Life In a Medium-Sized Consulting Firm

From the Being Brunel website and his comments on the differences in Trenta, Grande, and Short engineering consulting firms.

"Medium companies are typically single discipline, and do not afford specialists. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing- in fact, it’s fantastic for those who want are broader view of specific ‘sectors’ (read: bridges, rail, geoetechnics, etc.) but can be a bit limiting to those who are unsure, or who want to explore the all the niches in this wonderful world of engineering.

For graduates, I think that medium sized companies offers the fastest route to responsibility. Like the rest of the industry, everyone will be overworked- and the size of the company means that the majority of projects will be small and intricate- ideal for off-loading to younger engineers. This means that the chance to deliver your own project within your first year is a real possibility- ideal for those racing towards chartership.

Medium companies do have a bit of an awkward pubescent phase however; when they pass the magical 150 mark (science fact). This is where I think medium companies can suffer- as they become big enough to have big company problems, but are too small to have the cash-flow to cope with them. Normally this exhibits itself in increased work-pressures and a decline in the social aspects- something that shouldn’t be underestimated. Many will sell-up at this point, and you’ll end up working for a big company in any case."