I have a few Accenture queries I was wondering if anyone had any insights to:(1) The full mobility bit I understand to an extent. You are expected to travel to the client site and this could be anywhere in the UK. However where are you expected to be “based” as in where do you rent a flat about and live at weekends. Surely you are not expected to move flat every 4/5 months. If I was based in London and had a project in Newcastle could I live in London and travel to the client very Monday and return Thursday night?? Presumably this would all be paid for.(2) The sign on bonus of 10K basically means you get a salary of 34.K in year 1 and 32.5K in year 2. Are there any further pay increases in the first 2 years. I know a lot of grad jobs give eg 5% increase every 6 months or so.(3) How much of the 6K and 4K do you actually get in your pocket after tax?(4) Holiday allowance is very generous at Accenture. However is it feasible to be able to plan summer vacations in advance as I’ve read you need to negotiate your holidays with the client. But surely you don’t know what your projects will be in x months time so you won’t be able to make vacation arrangements in advance? How does this work? RegardsDavid

1) Yes. You have your permanent base near your home office. Accommodation if working further than commuting distance away is paid for/provided. This will either be hotel or shared apartment, depending how long the project lasts, how many people there are, and availability of accommodation locally.2) No other pay increases.3) They are taxed as regular income, so it will depend on what your other earnings are from previous jobs in the tax year, other sources of income etc. An approximation of the two sums after tax might be £4k and £2650 if your only earnings are from employment at Accenture.4) Bit of a tricky one. You can either book your holidays in advance and stick to them robustly (you'll inevitably be asked to cancel holiday for even minor client requirements), or you can take your chances that you won't be asked to cancel your entire holiday. First option can give you a reputation for not being a 'team-player' or over prioritising your personal life. Second option can give you a reputation either as go-getter or a walkover. Best to play it by ear according to your project manager's personality, but not make any big plans - plan a max of one week of holiday at a time.

Advice I would give to minimize risk of holidays being cancelled is to book them for the 2 weeks after you roll off a project.So long as you don't get extended on your project there shouldnt be a problem.

Oldest trick in the book (and one of the best ones because it really could be true) is simply to say that you've already booked your flights, hotel etc. If they pressurise you into cancelling, tell them you have already paid a non-refundable deposit.Remember, holiday time is YOUR entitlement. Why should you take all your holiday in dreary January or dismal November just because it suits "the project"?

Sure, you can go about enforcing your holiday time in many ways. But the end result as a junior hire is the same - you step off the career ladder.

I dont see what everyones obsessiion is with getting promoted here. Just get off after 2 years and get a job at another firm and stop kissing ass!

Thanks for the info guys! Another quick couple of queries:(1) So you have a "base" location. How flexible are accenture at where this location is as they have a few offices scattered accross the Uk? And what excatly is your base location for if you work at the client site. I know capgemini like to work 4 days on client site and aim for everyone in office on Fri. Is accn the same idea? In the longterm I'd like to move to Scotland, not sure opportunity would be available with accn now or later in my career.(2) I hear a lot of talk about "just work 2 years then quit" talk. Is having 2 years accenture experince really as valuable as people assume? Will this expereince open many more job opportunites outwith accn?

In terms of holiday, discuss it with your manager before you book it. Be as up front as you can and if you know of deadlines, etc before you've booked your hols then avoid them! I haven't seen people taking holidays as being harmful to their career... yet!Honesty is always the best policy in this case...

say i live an hour or so commute from London and Acn make London my base location. What if they put me on a project nearby in London, I would not be able to claim travel expenses as the journey is substantially the same as my normal commute to my base location (inland revenue rules) so I would be 5K a year out of pocket (cost of annual season ticket and parking at station). How can I get around this?

Presumably you budget for travel anyway in case you get staffed to an in-office project, so you're not really losing out.Otherwise, move closer to work or see how your travel expenses compare to finding short-term accommodation within walking distance of your project.

well, maybe, but if i get a job with a London base, I want a good payrise (or why change jobs) plus 5K to cover travel expenses or I will be way out of pocket, otherwise my pay rise will be wiped out by by travel costs. I will not, repeat not, pay my own travel to London. 5K (actually nearer 6 when I checked) is too much, guess this rules out having a london base.now if i was based at home i would naturally get travel expenses to London