Pros
Camaraderie among junior team. Subsidized booze... etc. Quick promotions but then when you leave the titles aren't transferable, in part because we aren't promoted based on experience but on how much the partners like us. That said you can rise through the ranks absurdly quickly if you put in the time... but then you're a director in your mid-20s at some third-rate "brand consultancy" (market research firm) that no one's ever heard of and you're not even making that much money.
Cons
The partners have no prior industry or consulting experience and as a result are truly incompetent. The clients don't respect us and use us to create massive decks with typically limited internal impact. Our junior clients will take a few of our data points and share with senior leadership, but we are not usually in the room for any real marketing organization's senior meetings. Sexual harassment is a very common occurrence. Every female employee has a story... as do most of the males. The hours are crazy, which is normal for consulting and what most of us signed up for--but the pay is far below industry standard and the work is very poor because again: the partners are clueless. Unhealthy culture where partners find it acceptable to comment on their employees' looks, clothing, wealth. Heavy drug culture as well.
