I am an analyst working for Accenture's government group, been here for about a year.Like many of my peers at the moment I have no plans to stick around this firm for very long. (The reasons are irrelevant, there is already plenty of Accenture-bashing on this site!)I am constantly being told something along the lines of: "After 2 years at Accenture you can get any job you want...." (mostly by people who have no idea about consulting!)So this is my long-winded way of asking the question - to what extent is the above statement true? How is Accenture on your CV perceived A: by other consulting firms? and B: in industry?I would love to hear some success stories from former Accenturites to cheer me up - how long did you stay at accenture, what are you doing now and how did you get there?Any responses would be very gratefully received. Remember its nearly Friday!Thanks

Jonny, why do you want to leave so much? is it bad accross all operating groups? surely there must be some positives?

I'm not that desperate to leave - chances are I'll stick around for at least another year (wouldn't want to pay back any sign on bonus!)My reasons for wanting to look elsewhere are pretty typical, (and have probably been discussed at length elsewhere in this board) but mainly the quality of the work. Typical work for an analyst in systems integration is DULL. Generally the work is fairly easy but monumentally boring, which means the only way to make yourself look good compared to your peers is to put in some ridiculously long hours, or fall victim to Accenture's rather unpredictable and subjective performance management process.All of this, coupled with the new salary model means that morale is pretty damn low at the moment, especially at the junior end of the firm.Yes - of course there are positives, but the last thing I wanted to do was turn this into a discussion on the pros and cons of working for accenture.I'm just trying to find out what the outlook is like for someone with a couple of years at Accenture on their CV. I realised the other day that while I know loads of current accenture employees, I have never met even one ex-accenturite! Where do they all go?Would be great to hear some success stories but I also want to know about it if the outlook is not so rosy! (if so I'll just leave sooner!)many thanks

Is it really that bad at Accenture? My feeling is that new graduates are trying to run before they can walk. A junior position within any consulting firm (talking about the full service ones) has always been a bit of a pain. I would try to remember something: when you start you are always learning. Everything you do is new! Make the most of those 2-3 years even if it is not the most exciting thing you'll ever do.

Yeah, don't complain about having an easy boring job otherwise they'll work out they could just offshore it for a tenth of your salary.

I think you guys might be slightly misunderstanding the question - I'm more than willing to put up with long hours and tedious work if I think it's going somewhere - which is why I'm trying to find out what the job prospects are like for ex-accenture analysts.This is exactly the reason why I didn't want this thread to become a discussion of the pros and cons of working for a big 4 firm. I haven't ruled out the idea of staying at Accenture if more challenging and exciting work becomes available, I'm just trying to find out what's out there if I do decide to leave.Are there any former accenturites using this board at all? If so it would be great to hear from you.I am beginning to wonder if people leaving accenture tend to leave the consulting industry altogether because they get so disillusioned!

man there are only 4 alternatives, and its not rocket science:1) you get asked to join your client - this will rarely happen as a c level. m1 and up 30% of people. 2) you change to another consulting company 40% of people do this3) you start your own company. 2% do ths.4) you do an mba and change into industry. - this is probably best option if you dont want to stay in consulting. man i was in accenture strategy- and i was brainwashed for years saying i was the best yataa yataa yaaa. you know the music. only once you leave you realise acn isnt really that great - well, no one really is except mck, and you realise - damn man - was that worth it?most times- is not. especially in governemnet dude. send me an application and come over here

Pirlo - looks like you are the only ex-Accenture consultant who reads this message board!I'm beginning to think that my theory was right - People leaving Accenture tend to be so disillusioned that they quit consulting altogether! (either that or they just have more important things to do than read this site....)Any more out there?Pirlo - where is 'over here' and what do you do there?

I'll defy convention and have something positive to say about ACN, since I benefited enormously from my time there. I joined Accenture (or Andersen Consulting as it was in those days) in the late 90's, just before the dotcom boom, when the business model was a lot simpler (Process; Technology; CM; Strategy and BPM (What became Outsourcing). I did the usual job expected of a Analyst and then Consultant. I have to say, maybe I was lucky, but I learnt a helluva lot in three years, across Financial Services, and that gave me a platform to join an Investment Bank, where I now work as a VP in IBD. This would not have been possible without my apprenticeship at Accenture, where I was equipped with the basic tools, which I succcessfully use today on a daily basis, in what is an amazing job. So thanks ACN, especially to my old Managers, Chris and Andrew, who are still there today, since without that foundation, I would not have achieved half the stuff that I have done in my career to date, or will achieve in the future. For all those people who moan about their companies, whether it be ACN; IBM; CAP, take some perspective, do something proactive and fix what is wrong. You are all grown-ups who must take responsibilites for your actions.S

Jonny,I think the statement is not quite true. Any future employer will look at what you've actually done in your years with acn. 'S' learnt a lot about financial services... and joined a bank. Acn is great if you get into the right place. E.g., land yourself in telecomms strategy: do lots of work in this area, and yes, you could probably have any job in telecomms (and, OK, maybe a few other similar industries). But what happens if you end up doing a variety of roles with no real focus? The lack of focus will show through to prospective employers, and you'll lose out to others (potentially non-consultants, particularly in industry) with more relevant skills. So, you're in government, doing SI work... look at it from an employer's perspective. If you want to work elsewhere doing the same thing (for a government or for another consulting firm), you'll be fine. But if you want to do something different, you may find yourself starting from scratch. There's a limited amount of mileage in generic consulting and the acn name (although I believe the name does still hold some cache).Of course the best way to find out how your specific situation looks would be to dip your toe in the water, if only to get some peace of mind. Then you can make an informed decision about what to do next. Good luck whichever way.

Your prospects might not be so good now but they would if you stayed on. People like Mi5 specifically recruit IT consultants because they have loads of skills that are desirable in the modern world- however they ask for 5 years experience. After a year most people won't be that impressed by you.

I left accenture as an analyst after 1.5 years and now work in IBD. Everything about the place drove me nuts, I remember being given a new joiner on a project who had never used excel before and she was in BS & I! The pay also stank.Accenture is well regarded by those outside of the firm, they tend to see it as the old AA and proper consulting work rather than testing monkeys etc... Switching now, esp. with the markets being so strong should not be an issue.Leaving ACN was the best move I have ever made and every single member of my start group who did the same agrees.

Hi Jonny! Yes! Ex-ACN people do read the site, and there is indeed life after Accenture which is good news for you! My own personal experience was that I'd already done 3.5 yrs at PwC, then did 3.5 at ACN, worked too hard for my own good, and wanted to "get out". So I joined industry as a Proj Mger - the 1st job that came along. Now I want to leave, and potentially go back into Consulting. Key learnings though - def. think carefully about what skills you want to be known for...I am a proj mger, but don't have Prince2 or any other certification...I also feel that I should have more Telco or other "specific" knowledge that I do....but I have good friends who specialised, and now have specific skills. So I agree - stick with it for a year or two, try to move into more interesting roles, and think carefully before you move, because if you do move out of consulting, it can be perceived that you stepped off the career ladder. Good luck!

Thanks for all the responses everyone - it's nice to hear from a few ex-accenture people who are doing well!I guess the brand does still have a fair bit of kudos in the outside world, although I fear this is diminishing as the firm increasingly turns its back on high value consulting work in favour of huge SI and outsourcing deals. I think accenture is still a great place to start your career if you are lucky enough to get the type of work you want to move into in the future (like J for example).However as I have no plans to move into public sector work unfortunately I don't think this applies to me. Anyone out there who has managed to change industry after leaving ACN?

what industry do you want to move into from public? obviously you'll have picked up some transferables, changing industry isn't impossible and a lot will depend on the way you market yourself- ie brush up on the ol' presentation skills.

What do ACNs when they leave ACN? They create a small niche consultancy, like http://www.alpha-fmc.comThey are focused in FS and tend to hire lots of other Ex-ACNs. So, if you fancy a more family atmosphere (I've heard they are around 20) in London, then this might be sth....cheers,profblaumann