Lots of talk on Industry groups are on the banking side, but very little on consulting. What are the different industry verticals like? Obviously, there are changes from region to region and firm to firm and project to project, but I imagine at some generalizations arise:
Private equity groups work lots of hours, same for financial services, lots of travel for consumer/retail, etc.
What's the good, the bad, and the ugly? Are low-margin/challenging industries like aviation always going to offer crap work-life balance projects because they will hire a barebone consulting team?
C'mon consultants. A bit less capabilities talk, a bit more industry talk.
Ill bite here.
Currently an intern at a MM consulting firm doing Employee Benefits.
Never go into Employee Benefits.
I have a lot of travel, almost across all clients. I am in many different countries/cultures/languages which is something I enjoy. Most trips are across the Americas and EU + CH.
I imagine most of the verticals are pretty low at my company. I haven't seen any 40"+ verticals yet.
As someone who has been at MBB for 3 years, I think I can share some things here (please note this can vary a LOT between companies and/or offices):
1) Consumer Goods projects can be a shithole, especially when it is a new client for the firm - Shit tons of data to treat and analyze - If product is extremely specific (e.g. devices for people with hearing impairment), it can be an enourmous mess to get the insights
2) Projects for private equities will have long hours but are super fun! - Client is sharper vs. avg. client - Topics are usually interesting (i.e., no PMO shit)
3) Projects for large industrial goods / energy players are quite interesting and impactful - Usually high impact (8 to 10 figures impact are common) - If you're dealing with shopfloor guys, they tend to be waaaaay nicer than the avg. dickhead in banks
4) Financial cases (banks, insurers, etc.) are super challenging because clients are usually very sophisticated - Having to outsmart the smart guys can lead to long hours and stressful projects - Nice impact and provides you with nice basic financial knowledge (especially if, like me, you have an engineer background)
5) Public sector projects can reshape the way you view the world - Sometimes the client hires you to work in a project you don't believe from the start (because of political views or whatever reason) and that is an enormous opportunity to see things through a different perspective - Easy to cause an amazing impact for your resumé
6) Telco projects: stay away - Shit tons of data, immensely margin-pressured industry - Every penny matters in this shit, they'll squeeze you like a fucking orange in order to find savings opportunities - Not that interesting from my perspective and discussions tend to end being super technical
In terms of project scope: - PMO projects: boring as hell but amazing worklife balance - Strategy projects: ranges from challenging to hell, usually super interesting - Operations projects: usually interesting but can have a lot of pressure (especially if sold with variable fees) - Cultural change / bla bla bla: bullshit as hell and can range from amazing worklife balance to shitty hours - Delayering: analytically boring but nice negotiation improvement opportunities (I always love the bargain session when you tell a manager he'll have to decide which 2 persons to let go)
Hope this helps you create your vision about the consulting industry.