When you read a lot of these "this place is great" reviews, you'll notice that many of them are written by former big-four consultants who are new to the firm. I think their perspective is correct, it IS a better place than big-four. However, this firm is hiring so many big-four folks that we are beginning to look and sound like a big-four firm.
This isn't necessarily a welcome change for those of us with tenure. Long-term employees who are looking to expand and grow into new roles, or resurrect roles we once played before we got typecast into a particular role, are often overlooked for the "fancier, shinier" new hire. People managers are inconsistently successful in advocating for their people; if you have one who is politically connected and cares enough to invest their political capital in you, then you're in good shape; if not, well, good luck.
This office also is struggling with retaining female leaders. The most senior female leader just announced her resignation. Who knows what will happen. Given how things have operated lately, we can only assume that this means that "new, extremely talented" women will be hired from outside (probably big 4) before any current consultants are given the chance to step up and be developed into these roles.
