Client Industries with Highest Hours

I am an incoming strategy consultant at a large firm (Think MBB, S&, EY-P, etc...), and I was talking to a a current junior employee about the hours, and he said "It all depends on the project/industry. Some are 40-45 hours/week, while others are north of 65/70."

In your experience, which industries/job functions are associated with high/low hours? I presume that public sector works less, while private equity works a lot more. Anyone have some other insights based on their experience?

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Lateraled to IB from one of those shops. I don't think it's specific to consulting for a specific industry, rather the type of project you're on. If you are on a due dilligence case, it will be a crap ton of hours in a short time span (say 2-3 weeks). Different types of projects command different types of hours. Sometimes projects are staffed leaner, where you may see higher hours, and sometimes theres a ton of folks staffed on a project, where it may be more chill. Hours are dictated by deadlines.

To answer your question directly, it's not necessarily certain industries commanding more hours when you're working as a consultant, but the type of project you are staffed on. 

 

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