Hi All, i'm having a final/case/MD interview with ACN in a few days for the role of Telecommunication Solution Architect. I'm frrom industry with 6 years experience and currently working as a Solution Architect as well. I have leadership experience in different areas of the Telecoms sphere having worked my way up from graduate engineer (Integration, testing, design etc) and i have been highlighting this as much as possible over my interaction with ACN. My curiosity/question however is this: The role doesn't have the "consultant" word tied to it but looking at the interview path i have every reason to believe it is within consulting. That being said and assuming i am correct,1. Are solution architects also deemed as consultants?2. How are solution architects in ACN mapped or graded? e.g Analyst, consultant, manager, senior manager etc?? I'm curious about this as it will help me know what role or level i could be aiming for. All help would be greatly appreciated.

Yes solution architects can be within Consulting. They can also be any level e.g. Analyst, Consultant, Manager or Senior Manager. With 6 years non-consulting experience you'll be brought in at Consultant level. If you were an internal you'd expect to be a newish Manager at year 6.

@agentsmith: Thanks for this info. I had my final interview/MD case study last week and just waiting on outcome. Fingers crossed :)

No problem - I have a similar background to yourself and joined a few years ago. Assuming you get an offer, should be for top end of Consultant level eg C3; maybe C2 without Consultancy experience. Just keep in mind that it will most likely take you at least two years to get to Manager grade as you'll need to establish yourself on whichever client account you end up at. Given the choice again; I'd have still joined and Consultant level was about right! Good luck!

@agentsmith: Sounds encouraging! Quite anxious now and still waiting. I'd happily take consultant grade if the remuneration is right tbh. Is there usually any chance for negotiation when the offer is made? what was your experience?

Not too much room for barter on base. Range is roughly 43 - 55 for Consultant. If you want to negotiate try for a signing on bonus - I got 5k and it would most likely come from a different pot as it's a one off rather than ongoing cost.