One of the most frequent topics of conversation we encounter with candidates on a weekly basis is the differences between working at a power delivery consultancy compared to working directly for an electrical utility.
Dependent on your personal preferences in your job search, each side will offer preferable benefits. Both options provide numerous rewarding & desirable career pathways. The purpose of this brief would be to highlight some of the different benefits that each side has to offer, allowing you, the candidate, to decide what aligns best with your career goals.
The below talking points are briefs from our extensive conversations with candidates and hiring managers across the industry over the last years and feedback that we have received from a recruitment/hiring point of view.
Consultancy
Wider project scope: By working at a consultancy, the opportunity to work on projects for multiple different utilities can open up a wide plethora of career pathways. Consultancies, especially the larger ones, will often be operating in various states across the US, opening the path for office expansions and relocation opportunities moving forwards.
Accelerated career advancement opportunities: Consultancies often may promote their engineers at an accelerated timeline in comparison to a utility – if a fast track to management is desirable, this may be an option to consider. With consultancies more likely to open new office locations, new management openings are more frequent.
Increased likelihood of remote/flexible working: We have seen increased remote working opportunities from our consultancy clients, particularly in small to mid-sized firms. Some consultancies may offer a more tailored work pathway for candidates seeking a different work-life balance or even experienced engineers relocating to remote parts of the country.
Utility
Ownership of project: Working direct at the utility can give you access to seeing the full project life cycle from design through to complete construction, providing more thorough detailed learning and often greater satisfaction in seeing the full completion of your work.
Job stability: With utilities owning the projects, the aspect of bidding for work, and ultimately the risk of losing projects is removed,
often providing a more stable pipeline of work and increased job security.
Benefits/Pension/Pathways: With utilities often being much larger companies headcount-wise, they usually can offer more substantial benefits & retirement plans, in addition to a broader array of career pathways. However, compensation comparisons will essentially be down to the individual company. There are many different structures across the industry, so it would be unfair to make a general compensation comparison between utility and consultancy.
Ultimately, both options provide excellent pathways for aspiring or experienced engineers in the sector. For a much deeper dive into each discussion point, feel free to reach out to one of our team members for further consultation.
