Hi everyone,This might be a very irrelevant question to be asked on this forum but still, I wanted to know if anyone had heard about this firm "Data Connection". They are not a Consultancy in the true sense but they deal in Telecom sector and were rated in top5 for three consecutive years in "Times 100 Best Company's To Work For".An insight would be appreciated as I am called for an interview by them for the graduate position.Cheers.B.

B,They are a proper software house producing networking code, not a consultancy as you say. As a new start, you will be a networking programmer, not an analyst ala Deloitte, ACN.The first round consists of the following:- Problem solving test (really just like a normal IQ test).- "Case Study" - Much more metaphorical than a consulting case study, using a metaphor for some sort of networking protocol e.g. TCP/IP- Machine code programming simulation, you have to step through a LARGE amount of psuedo-machine code to generate an answer. You go round a large outer loop a few times, make sure you note the values of each of the registers at the end of each loop for regression if needed.- reasonably informal interview, with a competency based element.Ask yourself this...do you want to be programming network code in assembly language? If the answer is yes then fine, if not then look elsewhere.Salary is significantly below that of a tech consulting role at (say) an ACN or Deloitte, but probably a lot better work/life balance. Can't say much about chances for progression.cheers,Bos

Really appreciate your help Bozworth.But I am a bit shocked. Is Assembly Language still used these days for networking softwares or do they just use it to check your logical skills ?By the way I forgot to tell u that I have an interest in networks and I have recently completed my MSc in Telecoms. So programming is not an issue for me.The salary they have mentioned on their website is £28K + £4k joining bonus + other benifits. So it is close to Accenture, atleast at this early stage.The last thing which I would like to know is about the case study. Could u please tell me a bit more about it if u have any further knowledge.Many thanks for ur reply again. I am looking forward to hear from u soon.Cheers,B.

I interviewed a couple of years ago. Nice enough bunch of chaps (no chapesses in sight) but a bit conservative and slow-paced for my liking.It's a good place to be if you want a steady job, but there's not much advancement or development. The work you do on day one is the same thing as you do in your fifth year, albeit you might be a team leader or move into sales. For comparison, the culture is more that of an engineering company than a consultancy.People are principally male WASPs from Durham, St. Andrews, Oxford. Relaxed dress code and fixed 9-5 hours. The offices were quite pleasant from what I remember.I think it's the kind of place where, if they like you, and you fit in, it could be a very comfortable place to work long-term. Probably not right for you if you get itchy feet.

Thanks for ur reply Ted.Rightly judged, I do have a content soul. Cheers,B.

Agree with everything Ted has said.As for rewards, DC was 26k when I interviewd vs 30k + 10k bonus at Accenture. The gap has probably narrowed since then, but bear in mind that after 2.5 years at ACN/Deloitte you will be on over 40k basic (with overtime at Deloitte) whereas you will probably barely have broken 30 at DC.They had a real emphasis on assembler in the interview so I got the impression it was important. I think they write some pretty low-level stuff, so I wouldn't be surprised if you had to get under the hood at some point. But you may be right, it may have just been a logic test.Good luck whatever you choose to do though, they came across as a genuinely nice bunch if a bit straight.Bos