Pros
- People are alright - Lots of big corporation perks: HR events, free counseling, etc etc - Lots of learning: You’ll learn a lot and really quickly, you’ll grow as a data scientist, a manager and a consultant -I really like the PD coaching system. That’s a lot of really useful information and a really good resource to turn to. -They’ll pay you good money, too.
Cons
- Horrifying work-life balance, seriously it’s scary how bad the work-life balance is - There is an expectation on employees to be working round the clock - I saw one guy write OOO (Out of Office) on his calendar for 9pm-10pm, ie he had to clarify that he was out due to some personal work from 9pm to 10pm No one will tell you that you should be working late, but hilariously short deadlines combined with an utter lack of support from upper management leads to everything coming onto your head. You have to work late just to keep up with the pressure. A very high pressure environment. If you like that you’ll enjoy ZS but it’s not for me. What I mean is the day before client meetings the entire group of upper management will suddenly appear on top of your head and ask you for updates. They’ll ask you to make insane changes to your work 20 minutes before a client meeting. And it’ll be your fault too. There are bulls*** HR approaches about no meeting Friday, or taking off at 5pm but none of it matters if the deadlines are still there - because even if you take off at 5pm the work still needs to be done. I’ve seen people work weekends all the time - it’s almost expected. An associate of mine worked till 12 every day of a week and no one even so much as acknowledged his efforts.It was as if it was expected that he would work till 12. Seriously, if you want to join ZS, be prepared to give up practically any other interests or foci in your life because work will always come first. Personally, I’m getting out of here as soon as I can.