Hi AllI recently graduated from Civil Engineering and accepted Systems Integration Analyst role (73k+4k signing bonus USD) in an East Coast US Office. I consider myself a tech savy person and very project cycle oriented (coming from civil eng. internship experience) and was really intrigued with the opportunities of becoming an almost Management Consultant with my kind of background.Ive received alot of negative feedback from searching around the internet (i.e Exposing Evil Empire) on how i will make the worst decision of my life since my exit opportunities will also be vastly affected. Is this really that bad??? How are the career growth opportunities once i peak at Accenture and look elsewhere?I appreciate the feedback and seriousness. It seems like this website is more formal and serious than other american sites and I can actually get better responses.

Don't worry - the "evil empire" aspect of Accenture's reputation is largely due to it being a large successful organisation with (as many large successful organisations tend to have) a very defined culture.Yes - they do tend to break you down a little in order to build you up in their preferred mold, but that's about the extent of it.Because Accenture do a lot of very large system integration projects, rather than pure advisory consultancy, they do tend to spread their tentacles widely within client orgs. This adds to the idea that they are dominating.It remains a very good name to have on your CV - particulalry if you stay just long enough to get the benefits without being chewed up.

Perfect answer. Accenture is great to have on CV. But what do you think of a move from Accenture to Deloitte, IBM or Cognizant (less. brand value but switching for a higher role and salary) for someone who hasn't even spent a year at accenture ?

Thanks for your response.Is it very possible to transition from a System Integration Role in Accenture to a lesser tier consulting firm for a pure Management Consulting Role?I've seen firms put SI under their MC Department.