I am a current MBA student, graduating in June. I have been in touch with Capgemini regarding joining their CDC programme in September as I have no previous consulting experience. My questions are as follows:1) What is the salary for a graduate hire at Capgemini?2) What are the typical working hours?3) How much travel (i.e. time away from the home city) is realistically to be expected?4) After the two year programme, with my MBA already completed, what options for real career growth would I have within the company?Any advice on this company in particular would also be most appreciated!

1) 35,0002) hours are like any consultancy work. It will partly depend on the nature of each project, but also on how much you choose to contribute internally and work at getting seen.3) your MBA is worthless at this level and progression will be on your competency as a consultant and how much you network/contribute internally. Having said that prior experience is useful at hitting the ground running... Although it's people with practical/ industry experience who tend to excel. Ex CDCers can fly up the grades at Cap if you play the game right (though external hires may earn more at each grade their progression is often slower...)

Sorry missed your third point.Expect to be away Monday to Thursday nights, as per any other traditional big consulting firm

Hi nbomb,Thank you for your reply. I only have two final clarification points I'd like your opinion on if you don't mind.1) I am 30 years old and the CDC class I'm interested in joining is starting in September at which point I'll be 31. Too old?2) I am in a serious relationship and will be living with my girlfriend in London. Will I truly be away every Monday-Thursday night, or is this something that is typical only occasionally or perhaps only every other week or so on average?2a) I know that this may seem a bit of a silly question, but I have no consultancy experience (previous role was Head of Business Development - EMEA for a firm in London before pursuing my MBA) and have been getting many mixed responses from other contacts.Thank you for your help and advice!!

1) if you were to join the CDC at 31 yes you would be amongst the oldest (there have been others of a similar age though). This is not a problem in itself and you can use your experience and maturity to work in your favour. However you need to be aware that you might be working for people several grades above you that are younger than you. There are Vice Presidents in their mid thirties. If you are ok with this, and there is no reason why you shouldn't be, then don't let your age put you off. Just be aware your peer group will range from 21-26 on average.2) it is a fact of pure consulting that you will be on client site Monday to Thursday if not Friday. If your client is not based in London then expect to be away 3 nights a week.

Working for younger people is, in my experience, an absolute joy. They work hard, they have a great attitude, and it's wonderful to see them develop into a role. It's important that more senior staff don't get all "hierarchical" about things and forget to delegate - young people almost always do a great job if they're given the support and resources they need. I love it when junior staff come to me and ask me to do something or another for them... it shows they're being proactive and that they're taking responsibility for a task! Plus, never forget that the younger generations are our future and we need to give them every bit of support we possibly can... after all, they're the ones that are going to be the leaders of tomorrow.

BEP - really well said!!It is all too common to see senior guys getting defensive about more junior people wanting to not only progress up the ladder but develop their own style, which invariably differs from their own.