The life of a young consultant

PowerPoint Rangers

Consultancies supply young urban talent to firms in the boondocks

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I spent 10+ years at Deloitte. There I developed an initial version of the Timesaver. The latest is located here:

It's purpose is to expedite the deck/presentation creation process (gantt charts, executive summaries, etc).


If you're working 15-18 hours a day, regularly, putting together PowerPoint decks, Excel spreadsheets and other reports - sorry, but you're not a consultant. And if you think this makes you a consultant, you're probably more like a muppet.

A consultant, by definition, is one who is consulted for advice. I'm not sure too many business people will look to a freshly minted grad for business advice. An expert consultant has typically been there and done that - and has the grey hairs and battle scars to prove it.

The PowerPoint jockeys are just marketeers to put the gloss on decisions already taken. Or, worse, to pad the fees bill.

I know, I know. I'm probably oversimplifying, but it's not far off, I assure you. I am a former business consultant (14 years) at one of these big firms, now working in industry. I've been on both sides of this particular equation, so I have some insight.

In that time, the 15-18-hours-as-a-rule days NEVER happened. Sure, there were occasions when I worked 15 or 18 hours, but they were very much the exception. Even as a junior consultant working at the behest of the partner.

I studied why people hire consultants for a Master's degree project. Broadly, there were five reasons: (1) to provide skills or capability the client doesn't have in-house, (2) to cross-pollinate ideas and insights from other businesses or industries, based on the consultants' experience, (3) to provide expert sanction for a plan or idea (the old 'rubber-stamp from the experts'), (4) political reasons - e.g. to use externals to push through an unpopular course of action, to have someone else to blame ('scapegoats'), or to seem important ('if I have these high-profile consultants working for me, then I and my project are pretty special'), and (5) to provide capacity and hands to deal with a problem or workload (the same as hiring contractors).

This article is very skewed, in my opinion. The focus is on people becoming a consultant to get ahead. This me-first attitude is not one suited to effective consulting. Focus rather on being a consultant to help your client get ahead: that type of thinking, plus a healthy dose of feet-on-the-ground and realising that you don't have to work these crazy hours, will stand you in far better stead in terms of a rewarding consulting career.

Perspective. That leads to insight and, dare I say it, situational wisdom. And that's what I hire consultants for.


I was a consultant until 32. It was very hard work, but it was also fun. Interesting work in interesting places gives you awareness of what "good looks like", which greatly helped my subsequent career.
I won't do it now, but if you are a young graduate not too bothered by 100 hour weeks for a few years, it is the best career option.


I was an undergrad constulting recruit in the early 2000s-- luckily, I was not with the kind of company that requires a lot of travel. However, the hours were as described, and the work was--for lack of any better words--very boring. The pay was really good compared to a lot of other entry level jobs (though nothing close to investment banking), and there were definitely certain perks and long run benefits of the job. Like most of these companies, mine made a big deal of recruiting the "best of the best," the top candidates from the top economics departments at the top schools. The interview questions had a lot to do with your aptitude for econometrics, but then once the "best of the best" arrived, the typical tasks were photocopying, collating, proof reading, and data entry (I imagine data entry tasks have been reduced by know, but I suspect a lot of the photocopying and proof reading probably remains). I had never heard the term "insecure over-achievers" before reading it in this article, however, it PERFECTLY describes the type of kid these companies hire--it's probably why I was hired. There's a lot of "where did you go to school" and if you went to say, Dartmouth or Swarthmore, rather than say, MIT or Stanford, you have a lot to prove. And the prize for impressing your boss is the grad school recommendation. Some of these guys are stingy with what they'll put their name on, and they'll very subtly swing that carrot in front of you, because hey, to this point you haven't worked anywhere else.

A lot of the hours these kids are in the office, they might not even have that much work to do and might not even be able to bill for them, but in my experience there was that culture that "real professionals" work on weekends, "real professionals" cancel vacations, and the senior staff tried to groom you to that. And as a junior analyst with no doctorate, the idea that you deserved "work-life balance" was absurd-- you catered to the whims of your bosses (I suppose it's no different from the life of a junior law associate). It's no surprise that at the two large consultancies I have worked for, there are a TON of young women hired in as analysts, but the senior staff is dominated by men. I remember the day that dawned on me and a another female analyst-- we were working the upteenth weekend in a row and starting to wonder how we were expected to do laundry or buy groceries in this business, and it suddenly occurred to us-- you need a wife.


Excellent industry for young graduates to learn and earn their stripes...excellent for the start of your career!! But long term its not an industry that will make you rich...consultants unfortunately don't get paid well...unless you become a senior partner (which is rare). Lets face it, a simple matter of demand and supply...many talented people in one spot (over supply) means that the price for them drops. My advice is after you've had your time in the consulting industry, move to an industry where your talent and experience will be financially rewarded!

Bugs10 in reply to GR_SA

I've worked at a few different firms that fall under the consulting umbrella, but functioned very differently. They all have a lot of downsides in common though. For one thing, it's not the most stable of careers, ESPECIALLY for mid-level folks, ESPECIALLY in down economies. Secondly, a lot of these firms are having identity crises in an evolving economy. Third, the qualities that make you a good junior analyst (hard work, attention to detail, humility) are the opposite from what gets you ahead as you move on(appearing "smart" and "quick" rather than thorough, dumping the details on the junior analysts, hubris). Part of me really misses consulting-- the academic nature of it, the team environment, defined projects with deadlines and variety...but part of me is like man, it's not a good idea to go back to that industry.

consultant_by_day in reply to GR_SA

I don't think you're referring to the same type of consulting this article is about. You mention moving into industry to get a better salary? In real management consulting a position will pay at least some if not much higher than a commensurate position in industry. For example: associate consultant $120k compared to a senior analyst in industry $85k.

GR_SA in reply to consultant_by_day

I am indeed referring to management consulting, so my comments are directly related to the "type of consulting in this article". I think I might have mislead you with the word "industry"...I meant it in the general sense of the word. Perhaps I should have used an example...for example when I compare the earnings of individuals in the management consulting industry to that of individuals in the financial industry, like for like,....individuals in the financial industry earn substantially more. My opinion is informed, I work in finance and I have many friends working in managment consulting, for companies like MCK, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture....and they all complain about the same things, namely very hard work and low pay.

Even outside of finance, there are many large corporations who pay large amounts for young talent. For example I have a friend working for Dailmer, she earns more than twice the amount of another friend working for Accenture. They are both at the same level of experience and education, having graduated from the same business school.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bashing the management consulting industry in any way, after all it is an industry made up of some of the best and the brightest, it's certainly an industry which offers a learning experience in business management that is rivaled by no other. But all I’m saying is that once 'the talented' have had their experience in management consulting, that there are other industries out there which will pay them a lot more for their talent.


I do see a little exaggeration on the 15 to 18 hours statement. But often we consultants have to go weeks in a row actually working from 7 am to midnight. For that reason, it is indeed a short or middle term occupation. I work in a public management focused consultancy, and it can be quite rewarding (much more so than in a private company), thought it takes something like 4 or 5 projects for you to see one with real, visible, measurable outcomes. Generally, in those boondocks clients. At least in the public sector, specially in municipalities, the knowledge level is so low that good consultancies can really make a difference.


I am a Consultant. I use SAS, VBA and R, much more often than Power-point.


London, New York and Shanghai : Pick the odd man out !! Who is TE trying too hard to impress ? I would name Zurich, Frankfurt, Toronto and Sydney before.


I am surprised by the standard of comments here. Senior managers at Fortune 500 companies aren't fools - they don't "get 25 years olds to tell them what to do". What they are hiring is experience across multiple industries that rest with the senior experts, partners and detailed case studies/ databases that have been collected by these firms. Any well-run organization needs an injection of external thinking to break silos and look at the same problem in a different way. Consultants are one of the ways you can get that.
Oh, and Powerpoint is just a tool - as hated by consultants as their clients. Get over it.

SET Sail in reply to carpe_per_diem

at least at 2 of the Fortune 500 senior managers pay the Partner of choice to tell his squad of 25 years olds to come up with data rich and bomb proof explanations of the strategy/budget/decision ALREADY decided :)

They cannot care less about experience, they will accept suggestions as to how best to present and make their case.


Is it just me or is the sentence "consultants are recent college leavers" kind of oxymoronic ?

To consult one has to have the knowledge and experience to draw from. Getting a MBA then calling oneself a consultant doesn't quite cut it...


A 50-year-old executive pays US$500k to a group of 25-year-olds who come in and tell him how to run his project / department / product / service / business. Gotta love it!

danago in reply to Skier1

No, he pays them for a particular set of skills and knowledge. The executive might know everything there is to know about his own department, but what if he wants to consider taking his US business and expanding into China? What if regulations suddenly change and he needs to respond accordingly? What if consumer demands are changing and he wants to leverage his strengths in new opportunities? In these cases the executive is working outside of "business as usual", which may be unfamiliar territory for him. Executives, who know their business well, work with consultants who can look beyond the walls of the department. Each party brings a particular set of skills to the engagement. It's not just about "telling him how to run his department".

EOTM in reply to Unqualified Critic

Assuming the decision is important enough, the opportunity cost of not having that leg work done can be orders of magnitude higher than the fees.
Very generally, I would rather have an operating executive who cannot give presentations to save his life hire a team of consultants to prep his board slides twice a year than have a very polished airhead in that position.

Sandeep Delhi

The article seems to have been drawn from accounts of few Management Consultants sitting over beer and trying to impress over the audience. A bit more of reality check would have been appreciated before generalizing 15-18 hours in a global magazine like Economist.

Very poor standard by Economist.

SET Sail

There is much light at the end of the tunnel: you can work out of most beautiful parts of NewEngland, with deers in the backyard and abundant lobster, do 90% from remote thanks to the internet, and every 3 weeks pay a visit to wherever is the client.

life of a junior consultant is, quite rightly, one of hard work. Life of an expert consultant much easier :)

Of course, luck plays a role but results a much bigger one. You don't get there just bragging about powerpoints and flexing perceptions


I worked 10 years for one of those 3 firms. My post will probably be seen by some just a PR exercise, but I can't help it: most of what I know and even a big part of what I am is the product of those years.

Most of the best consultants love travel, it is actually a big part of the attraction. But not really because of Paris or New York. Rather, visiting D/E segment hoseholds in Durango, Mexico to see the use patterns of insect-control FMCG, or driving through Vendee in France to interview purchasing managers of the sail-boat companies in restaurants where the waiter charge your wine measuring with the fingers how much you drank, or meeting a competitor's former employees in Konya, Turkey, to find out how many people work in the cement kiln. You get to know the real world, through a huge amount of industries, very diverse business issues, and you are surrounded by some of the brightest people you ever met. Of course I met great people in a lot of places, but I never found anywhere else the concentration I found there.

The 18 hours a day work schedule is obviously an overstatement, it might have happened in crunch-times, especially before a big presentation, but on average i'd say I was working maybe 60 hours a week, excluding commuting. Sleeping was short and in more than a few nights none, but usually because of the "play hard" part, going to local dives to get drunk and trying to get laid. By the way, at least in my times, 20-30 years ago, it was not a politically correct environment at all, even the few girls around strived to be the alphas of the pack.

The suggestion of people leaving because of the stress and the weeks on the road is frankly laughable. I know of maybe 2-3 examples, always girls getting married and wanting children. Most of people left because they were kicked out as the result of the up-or-out, and some because they were joining start-ups or going into industry with the same determination and work schedule they were leaving behind.

You might ask: what about those dreadful cases doing re-engeneering work for 4 months at the client site in Peoria, or what about when you get 50 and you lose stamina? The answer lays in the peculiar anarco-capitalist culture of professional services partnerships: it really is an internal market. As a young consultant or case-leader, if you are really good, you can choose your assignment, principals and partners will discreetly ask you if you would be interested in being staffed on their cases. And when you are more than 35, you should be partner, at which point, if you are not too greedy and good enough, you can cut if you want to 40-50 hours a week and still make a fair amount. As long as you bring home decent sales, and carry your share of the weight of the office (mostly leading with a bunch of egotistical primadonnas), you won't be forced out, once partner.

I guess there are other dream carriers for young, ambitious people. But in my frank opinion management consulting is close to the top.


Just FYI, "bright young things" is also the name for a victoria's secret campaign targeting teenagers . . . something currently being protested by a number of faith groups, including Sojourners.

objectification strikes deep...... but I can't say who's objectifying whom here. firms or consultants.


like investment bankers, more and more educated finance professionals can see the BS. So all these hard power point presentations and pitch books have to get more rigorous and with shrinking bottom line, they have to work their consultants harder. Often consultants are used to justify a point of view of an egoistic business leader or snake oil salesman who want some gloss to their concotion. Necessary profession but see it for what it is and it does deserve the fees for collating and packaging ideas for fancy presentation only.Consultants have no skins in the game. TE putting on green eye shades to imagine that the finance world has been embalmed within this Harvard-Mckinsky magic.

Michael Dunne

They don't work 15 to 18 hour days regularly, as standard operating procedure.
They may feel like they do, but you separate out bs-ing around, the commute, travel days, maybe honest misperception of time, and just plain not telling the truth (which some do), a consultant doesn't hit those kind of hours.
I know.
Its more like a solid 8 to 10 hours of work a day, with some spill over into the weekend, AND does not include travel days.
Now exceptions could encompass some stress testing of newbies, an all hands on deck situation, a person obsessive about their job, or people who are not up to the job.
The article on the whole comes off as a bit misaligned with reality.

Echox in reply to Michael Dunne

This sounds more correct (about consulting). I'm in banking - 15-18 hour days are much more the reality here. It's terrible.

I once worked a 130 hour week. I started counting the hours after my monday went from 9am-4:30am. It was like that nearly every day, except for friday which was 9am-6am, and sunday, which was 10:30am-6pm the next day.


FWIW I know a few young men who are in this racket despite having wives and sometimes even children. The reason they agree to travel so much is either:

A) they married young and desperately need the high salaries that consulting provides, often because their wives dropped out of college to have a baby and want to live as well as they did at their daddy's house
B) they've discovered that they actually can't stand their wives but won't divorce them because of religious/cultural norms (this is depressingly typical among my fellow Mormons, which is why consultancies recruit so heavily at Brigham Young University)
C) some combination of (A) and (B)



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