Do You Enjoy Management Consulting?

Simple question, and a pretty fundamental topic that I didn't see on a quick breeze through the forums.

By 'enjoy' I mean, do you actually look forward to working every day? Are the hours so demanding that the work becomes meaningless? Do the negative aspects of travel outweigh the positives? Is the compensation and prestige worth the hassle?

As someone that is considering shooting for MBB a few years down the road (post-MBA), I'd really like to hear people's thoughts on the matter. Obviously, there isn't a job in the world where every day is cupcakes, rainbows, and puppies; but, generally speaking, what do you consultants think of your work?

I, and hopefully some others, would greatly appreciate some insight...

11 Comments
 

I interned at a top consulting firm and decided that consulting is not for me. What bothered me is that we had absolutely no idea what we were talking about...the client knew way better what was going on and just hired us to cut some costs (so that it did not seem that it was their idea).

 
SeaUrchinCevicheI interned at a top consulting firm and decided that consulting is not for me. What bothered me is that we had absolutely no idea what we were talking about...the client knew way better what was going on and just hired us to cut some costs (so that it did not seem that it was their idea).
This will be ever present in all fields of finance.
 
tmur
SeaUrchinCevicheI interned at a top consulting firm and decided that consulting is not for me. What bothered me is that we had absolutely no idea what we were talking about...the client knew way better what was going on and just hired us to cut some costs (so that it did not seem that it was their idea).
This will be ever present in all fields of finance.
That's wrong. I've worked in a top tier BB and I can tell you that anyone upwards from associate covering a certain sector really knows their shit. They know all the multiples and what drives value in the sector. And that's because they provide one very specialized service: Valuation in one industry (as opposed to Expansion/New products/finance/marketing/you name it in any sector). And there isn't much conflict, it's simple: If you sell a company, you are trying to max it's value and so on. You don't get involved in all the dirty games management plays.
 
SeaUrchinCeviche
tmur
SeaUrchinCevicheI interned at a top consulting firm and decided that consulting is not for me. What bothered me is that we had absolutely no idea what we were talking about...the client knew way better what was going on and just hired us to cut some costs (so that it did not seem that it was their idea).
This will be ever present in all fields of finance.
That's wrong. I've worked in a top tier BB and I can tell you that anyone upwards from associate covering a certain sector really knows their shit. They know all the multiples and what drives value in the sector. And that's because they provide one very specialized service: Valuation in one industry (as opposed to Expansion/New products/finance/marketing/you name it in any sector). And there isn't much conflict, it's simple: If you sell a company, you are trying to max it's value and so on. You don't get involved in all the dirty games management plays.

That excites me. Maybe it's hubris, but I want to know as much as I can about pretty much anything.

 
TheEconomiistMaybe it's hubris, but I want to know as much as I can about pretty much anything.

Ah, we have a true scholar on our hands. I love it when people are eager to learn and follow their passion instead of just slaving away in front of Excel and Bloomberg.

How many languages do you speak? How many instruments do you play? How much time have you spent on each continent? Da Vinci, von Humboldt or Kircher?

So refreshing every time I hear this in an interview! Always makes for a great time before I ding the applicant and release him back into the academic world.

 
Best Response
24837 So refreshing every time I hear this in an interview! Always makes for a great time before I ding the applicant and release him back into the academic world.

Off topic! But you remind me of my old partner. He was interviewing this Wharton MBA and surely the proverbial "Why consulting" came up. She answered exactly "because I really want to learn/ know as much as possible about economics and companies". He followed up "Great! What economic book have you read recently", she thought for a while and said "The old man and the sea". So my partner questioned "How is that related to economics?" and the poor girl babbled on about how it teaches us about determination and never give up and blah blah blah. My partner still continue "Well in the end he lost the fish to the sharks though". Let's just say that my partner belongs to the "nice partner" camp. But it was a ding for her. He told us this story at our case team dinner and we all agreed that if we were her, we would definitely come up with something much much better than "because I want to learn everything".

My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil - JP Getty
 
24837
TheEconomiistMaybe it's hubris, but I want to know as much as I can about pretty much anything.

Ah, we have a true scholar on our hands. I love it when people are eager to learn and follow their passion instead of just slaving away in front of Excel and Bloomberg.

How many languages do you speak? How many instruments do you play? How much time have you spent on each continent? Da Vinci, von Humboldt or Kircher?

Thanks for asking!

  1. One
  2. Three
  3. About 22 years in North America...
  4. None. I prefer Tocqueville, Smith, Locke, Rothbard, Freidman, von Mises...

On a more serious note, I'm not going to go into an interview and say "I just really wanna learn". I'm much more interested in making an impact. But that's not to say learning doesn't really excite me. Don't hate :)

 

Ditto. I see myself learning from consultants, taking executive ed., etc. throughout my career.

Seaurchin....considering how many Fortune 500 companies are run by former consultants, I can only assume that there is legitimacy in their recommendations and abilities. Look at the ones from McKinsey alone. I'm sure there is "fluff" at times but in what industry is there not some of that.

 
SeaUrchinCevicheI interned at a top consulting firm and decided that consulting is not for me. What bothered me is that we had absolutely no idea what we were talking about...the client knew way better what was going on and just hired us to cut some costs (so that it did not seem that it was their idea).
1. You were just an intern. Lack of both experience and industry expertise. 2. Depends on the type of consulting. But typically, they expect you to come in and solve problems for them right away. Not exactly the kind of profession for fresh grads.
 

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