Pros
A lot of client facing experience and accelerates your career, particularly if you're looking to do an MBA down the line
Cons
- Poor oversight by management on new college grads, effectively leaving them in the charge of other associates who have no management experience or training. (In my case, reviews for junior associates are essentially written by the senior associate, using the Manager's name) Because of this, associate experience can vary dramatically, from OK to toxic/terrible. I was unfortunate to fall on the latter end of the spectrum. - Long working hours, high stress, unhealthy work-life balance (not uncommon to work 70-90 hours a week), very thankless leadership for all the hours put in -Management thinks about client demands first and employee welfare second (and are very obvious about it) -The tools used for analytics are extremely outdated, poor analytics and statistical practices. This isn't the place to level up your technical skills (but it is the place to level up client-facing skills) - Poor compensation for the hours put in - I ultimately left ZS due to the terrible work culture and am mentally healthier and happier in my new job.