How many hours in total (reading frame structures etc) + practice is recommended to get good at case studies?
I ask this because even though I have time-someone at my college practiced too much and was burnt out by the time he had interviews. I dont want this to ruin my passion for problem solving and cases (which I seem to enjoy from what I have seen-not practiced)
Also, when practicing case studies by yourself how long does it take to do one case? Should I try to do one over full 30 minutes or just quickly go over it?
10,000 hours or malcolm gladwell would disapprove
well anything over 9,000 would be enough i guess
There's really no recommended number of hours. I don't think you get "burned out" per se - you just lose passion for the job.
At one level, when you start breaking cases and just start focusing on soft skills, then you know you've reached a reasonable level.
If you're comfortable enough on the case that you can focus more on connecting with the interviewer, you're definitely in a good spot.
Typically, you read through the common case materials (CiP, managementconsulted, Victor Cheng's website, etc.) and run through multiple mock interviews with colleagues before you start getting an idea of how the case process really works.
Don't forget that Quality > Quantity. I know a handful of people that just drilled cases and either burned out or plateau'd so quick on the learning curve that cases were essentially a waste of time. If you can spread prep out through a few months, it is much easier to stay sane and actually get more out of it.
Edit: In-case you're still looking for a definitive answer, I ball-park my hours of prep spent at about 70 - 80. This is comprehensive of networking calls, practice cases, reading time, etc. I also spread this over a period of about 3 months which made it very easy to work with.
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