generally like to find local people or people who work from home.

[namasteak]

mrssandro thank you! I can relate to your coworker. It’s hard to have DH gone but weekend time is much higher quality now. Plus with FaceTime he can read to the kids and we talk a lot throughout the day on gchat. I know there are some local clients but I don’t want to bet on him getting one of those projects.

[janegold]

Long-term, significant travel obligations are really, really difficult...especially with kids involved. My H travels 80% or more about 7 months of the year, and it's really not something I would recommend if you can avoid it. Most of the people I know who were at big consulting firms did it in the 5-10 years right out of college, traveled like crazy while they were young, and then took a more stable/local job when they started families.

Maybe I'm behind, but I thought your H was planning to look for a local job. If he takes this new job, his travel schedule will become permanent. Are you staying with FIL for the indefinite future? Will he be willing and able to help you for the indefinite future? If you were/when you are in your own house, a good chunk of that extra $20k could end up being eaten up by needing more help around the house. We spend a fortune on this type of stuff...things I just don't have time to do on my own. Granted I also work FT.

[nicolewi]

I/my spouse didn't do this, but I have a good friend who did. Exactly this:

Most of the people I know who were at big consulting firms did it in the 5-10 years right out of college, traveled like crazy while they were young, and then took a more stable/local job when they started families.

Read more: pandce.proboards.com/thread/588281/deloitte-big-consulting-firms#ixzz4yLRIddVM

[namasteak]

janegold We would like for DH to have a local job but he has been unsuccessful finding a job in Dallas for over 8 months. We plan to stay with FIL for 2 years, perhaps longer if it is still working for everyone. Originally we thought about DH staying with Deloitte for 2 years and leave but they offer 4 months paid paternity leave so we are considering him staying 3 years so we can take advantage of that.

It’s such a toss up. Yes travel is hard on a family bit so is struggling financially. We can make it work if he doesn’t take the job but give up things we wanted in our future (like the possibility of a third or helping kids with college).

[cleo29]

Is this something that he will need to do for a certain amount of time and then as you move up, it slows down?

I would imagine it is hard, but I think it also becomes your normal. I have friends that either travel a lot for their work or their spouses do. I think, for the most part, they become used to it, but it can still be frustrating at times.

I think having the support of a relative, like you will have, would make a big difference.

[janegold]

Nov 13, 2017 15:17:30 GMT -5 namasteak said:

janegold We would like for DH to have a local job but he has been unsuccessful finding a job in Dallas for over 8 months. We plan to stay with FIL for 2 years, perhaps longer if it is still working for everyone. Originally we thought about DH staying with Deloitte for 2 years and leave but they offer 4 months paid paternity leave so we are considering him staying 3 years so we can take advantage of that.

It’s such a toss up. Yes travel is hard on a family bit so is struggling financially. We can make it work if he doesn’t take the job but give up things we wanted in our future (like the possibility of a third or helping kids with college).

I think if you go in to the job knowing that it is a short-term plan, it would be much more doable.  As long as you think he could find a new job at the end of that period.  (I have a friend who was in a similar situation and her husband is still in his job 5+ years longer than they planned because he hasn't found an ideal replacement yet.)

[namasteak]

cleo29 See my response to JaneGold. We don’t plan on this being a forever thing but as a means to an end for a few years.
We have a lot of support which is making a huge difference.
Mondays - girls night (often one comes early to help with bedtime)
Tuesday - playground, dinner & bedtime with FIL and/or his girlfriend
Wednesday - dinner with my mom & stepmom
Thursday - DH comes home

[mccallister84]

Nov 13, 2017 15:17:30 GMT -5 namasteak said:

janegold We would like for DH to have a local job but he has been unsuccessful finding a job in Dallas for over 8 months. We plan to stay with FIL for 2 years, perhaps longer if it is still working for everyone. Originally we thought about DH staying with Deloitte for 2 years and leave but they offer 4 months paid paternity leave so we are considering him staying 3 years so we can take advantage of that.

It’s such a toss up. Yes travel is hard on a family bit so is struggling financially. We can make it work if he doesn’t take the job but give up things we wanted in our future (like the possibility of a third or helping kids with college).

What happens in 2 years (or 3)? If he hasn’t had any luck finding a local job why would it be easier in 2 or 3 years? People are saying it’s easier to do it if you know it’s going to be short term, but what if he ends up stuck there? Those would be my huge concerns.

[namasteak]

Nov 13, 2017 15:31:00 GMT -5 mofongo said:

What happens with the house that was flooded? Can you sell it? Do you still have to pay the mortgage on it? It sounds like living with FIL may be a good longish term plan, which would hopefully be able tos ave money for you guys.

We are going to sell it and according to several realtors shouldn’t have much trouble since it’s a desirable neighborhood and has never flooded before. We can defer mortgage payments for 3 more months which is about the time we would want to put it on the market.

Fil is truly amazing and I don’t know how we will ever be able to repay his kindness.

[namasteak]

mccallister84 That is a big concern of ours too. We haven’t thought of a good solution other than tough it out.

[amberlyrose]

DH and I both work at a consulting firm like Deloitte. I WFH and he travels M-Th. We don't have kids, but I actually like it more than I thought I would. I miss him a ton during the week but I try to get all the little chores done during the week (laundry, cleaning) and it gives us more time together on the weekends to just enjoy our little family with the dogs. On the weekdays, I get to watch whatever TV I want, eat what I want, and don't worry about keeping him up late (I'm a night owl, he's not).

[hbomdiggity]

So he either stays at his current job and travels Mon-Thurs or works for a big firm and makes more, but still may have to travel?

If he has to travel either way, why not make more and get that name on his resume. While the big firms can be sucky, you haven't made his current firm out to be an amazing employer. And since you have no intention of moving back anyway, I'm not sure the reason to stay.

[namasteak]

Nov 13, 2017 17:36:18 GMT -5 hbomdiggity said:

So he either stays at his current job and travels Mon-Thurs or works for a big firm and makes more, but still may have to travel?

If he has to travel either way, why not make more and get that name on his resume. While the big firms can be sucky, you haven't made his current firm out to be an amazing employer. And since you have no intention of moving back anyway, I'm not sure the reason to stay.

It feels like giving up hope that he will find an in Dallas employer that doesn’t require much travel.

I feel like our decision is basically made it’s just a big one so we are trying to be really thorough.

[stephm0188]

I didn't mind the travel when I was a SAHM. He traveled M-F for six months and it wasn't terrible. The airline miles and hotel points were a nice perk and we took some pretty great vacations because of them.

There are benefits to working for a larger company like Deloitte. They can afford to keep you on the bench if you aren't on a project, for example. The healthcare package was better. Overall though, I think we both prefer when he's employed by smaller companies.

[W.T.Faulkner]

My friend works at Deloitte. They have a 3 month old, so they’re new to the parenting thing, but traveling M-Th isn’t so bad because his wife works a less demanding job. $$ is really good.

[namasteak]

Nov 13, 2017 19:55:06 GMT -5 W.T.Faulkner said:

My friend works at Deloitte. They have a 3 month old, so they’re new to the parenting thing, but traveling M-Th isn’t so bad because his wife works a less demanding job. $$ is really good.

This is good to hear.

Gah! I hate adult decisions like this.

[calmcosmo]

My best friends (a couple) both work for Deloitte. He is a partner and never travels. She works a less strenuous job in accounting. Before he made partner there was a lot of sacrifice but his area (cyber) didn’t require him to travel (they are in the dc area). Just long hours.

He is trying to recruit my husband when he retires from the military. I’ll probably want travel. I won’t know what to do with myself when my husband doesn’t go away for periods of time. After 20 years together i like to miss him sometimes .

[namasteak]

calmcosmo DH and I have been together for 14 years. The first 4.5 were long distance so this kind of reminds of when we first started dating. You phrased it well, it’s nice to miss him sometimes.

[sent]

My husband has not worked for Deloitte, but his friends have worked there and he/they work at similar companies that offer paternity leave. When it came time to taking it, they all said they would never take it because it would show you are not committed. Or if you did take it, you'd silently get passed over for promotions, bonuses, etc. I was like "but it's in your contract!" but they all said the same thing. Maybe it's not like this everywhere and these guys are all just nuts, but I'd do some digging first. Actually, now that I think about it, his cousin is higher up at E&Y, still travels a ton in his mid 40s, and has had 2 young kids in the last 4 years with a SAH wife. He definitely did not take 4 month paternity leaves with either kid.

[namasteak]

Nov 13, 2017 22:14:07 GMT -5 sent said:

My husband has not worked for Deloitte, but his friends have worked there and he/they work at similar companies that offer paternity leave. When it came time to taking it, they all said they would never take it because it would show you are not committed. Or if you did take it, you'd silently get passed over for promotions, bonuses, etc. I was like "but it's in your contract!" but they all said the same thing. Maybe it's not like this everywhere and these guys are all just nuts, but I'd do some digging first. Actually, now that I think about it, his cousin is higher up at E&Y, still travels a ton in his mid 40s, and has had 2 young kids in the last 4 years with a SAH wife. He definitely did not take 4 month paternity leaves with either kid.

This doesn’t surprise me at all but makes me sad. We would need to figure out how long he has to stay there after taking leave so we can weigh the pros/cons of doing it. This is still early planning but I know we don’t want him to do this for more than a few years if possible (so hopefully leaving soon after parental leave and getting passed over for a promotion isn’t as big of a deal).

[amberlyrose]

Nov 13, 2017 22:14:07 GMT -5 sent said:

My husband has not worked for Deloitte, but his friends have worked there and he/they work at similar companies that offer paternity leave. When it came time to taking it, they all said they would never take it because it would show you are not committed. Or if you did take it, you'd silently get passed over for promotions, bonuses, etc. I was like "but it's in your contract!" but they all said the same thing. Maybe it's not like this everywhere and these guys are all just nuts, but I'd do some digging first. Actually, now that I think about it, his cousin is higher up at E&Y, still travels a ton in his mid 40s, and has had 2 young kids in the last 4 years with a SAH wife. He definitely did not take 4 month paternity leaves with either kid.

I see the opposite at my firm, but we have a ton of female leadership. It's pretty much expected that you'll take it in some form, even if you're answering emails working from home or whatever. From what I know, EY has a very different culture than Deloitte. 

[mrssandro]

I have to comment on the whole paternity and maternity thing.

The mothers get paid maternity up to 4 months. They absolutely utilize it as it one of the major perks of working for this company. It's highly encouraged that the fathers take their paternity leave as well which is also fully paid. I have never seen it looked bad upon and actually is one of the reasons I love the company I work for.

Also taken PTO is also helpful for the project. They encourage that you take it and it's sometimes gently requested that you do. This lowers the billing for the client but also keeps employees happy. I see people that take months off at a time.

I have to say that that I have never had better benefits in my life. They SN benefits for my daughter is the best I have ever seen.

OP send me a PM if you want the info on my employer. I do think they have a external job board.

[Deleted]

Can I ask, is this on the consulting side or managed services side within Deloitte? My H is on the managed services side for their Cyber Threat service. Been there 3 years as a Senior Manager.

[namasteak]

Nov 14, 2017 12:38:33 GMT -5 @psugrad said:

Can I ask, is this on the consulting side or managed services side within Deloitte? My H is on the managed services side for their Cyber Threat service. Been there 3 years as a Senior Manager.

Consulting
He currently works as a management consultant and would continue to do so.

[namasteak]

mrssandro PM sent

[dreamcrisp1]

My H works at Deloitte and I gotta say it’s a commitment. The hours are long, the commitment is intense. When partners aren’t married/dont have kids, they don’t understand the mindset of not working hours into the night. Some projects suck more than others. He’s in strategy and ops and it can be hard. We don’t have kids and it it hard. I also work at a big four so I know. I would only recommend for short term. It’s not a good long term option. Burn out is such a real thing in consulting. Our friend is also at Deloitte and travels all the time. His one project before was out of the city so he was only home Thursday-Sunday.

Pm me if you have more questions.

We only have a dog and sometimes it sucks that I have to be home every evening because he can’t be.