It probably comes across as a strange question, but I was wondering if anybody knows anything about the kind of workspaces new Consultants (I would be joining as an Analyst at Deloitte) get allotted?Does everyone have their own offices or people are in seperate cubicles in an open plan setup?I am not the biggest fan of the latter and am beginning to get rather worried.Please help! Any insider knowledge?

A first year analyst's office would typically look something like this:http://tinyurl.com/4kf2ng

"seperate cubicles"? You'd be lucky mate. The DC workspace is hotdesking around open-plan desks with only low (50cm) MDF dividers which are designed to provide no sound insulation or privacy.

Grow up newbie, this is your first gig and it's not your shag pad. If they stick you in a cubicle in an open plan office, at a desk in the car park, or on Pam Anderson's lap at the Dorchester suck it up and deal with it. If you don't want it there are hundreds - even thousands - right behind you happy to sit at any desk, in any office, to enter the land of the green dot.

Thanks everyone for your responses. I am afraid I had thought as much.Was almost getting used to my private, cozy office at the University I have been at so far.Aren't analysts susceptible to distraction in such a setup? Said distraction would be catastrophic when you are overhauling the insides of a Fortune 500....

Yes, it is an incredible risk they take.A moment's lost thought from a 1st year analyst could wipe billions off the stock exchange.

What if it did ------? What if it did?

Damn funny response there.Seriously though, stop being a little girl.

Why did you have your own office at Uni? Where did you go?Is this a joke email or are you serious? If the latter, I didn't realise you still existed! Are you Raif from the Apprentice?

I am a Post Doc. We tend to have our own offices, no matter where we go.

Newbie have you been on the phone talking to people again? I thought you weren't allowed to do that? Are you to blame for the CDO credit crunch? Did you get a decimal point wrong? Let slip some piece of crucial information from a paper you were writing in your broom cupboard - sorry office - at Uni? Did you know D have arranged a palatial office for you, with as much space as you need and a huge desk, global wireless networking and great aircon? It's just through that door marked 'Exit'.

Mars, you make no sense at all.For your information, I am a Post Doc Researcher at Cambridge and have been here for the past 3 years and have now decided to jump into Consulting.If you must know what I do, I have a PhD in Engineering.So yeah, wireless hot-points, room service, Bring it all on!

Slightly more seriously I genuinely believe small offices (with 10-12 people in them) provide a far more productive workspace than the huge open plan affairs in most corporates.However in consulting they (Partners) want you sitting at a clients desk using their electricity etc. not causing overheads to eat in to profit (Bonuses). Also if offices are too nice then people will want to hang around them and not get out on the clock!

I think open plan office depend massively on the people that work there and atmosphere. I don't think it comes down just to numbers. I have worked on big floors with 20+ people but got more work done than in offices where there have been 5 people, the whole "privacy in a crowd" concept or whatever the saying is. Less people can mean a quiter environment but that can also mean a less motivating place that seems dead. Also if there's nobody to look over your shoulder you can spend way too much time on the internet, writing pointless posts on forums!

PhD in Engineering, I assume from Cambridge and you could only manage Deloitte?!The broom cuboard at Athene place/Stonecutter St. shall suffice for you.

Somewhat to my surprise, I've always found it easier to work productively in a large open-plan office than a smaller room with 5-10 people in it. It depends on the people, but I think there's more of a tendency to loud and distracting chit-chat in a smaller room, whereas in a large open-plan it's more of a faint background hum.Of course, one day I shall be a Partner and then I shall sit in my office and sneer at all the drones out in the open-plan space. But until then, I'm fine with open-plan.

In my small world the account director and their key staff all sit in the main open plan area with some 'drones' around too - some consultants shut away in side offices but mainly due to them having to deal with discussions not suited for all ears. Project teams all work in their sub offices which are again open plan when not off site.I find it makes the account hierachy more approachable when you have something genuine to contribute, or question. The open plan project environments help as you can simply walk over/shout/throw a tennis ball when you need something from someone. Leads to a good team atmosphere too. It does help that there are plenty of places to go if you do need to shut yourself away somewhere though.

C'est moi, I take your point.For some reason despite all my academic credentials, I haven't been getting invited to even first round interviews to Bain, BCG, McK, BAH or even Monitor!However, I was inundated with offers from the likes of Big 4 (PWC, KPMG, ACN).Mars a Day, could you please help? What do you reckon is going wrong? Is accepting one of these offers a mistake? Should I go for uncertainty instead and keep applying to MBB? I am 29.

Newbie I thouht you were joining Deloitte?Any of the Big 4 is an excellent place to start your consulting career. The opportunity to get ACA, although perhaps not as initially sexy as MBA via McKinsey, will give you a very good basis for a career in any event, and strategy is not the be all and end all.At 29 you need to get on with it.

You are a post-doc from Oxbridge and are starting as analyst? weird.I am too a ph.d., just got hired at one of the MBB, but starting as associate...