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Consulting Firms Are Paying Undergrads $25,000 To Do Nothing (bloomberg.com) 64

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
An anonymous reader shares a report: In the weeks leading up to her graduation from Pomona College, Sophia Augustine thought she had it all figured out. She had gotten a job offer at Accenture Plc and had plans to live with two friends in New York starting in August. Then she got a much-dreaded phone call. She, like hundreds of other new graduates this year, had a delayed start date. She would now report to work in April 2024, and for her troubles she'd receive a $25,000 stipend. The sudden change made her nervous, but she quickly pivoted. She found someone to sublet her apartment and made travel plans, starting with a trip to Southeast Asia.

"I never got to study abroad in college because of Covid," Augustine said. "So I'm viewing this as, just like, my golden opportunity." The delay wasn't a complete surprise. Layoffs in consulting, finance and technology have piled up in recent months, putting the job market on shaky ground. Top consulting firms, reeling from a cut back in business spending, had been delaying start dates for some MBA graduates. And while undergrads with offers from Accenture, Bain & Co and Deloitte initially thought they were spared, they too have been caught up in the slump.

Consulting firms are known to adjust their hiring plans when there's an economic downturn or change in market conditions. It's a way to ensure new hires have work to do, and keep costs down until business picks up again. For some new graduates, a stipend can provide an unexpected chance to travel, work at a nonprofit or pursue a professional certification.
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Consulting Firms Are Paying Undergrads $25,000 To Do Nothing More

Consulting Firms Are Paying Undergrads $25,000 To Do Nothing

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  • or ... (Score:4)

    by thrillseeker ( 518224 ) on Friday August 11, 2023 @12:46PM (#63759374)
    work with me here ... pay off their student loans.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 )

      If Joe Biden is reelected and the Dems take the House, it is likely there will be some level of loan forgiveness. It would be foolish to pay off the loans now before it's clear what the deal will be.

      So take a vacation instead. America rewards the most irresponsible.

      • I just talked to a friend with this attitude last weekend. He has the money to pay off his relatively small remaining balance, but he figures it's worth seeing if some kind of repayment comes out.

      • It would be stupid to take a vacation and not invest the money until the future is clear.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by mccrew ( 62494 )
          Others would say it's stupid not to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when it lands on your lap. To your observation, when has the future ever been clear?

        • It would be stupid to take a vacation and not invest the money until the future is clear.

          Taking a year to travel around the world would probably teach her more than her years in college. This $25k, used this way, could be the best training these companies could provide for their future staff.

        • As basically every vacation country is cheeper than the US - what is stupid to take the money at hand travel?

          Travel - besides learning another language - is the best thing a human can do. Try both ...

    • I would guess that they'll have to pay back the money if they don't show up for work in a year. Accenture can't claw back a student loan repayment.

      Furthermore, I would guess the folks Accenture is hiring probably aren't worried about paying back student loans. I've never heard any of my engineering colleagues be worried about paying off their student loans either.

      • Getting a degree in a field that pays well and you wont have any issues... Someone who got 200k in loans to go to some private school for a gender studies degree? well... you made a stupid decision, you should be responsible for paying for it.
        • I used to think this until DEI took over and some of their contracts have been made public. They are getting paid very very well to administer struggle sessions to harvest white tears.
      • Accenture isn't making student loan repayments though. You don't get to escape your liabilities just because you spent the money without bankruptcy. There may be a good play on that front since you can't get rid of your student debt that route but you can probably get rid of your Accenture debt that way. Being on a fractional repayment plan with the worst credit rating possible isn't a great way to live your 20's though. It's probably best just to show up for that job in April.

    • Or take the $25,000 and pay on student loans instead of going to Asia.

      • The story was not about student loans.
        It was about some guys who were supposed tog et hired, but did not get hired in the end and got a 25k compensation.

    • Why bother? Nobody's going to collect on those student loans! They should have called them student *grants.*

  • Money for something (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rgmoore ( 133276 ) <glandauer@charter.net> on Friday August 11, 2023 @12:50PM (#63759402) Homepage

    The money isn't for nothing. They're being paid to stay loyal to their future employer rather than look for a similar job that starts sooner. Giving up the opportunity to look for a job that will give them similar pay and long-term prospects but start sooner is a serious ask, so the companies have to make it worth their while.

    • 25k / year is shit in NYC!

    • Yeah, like many submission titles... this one has little to do with the actual facts - or even with the summary.

      25K sounds like a lot, until you think about the nine months of salary she won't be receiving. And that's assuming Accenture doesn't just tell her "sorry, but we can't hire you after all" in February or March - which I wouldn't put past them.

      • Yeah, that poor poor undergrad, forced to take $25k to possibly not be hired somewhere.

        You know, I'm feeling charitable - I'll let you pay me $12,500 to possibly not hire me in a year, if you like.

        • Yeah, that poor poor undergrad, forced to take $25k to possibly not be hired somewhere.

          1) I do not know where you live but $25K is not for 9 months in the US especially since the person mentioned in the article is in New York City. 2) You do know that student loan grace periods are 6 months for some and 9 months for others? So some of these student loans will have to be paid back before they have their full salary. 3) I do not know about you but if a company that hired me at a certain salary suddenly changes their mind about my salary and my job, I would be concerned about working for this co

      • In any case they pay their regular employees $100K to do fuck-all for the customer, so $25K for doing nothing isn't a bad deal.

    • Giving up the opportunity to look for a job.

      She can look. She just can't accept another offer.

      So the smart strategy is to interview for other jobs. If she finds a better job, take it, and repay the $25k. Otherwise, she still has a job waiting in April.

      • > She can look. She just can't accept another offer.

        What if she pays the 25K back?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tomz16 ( 992375 )

          Depends what the penalty for exiting the contract early is... it would be foolish to make it only $25K, IMHO. I'd at least triple it. If I'm giving you $25k today to NOT look for another job, why would I make the penalty for breaking that contract with me only what I paid you incentive? That would make no sense.

          • Hmmmmmm, I don't think that's how that works. you can't legally buy a $50,000 car for $1 because the two things in the contract nned to be equal to each other. Now they could claim they spent some money interviewing and such, but they certainly couldn't claim they spent over $25K in the hiring process only to put her on ice for a year.

            • you can't legally buy a $50,000 car for $1 [...]

              Sure you can. The hard part is finding someone who will sell it to you at that price.

              [...] because the two things in the contract nned to be equal to each other.

              That isn't true.

              The concept you're getting at is known as "consideration" in contract law, but the monetary value of the consideration generally doesn't matter [wikipedia.org]. That's why you'll sometimes hear lawyers ask for something nominal like a dollar before they'll provide legal advice. Clearly, a lawyer's time is worth more than a buck, but exchanging something nominal means that consideration has been provided and the lawyer can s

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by tomz16 ( 992375 )

              Hmmmmmm, I don't think that's how that works. you can't legally buy a $50,000 car for $1 because the two things in the contract nned to be equal to each other.

              They absolutely do not "need to be equal to each other"

    • Also I assume that New York would enforce her employment contract and state law had they fired or laid her off. If that happened, she might get more than $25K so this was a token amount. $25K is not enough to live on in New York so if she finds another job and quits, their legal obligations end.

    • The money isn't for nothing. They're being paid to stay loyal to their future employer rather than look for a similar job that starts sooner.

      Depending on what state they are in, they could certainly take another job simultaneously. Since they haven't started, they are not privy to any secret information.

      • Depending on what state they are in, they could certainly take another job simultaneously. Since they haven't started, they are not privy to any secret information.

        I think they have to repay the money if they accept the money then find another job. In other words, the summary is correct in that they are being paid not to work. For anyone.

        • I think they have to repay the money if they accept the money then find another job.

          The summary doesn't say that, and I can't read the full article.

          However, even if that's the case, I wonder if such a contract is enforceable in all states?

          • However, even if that's the case, I wonder if such a contract is enforceable in all states?

            I do not know but I assume this is not a token of generosity. If the company had fired her or laid her off, they would have so many more obligations. The terms are just harsh enough that most people would look for another job and quit this one. Thus the company is free from all obligations if the employee quits.

  • I'm skilled at it! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Impy the Impiuos Imp ( 442658 ) on Friday August 11, 2023 @12:59PM (#63759442) Journal

    I got 30 years of experience. Imagine how much they'll pay me to do nothing!

  • I would never take this deal or tell my kids to do it.

    #1 She's gaining no work experience during this time. There is literally nothing of value from this going on her resume if she wants to jump to another employer.
    #2 She is being paid part time, below market rates for an entry level worker to avoid moving to a full time employer.
    #3 She has absolutely no guarantee her job will be there in April 2024. That's a significant chunk of a full year and so much can change in contracts with big clients that it's nut

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      The value depends on the fine print. Is it support or retention? If it's support, she can look for another job and decide to switch, only losing the checks that haven't come yet. If it's retention she might have to pay back whatever was received and that's a very, very, bad deal. Retention should be a lot closer to the full package value and include benefits. Even for entry level $25k/yr. is not worth it for retention.

    • She makes a journey into another country - probably learns the language, too.
      For a year

      To do that a "normal person" would need to save money for ten years ...

      So, I think 1 year for free instead of 10 years saving, and then not knowing if/what she can do with the savings: is a nice trade off.

  • This sort of thing - being paid to do nothing - has a long history. The only things changing are the reasons. For example it used to be a thing (maybe still is) for defense industries to pay a salary for a new hire to sit in rooms doing nothing while waiting for their security clearances to be approved. Or the teacher who can't be fired quickly so sits in a room with other teachers pending their dismissal. Ats ome companies I've been at there were several managers who had no direct report and appeared to

    • I hate managers. I have 5 of them at the small aerospace company I work for.

    • At one of my previous employers, people were assigned to "special projects". Sometimes, people did come back from "special projects" to a real position, but often, they left the company.

      For the teachers, though, it's not "pending their dismissal", it's the "rubber room" and is designed to be so boring, the teacher will voluntarily resign.

    • nope. Having been a new hire in defense, they certainly gave me loads of work to do while my security clearance paperwork was winding through that process! In no way did any of my jobs for defense in the last 35 years ever have me sit doing nothing.

    • Consulting Firms may have bench pay for time in between contracts or just to hold someone for an upcoming one (Need them for job B and don't want them to be tied up on any other open job)

  • Reminds me of another company (Score:4, Interesting)

    by UnknowingFool ( 672806 ) on Friday August 11, 2023 @01:35PM (#63759584)
    In my final year of college, we had one company that hired a lot of students through the University career center. After the students graduated, accepted the offers, and moved to the job location, the company then informed them that their jobs were not actually permanent positions. They would have to fight for their jobs over the next year to get down to some previously determined number of jobs. Needless to say, the former students were pissed and so was the university. The company was blacklisted from the university, and the university went out of way to tell all other universities about what happened.

    • This is not the same. These are permanent positions. Consultancies live and die on their contracts and when times are tough there's no work to do.

      The company you're describing sounds like it's run by cunts.
      The company described in TFS is not only offering to employ people when things improve, they are actively incentivising them to not jump ship.

      • Consultancies live and die on their contracts and when times are tough there's no work to do.

        It sounds like that is the problem for the firm in determining how many people to hire and managing their personnel.

        The company described in TFS is not only offering to employ people when things improve, they are actively incentivising them to not jump ship.

        They are offering someone $25K to live in New York City for 9 months. My view of the firm is more pessimistic and cynical than your view. The terms are not really incentive enough for them to continue to work for the firm. The terms are just enough for the new hire to quit and find another job; then the firm has no legal responsibilities and would have bypassed any obligations had they fired

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by rgmoore ( 133276 )

          They are offering someone $25K to live in New York City for 9 months.

          Not exactly. The job will be in New York City when it appears, but there's no condition on the $25K that says they have to move there right away. The woman in the article had lined up an apartment in New York, but she was able to find someone to sublet it to. Instead, she's going to spend at least a few months visiting Southeast Asia. If she wanted to live in NYC, she could still look for a job doing something she could easily quit whe

          • Not exactly. The job will be in New York City when it appears, but there's no condition on the $25K that says they have to move there right away.

            Um what? This is August. Her job would have started already in August and she graduated in May. I do not know about you but most people do not move to their job locations the day they start but move a few weeks before. New York City is also not an easy place to find a place to live. By the way, her college was in California so it was a cross-country move.

            The woman in the article had lined up an apartment in New York, but she was able to find someone to sublet it to.

            And she got lucky. Some rental agreements do not allow for subletting.

            If she wanted to live in NYC, she could still look for a job doing something she could easily quit when the real job shows up- there are lots of service industry jobs that are easy to take and easy to leave- and the $25K would make those 9 months a lot more comfortable.

            Does her agreement allow her to take another job even if it is in the service industr

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by antdude ( 79039 )

      Which university and company?

  • Try to become a congressman/woman. It pays better and you still do nothing.

  • Pfft, these companies are getting off cheap! My minimum salary requirement to do nothing is $500K/yr payable in advance.

  • If you want me to be on the beach for six months, you still have to pay me HALF of my agreed upon compensation.

    I assume that $25K is a small fraction of the starting pay for recent grads at top tier shops.

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