Ladies and gents, I'm keen on getting your opinions about my situation and some general advise from your perspective. Overview:- I graduated from a top university about 7 years a go, and immediately took a job in a firm which effectively farmed me out to a tier 1 bank as a temp as a business analyst working within large scale transformation programmes. I remained there for 2 years and managed to get some reasonable experience in a pretty 'hot' area.- I left and immediately got a high paying contract for another tier 1 bank (purely due to contacts from the previous company) and I spent over 3 years there, with multiple extensions. 6 years since I graduated ... I'm still contracting, now in a bulge bracket investment bank working in the same capacity, working with the same product and truly pigeonholed. I've not been 'trained' by a structured programme and have somehow managed to float through these roles and obtain new ones (I'm on my 4th contract).I'm now working very closely with consultants from Accenture and EY, and I've realised that I regret not going through the grind and being developed as part of this process. I'm in meetings with my team and realise I'm nowhere near as articulate or sharp as them.I'm seriously considering moving into a consulting firm, just for the development. I would be earning less than 1/3 of what I've have been earning, which obviously is a massive deterrent.If you were in my position, would you:1. Milk my current position until the demand for my skills dies. After which I have no idea what value I can add anywhere considering I've been working in the same area/role and haven't progressed beyond a business analyst.2. Join a consulting firm as a junior consultant, grind it out, become better at my job and possibly gain the skills required to be able to hold myself in a project management position.Cheers

I'd imagine that you'd be able to walk into a Senior Consultant FS position within the Big 4 based on the years of experience and industry focus that you have. If you'd like to continue contracting, I'd suggest doing that to shore up the 'generic' business skills.If your role is as a Business Analyst in the sense of working within IT, perhaps look into a Scrum Master or BCS qualification. Or go down the PMP route. Do this for two years and then go back to contracting. That would be my view.Best of luck with whichever route you go down.

Hi Tadpole,It's interesting to hear your career background. I'm about to start with Accenture and i'm worried about being pigeonholed long-term into a speciality i don't want to do forever and therefore being unemployable when this speciality is no longer in vogue. In my research to calm myself down, I understand the advice Whizz has given you to be a fair representation of your career possibilities. One of the big consulting firms would be interested in your skill set.All the best.