I was just re-reading the Accenture interview thread and didn't want to get that off-topic. I was curious though that Accenture seems to be the holy grail of IT consulting.

Having worked for a few big consulting firms, including Accenture, I do not find big firms all that enticing. They will take advantage of the fact that they have a brand name and pay you lower, make you participate in non-work related stuff to 'get noticed', more bureacracy etc etc.

And in India, especially, they give good raises only to a small percentage of the top people. I saw the amount of effort that had to be put in to get to that top 5% and IMHO it was not worth it. It was far simpler to get the same raises and promotions at a smaller company. What's the point of all this when the end result is not different than what someone else gets at a much smaller firm?

Granted, it's not all bad at a bigger firm but in the near future I don't see myself going down that road again. I work at a much smaller firm which is doing some interesting work, the hours are pretty relaxed, I don't have live out of a suitcase during the week.

I would say its a status issue. For ex. "I work for IBM". That's a catchy statement. Putting the bag on the shoulder across that has a logo of IBM is the ultimate thing for staff. Whether they get more or less does not matter, its a status symbol.

DIO

DIO and Alexm,
Not only that but you do get good brides/ grooms if in India and working for a big company.
A year back, I saw Air France check in staff shudder and give much respect to Oracle India employees on a flight. These guys jumped the line, had excess baggage and still got away with it. Even when those legitimate people in the line complained , Air France staff would hear none of it.
It is a status symbol.
While i was employed in L&T Chennai in the mid 90's (This was well before the IT boom), I got a lot of respect outside the campus , even though the work that i was doing inside was BS. I used to get marriage offers , almost every week from within and outside the campus. Once i quit the company to go to Malaysia and when i returned after a year and was working in a nameless company, No one used to respect me , though i was doing some terrific projects.
I agree with DIO.
Maybe once your life is settled then you can think of working in a smaller company.
TK A
Sidenote : Professionally, it is good to work in a smaller company where you get a feel of the entire happening of the project / company. But when you work for a big company, Your voice is just 1 in 10. you are just another brick in the wall. You can escape by doing nothing the whole day. But at the end of the day, the benifits of working in a big company (status, social respect, free stuff, perks/ membership, ability to escape by doing nothing etc..) out weight the benifits of working in a smaller company (handling complex projects alone,multi tasking,able to take credit for a job done etc..).

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I am a Gents and not a Ladies.

Yes, if Smaller Company is doing some Interesting work - definitely it is good to work for them. But it will be difficult to keep the Charm going. In company of 10-15, Growth Path is limited.

Size does mater -
I think it is more to do with Stability (which is not guaranteed these days anyways).
And, it is easier to change position and Grow (make others work for you).

To me, it is better to start career where you get to Dirty your hands with everything and anything.

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Mumbai Maazi Ladki ...

Opportunities are more in a bigger firm, definitely. I work for a 100+ people firm. I see the company growing and I think there will be decent opportunities in the future.

I wouldn't trade such a place to be employee # 4863 in some multi national.

In India, yes, a bigger firm does have more 'prestige'. Again, if you're beyond that point, it's not important.

Talking about marriage...my boss had a funny story to tell me. He had a cousin from a small village who wanted to get his son married. He was having problems getting good proposals because apparently this IT firm his son worked didn't have enough recognition in his home town. So he wanted his son to move a big company like Wipro. My boss asked his cousin where the son was working, and the answer was....Oh, some company called Oracle. I wish I could repeat the way I heard it!

Not only working for a big firm is a status symbol, working as a sub contractor also. I knew few desi guys in Texas who were working for small firms who were sub contractors to IBM and Motorolla. But they always claimed that they worked for IBM and Motorolla. Its all the spin you can put.

DIO