I'm now a cosnsultant with 2 years experience, 47k salary, and good promotion prospects. However I recently came across the idea of working for the Secret Intelligence Services. Pay would be a lot less (30k i imagine) and I wouldn't be able to talk about my job to anyone, but I like the idea of doing my bit for the country and applying my analytical and interpersonal skills to an important job.However do I really want to give up a lucrative career??

Decide whether you like the consultant's lifestyle and take it from there. Some people like living in hotels and flying out every sunday evening - some dont. Working for the secret services may sound like fun - but I suspect it doesn't really cut the James Bond image of excitement in reality

My consultant lifestyle isn't flying out every Sun morning in any case. (It;s just working long hours and sometimes staying in hotels). I don't expect a James Bond career at MI6 (not indeed do i want one) but it sounds like a good job to see different parts of the world, and to learn about international politics.

Based on the article in the BBC website magazine yesterday, a career in MI5/MI6 sounds as dull as dishwater. If you want to do that sort of analysis, stick with consulting -- you'll be far better paid in the long run for doing the same sort of work.

It's really hard to say, no one with first hand experience can tell you much about what they do, and no one else knows anything but heresay. For what it's worth, i guy i lived with at uni joined GCHQ. Irritatingly he cant and wont tell us anything (even really trivial things), apart from the fact he has been on a side arms course. The only other thing i know, is that he's often 'stationed' somewhere or other for extended periods. For all i know that could mean Bognor, but obviously there's potential for being stationed somewhere risky.seems to me that it's a trade off between earnings vs 'interesting' job. The trouble is, that while you know that you will not earn a great deal, you don't know whether the will be interesting enough to compensate... As VI says, it could just be a dull job for lousy cash. Plus consider that you could actually be sent somewhere, where you may face dangerous situations, it's not a choice to be made lightly!DJD

As an aside, if you want to stay in consulting, but also get involved with international relations, and foreign policy analysis, i'd consider Control Risks Group http://www.control-risks.com/ VERY well regarded in their field, and take a look at their list of office locations!DJD

so you want to work for MI6, yet your are posting this info on a public forum. I know it is anonymous, but in theory maybe top-consultant team can see what IP address you posted your message from and may even be able to identify you. not the smartest move. the team of course are totally trustworthy - I'm just making a general point

do both - get a consulting job somewhere overseas and be an agent as well

Join MI6, and instead of working for Universal Exports tell people you're a powerpoint monkey for Accenture. Best of both worlds