Hi There!I am starting in 'Operations' with the Dot as a graduate this September and am very much looking forward to the experience. However, I do have a question...From what I hear operations as an analyst in the Dot is pretty much 'strategy and operations'. I have been told that the projects between strategy and operations overlap a lot - with a good deal of strategy work to be encountered if you push for the right projects within operations - is this correct? My thinking at the moment would be after a few years at the Dot – to move into a pure strategy consulting firm...I was wondering will being placed in 'operations' and not exclusive 'strategy' disadvantage me greatly?

Question: Why would you be so keen to move into strategy?

Like I said moving to strategy is my thinking 'at the moment' - and I would like to find out more.I may find once I begin my career that I prefer operations (as this service-line does look very interesting also) and then I may wish to stay there. However, I read strategy as part of my university degree, so my interest has sparked from there and at the moment I would like to know what my options are for the near future – surely there is no harm in that? Can you help then anon?

S&O are now formally separated so the chances of working on Strategy projects in a significant way if you are aligned to Operations is decreasing.It would be uncommon to move from DC Operations to a pure strategy firm as the experience, skills and qualifications you pick up are very different in these two fields.

No worries, thanks Anon.Can you tell me the main differences in qualifications at Analyst level between ops and strat? I wasn't aware of any myself.

She sounds like a right officious little madam.I think she's in for a tough time when she joins the world of work and suddenly realises she can on longer get away with being a stroppy princess.

Can no longer get away with being a stroppy princess..... Firstly think it is a bit harsh, but secondly there are plenty of stroppy and precious people at work so if true she will fit in fine in the long term.As per earlier poster it si tough to move from ops to strategy and getting harder.

Cheers for the info guys, much appreciated...I was wondering then how working in operations will decrease my chances of entering a strat house later on - if I decided that is what I would like to try and get into?Your Stroppy Princess :p

Yes, I think it would. But operations skills are highly valued within Corporates, should you want to make that transition.

On a similar note, I was wondering how probable would it be for someone starting out in TI at Deloitte (2008 Fall) making a transition into Strategy (Deloitte or MBBB)? Would it be better for me to wait and apply next year for a position in Strategy or negotiate with HR about the possibility of moving me into Strategy?In contrast to Lucy99, I don't have a background in Strat--just a new found obsession with it.

This topic comes up a lot.In the UK at least it is virtually impossible to move from TI (or EA) to Strategy within Deloitte. At grad level, Strat gets approx 2x the applications of the other four service lines combined (HC, Ops, TI, EA). And it is the smallest service line. The strat vacancies always go first, and many strat applicants end up in HC, EA and TI because Strat is believed to get a higher quality of applicant.So there are many people in your position. If HR was to allow one person to move across it would set a precedent which would see them engulfed with similar requests. It is just not done. Especially as you are trained in your sector/service line specific area straight away. You may have a slight chance of getting into some strat houses with TI experience, but only into areas where you can use your experience.What many people dont realise is that TI is the real growth engine with the green dot. It is the best performing area and positions are still very competitive. There is no shame in working within TI.

Thanks a lot tx.That was really useful.