Top Tier Grad Schemes, How Much Better?
Discussion
Hi all, posting here because you've been great in the past.
Just submitted my dissertation in IT based around consultancy (and am looking to go into the field) and I've been at graduate schemes to apply to later this year (aware they will be starting next year). Obviously the big three and financial roles have higher academic requirements for A levels.
In your guys' experience, do these top company graduate schemes provide enough benefit to a career to justify retaking A levels?
I'm a mature student (28 with retail managerial experience) and considering the above if the benefits of these top schemes justify it.
Just submitted my dissertation in IT based around consultancy (and am looking to go into the field) and I've been at graduate schemes to apply to later this year (aware they will be starting next year). Obviously the big three and financial roles have higher academic requirements for A levels.
In your guys' experience, do these top company graduate schemes provide enough benefit to a career to justify retaking A levels?
I'm a mature student (28 with retail managerial experience) and considering the above if the benefits of these top schemes justify it.
Edited by Speed_Demon on Tuesday 19th April 23:46
Speed_Demon said:
Hi all, posting here because you've been great in the past.
Just submitted my dissertation in IT based around consultancy (and am looking to go into the field) and I've been at graduate schemes to apply to later this year (aware they will be starting next year). Obviously the big three and financial roles have higher academic requirements for A levels.
In your guys? experience, do these top company graduate schemes provide enough benefit to a career to justify retaking A levels?
I'm a mature student (28 with retail managerial experience) and considering the above if the benefits of these top schemes justify it.
The top graduate schemes tend to either only accept first attempt at A Levels or are moving away from using A Levels at all. I'd approach the schemes you're interested in first to find out whether your previous experience and degree result would suffice before retaking A Levels. Widening access to the professions is also an area of focus so if you were first in your family to go to university and/or similar circumstances, the A Level requirements may be relaxed.Just submitted my dissertation in IT based around consultancy (and am looking to go into the field) and I've been at graduate schemes to apply to later this year (aware they will be starting next year). Obviously the big three and financial roles have higher academic requirements for A levels.
In your guys? experience, do these top company graduate schemes provide enough benefit to a career to justify retaking A levels?
I'm a mature student (28 with retail managerial experience) and considering the above if the benefits of these top schemes justify it.
In terms of whether the larger schemes are worth it - to an extent, yes. Typically they have larger clients, the name on your CV makes a difference, pay might be slightly higher (equally could be lower), the training more structured as they deal with large annual intakes and more mobility to move to another role/office/country down the line.
Some smaller firms may actually have more stringent entry requirements (the type that only from Oxbridge) than the large schemes but they might be able to offer more interesting work at an earlier stage.
Ultimately, it depends on the scheme and firm.
I graduated and applied for allsorts of stuff. Ended up with 3 offers but the one I took was paying on par with grad schemes at the time (for Cisco network engineers) and the role required a bit more experience than a Graduate would have had, I applied non the less and got the job.
Wouldnt get hung up on grad schemes, do you actually know what you want to do, and would you be a good fit for the companies you mention? f
k working in FS btw.
I went for one at CSC and hated the place and I would not have fit in well atall. I also knew exactly what i wanted to do at the time despite the fact I would have had to go through 4 different placements or roles in 2 years.
Wouldnt get hung up on grad schemes, do you actually know what you want to do, and would you be a good fit for the companies you mention? f
k working in FS btw. I went for one at CSC and hated the place and I would not have fit in well atall. I also knew exactly what i wanted to do at the time despite the fact I would have had to go through 4 different placements or roles in 2 years.
The top ones are very good. Good training (bit of brainwashing into the culture and style), interesting client projects, some travel, though you will get little choice at first.
Pay can be ok - £33-40k starting + £10k signing bonus, and you can reach £50k+ within a couple of years.
You will work very hard.
In the big advisory co's: Deloitte and EY probably have the most diverse set of practices, PWC and KPMG aren't far behind. All partner based cultures which can be a bit marmite.
In SIs... more of a meritocracy: Accenture probably have the biggest pound of flesh, but probably the best salary package. Capgemini, Atos, CGI, etc are all ok and different cultures in each. I'd put CSC, Unisys and Fujitsu in a lower tier.
Pay can be ok - £33-40k starting + £10k signing bonus, and you can reach £50k+ within a couple of years.
You will work very hard.
In the big advisory co's: Deloitte and EY probably have the most diverse set of practices, PWC and KPMG aren't far behind. All partner based cultures which can be a bit marmite.
In SIs... more of a meritocracy: Accenture probably have the biggest pound of flesh, but probably the best salary package. Capgemini, Atos, CGI, etc are all ok and different cultures in each. I'd put CSC, Unisys and Fujitsu in a lower tier.
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