Management Consulting

[Bella_mezzo]

Does anyone here work in management consulting or Internal strategy? I am considering career transitioning when I finish my MBA--I currently work in the non-profit sector but am pursing an MBA at a top 10 program.

I'd love to hear how you got your job, what you liked/didn't like about the job, and how you felt your work/life balance was.

I am based in NYC and would like to stay here. I'd also like to limit my travel. Do any of the major firms offer more New York-centric positions?

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 2/2/2010 12:54:32 PM
Author:Bella_mezzo
Does anyone here work in management consulting or Internal strategy? I am considering career transitioning when I finish my MBA--I currently work in the non-profit sector but am pursing an MBA at a top 10 program.


I'd love to hear how you got your job, what you liked/didn't like about the job, and how you felt your work/life balance was.


I am based in NYC and would like to stay here. I'd also like to limit my travel. Do any of the major firms offer more New York-centric positions?

bella - i'm not much help to you on this, but more just wanted to hear about your program on behalf of a friend of mine.

he's a project manager with NASA - PhD - supervises lots of staff etc - is tied in with the Kepler Space Mission which is looking for any life supporting planets. he wants to further his position in management, so is moving away from pure science and has decided to do an 'executive MBA' through UCLA. i dont know if the 'executive' part is significant - tho i do know you need to be working and at a certain level to get into this course (which is 113k for 2 years - is that expensive? it seems expensive to me, being an aussie etc). there's an extensive application process including interviews and lunches and a one week trip to china at some point in the course, apparently!

anyway, all that to say - he did the technical stuff first, then the career, and now the MBA.

my husband, tim, has been umming and ahhing about an MBA for some time. he used to work for Deloitte but now works for a different global insurance company in NY. he does, and did, a lot of internal consulting and a LOT of high level strategic planning. again - he did the technical training (actuary), then had the career - now is thinking about an MBA - more as a top up and to keep his mind active i think. and one thing we've learnt since being here - the US values concrete qualifications. he's just won a significant (within actuarial circles, this is!) prize for a paper he published last year and is well recognized within his field.

so again - technical first, then career, then MBA.

what is your technical field, bella? and what sort of company would you *like* to work for?

ETA deloitte had a big emphasis on work/life balance; they took your life, and you got to keep the balance. one thing about deloitte tho - that name opens doors. once you've worked there, you can work pretty much anywhere when it comes to finance. might be worth looking at their web site and perhaps giving their HR department a call....

 

[Bella_mezzo]

thanks Whitby!!!

My background is definitely not-traditional MBA

I have a bunch of music degrees, worked as a music teacher, opera singer, arts administrator, founded an opera eduction program, and now do fundraising and internal strategy for a major cultural non-profit in Manhattan. I love the strategy part, the fundraising part is good to know if you want to run a non-profit (or do business development for a for-profit company) but even though I'm good at it, I only enjoy it if I am raising funds for something I believe in and am passionate about. I LOVE doing strategic planning for pretty much any one/any company and my ultimate career goal is to be an Executive Director of a nonprofit, CEO of a company I believe in, or to start my own company (I'm still figuring it out

)

Since I have 6 years of fundraising and administration experience in the non-profit sector, and a professional experience as a musician, I figured an MBA would help me round out my skill set and demonstrate that I really do have analytical and quantitative skills

I think for the next chunk of my career I'd like to do consulting for a recognized firm like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, Accenture, or the non-profit firm Bridgespan, if I can figure out the work/life thing b/c that seems to open a lot of doors in any insustry.

I am doing my MBA in a part-time program (typically ranked #1 in the nation for part-time) in NYC. I chose that over the exec MBA b/c it cost less and let me specialize in what I am interested in (strategy/social enterprise/media and entertainment) exec MBA had just the standard choices: finance, general management and operations I think. I'm sure you can figure out the school i'm at if you do a little digging, I jjust don't like to type out too much personal info online...

I am really enjoying my program, though sometimes it's rough juggling work, school and DH, plus we're TTC, so it will probably just get crazier

UCLA is a great school and has a fantastic program--executive MBA basically just means you've been working for at least 5 years or more, have some work flexibility to go to school all day on Fri and Sat, and you and/or your company can pay a lot for it

They charge a premium, but it's nice if you can do it b/c you basically show up on campus and everything is arranged for you--class, supplies, computer, food, the whole "executive treatment"...the application and interview process is long for all of the MBA programs. International trips are a great part of many schools programs--I'm really looking forward to mine my plan is to go to France and Africa

I applied for and got into the full-time program at my school, decided it was too expensive since I wasn't sure if I wanted to transition into the corporate sector, so the loans could be killer if I stayed in non-profit, and then re-applied to the part-time program (so it felt like I applied forever

) but it's nice to know that I can hold my own against applicants in all divisions

Your husband might really enjoy getting his MBA through an executive or pt-time program, they are pretty flexible and interesting, and you meet a ton of really interesting classmates of all ages from all different backgrounds, industries, and functions.

I'm happy to talk more about it online and if we ever do an NYC GTG we could chat in person

(LV and I were thinking the prix-fixe lunch at Jean Georges Nougatine followed by some fun in the diamond district could be a great day

)

 

[gailrmv]

Bella,
Right after undergrad, I started my career in consulting (focus on strategy and finance) for one of the major firms. I liked the work but not the work/life balance. Worse than the actual hours were the unpredictability - I found I could not plan ANYTHING personal during the week because I would more than likely end up canceling it due to working late. I realized quickly that I just require more work/life balance than I would ever be able to get in consulting. I should have noted as a red flag that my firm did not have any women above the entry level in my city and very few nationwide. I burned out and moved on after just a year. I will say that I learned more in that year than in any subsequent time in my career. Things may have improved on the work/life balance front since then, but I would ask a LOT of questions and make sure it will work for you, especially if you are going to be a mom!
TDM

 

[Bella_mezzo]

thanks TDM!!! That''s exactly what I am worried about.

Sometimes I really wish I would have realized I liked this earlier I''m 31 now and we really want to start a family, it could be that I just need to find another way to build my career/another route to the top...I guess it will be an interesting adventure. I''ve seen a couple NYC-centric listings for consulting and for internal strategy, so it could be that I can make some connections at my MBA program in the next year and a half that will help me find something. If not, then I''ll just need to leverage other things and figure out how to get where I want without that experience.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 2/3/2010 12:21:30 AM
Author: TanDogMom
Bella,
Right after undergrad, I started my career in consulting (focus on strategy and finance) for one of the major firms. I liked the work but not the work/life balance. Worse than the actual hours were the unpredictability - I found I could not plan ANYTHING personal during the week because I would more than likely end up canceling it due to working late. I realized quickly that I just require more work/life balance than I would ever be able to get in consulting. I should have noted as a red flag that my firm did not have any women above the entry level in my city and very few nationwide. I burned out and moved on after just a year. I will say that I learned more in that year than in any subsequent time in my career. Things may have improved on the work/life balance front since then, but I would ask a LOT of questions and make sure it will work for you, especially if you are going to be a mom!
TDM

I have not worked in mgt consultancy myself but have audited MC firms, albeit not in the US but the UK and Asia-Pacific. Ditto what TDM said. Mgt consultants *tend* to, from what I''ve observed, to be incredibly driven and their work/ firms *tend* to be very demanding. Most of the people I''ve seen work at least 12 hours a day and their life revolves around the work, not so much their private life or their family.

The upside is that they get paid very well.

 

[gailrmv]

Date: 2/3/2010 1:09:32 AM
Author: Bella_mezzo
thanks TDM!!! That''s exactly what I am worried about.


Sometimes I really wish I would have realized I liked this earlier I''m 31 now and we really want to start a family, it could be that I just need to find another way to build my career/another route to the top...I guess it will be an interesting adventure. I''ve seen a couple NYC-centric listings for consulting and for internal strategy, so it could be that I can make some connections at my MBA program in the next year and a half that will help me find something. If not, then I''ll just need to leverage other things and figure out how to get where I want without that experience.

I''ve been thinking about this more. There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY that I could keep the schedule that was required at my previous firm and be the kind of parent I want to be. If I still worked there, I would need to have a full time nanny to care for my son and run our household. There would be many days that I would get home long after our son was in bed. My husband''s schedule is already that way. I would not want my son to go literally days without spending time with at least one parent. That is just not right for my family.

If I were you I''d find some alum of your program who work for the firms that interest you and talk with them candidly. Consulting is a great way to fast track your career, but for me at least, completely incompatible with family life. Now, it''s possible that some firms have made work/life more of a priority or have a "mom track" - I hope so - but I''d proceed with caution!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Thanks again TDM and phoenix,

Those are exactly my thoughts...and fears...and my plan.

I am meeting with a well-connected professor this week (corporate strategy) to discuss other options with more regular hours and little to no travel, I've had extensive conversations with several of my friends who are working for McKinsey and other firms, and am takling to some colleagues on a project who work for a major IT consulting firm. Basically I just want to figure out my options and then build a career track I am comfortable with...

I met one consultant from either Bain or McKinsey, I can't remember which who works half-time (half salary, half bonus...) but they way she structured it was she works full-time on a project and then takes a project off, so basically she works for 3 months full-time, then has three months off. It's an interesting idea and works for her, but I'm not sure it's for me...

I'm sure I'll be back later with more news when I reach some decisions.

My challenges include:
1. who knows when we'll get pregnant

2. my DH is starting a post-bac program and working full-time and intends to apply to med school as soon as he's done the pre-reqs, so I will need to be the sole financial provider for our family from about 2012-2020 (YIKES!) we're both on-board with that decision, but know that it is going to be difficult
3. we currently live in NYC, and will stay here for at least the next three years after that we'll mvoe to where ever he gets into med school...
4. we need to pay off my MBA loans ASAP if we want any options of my taking lower paying and more flexible jobs when he's in med school

So, in many ways it might be worth it to do consulting for two years and just have a really tough juggling act for those two years, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to make those sacrifices. We'll see...I'll be back (say it like Ah-nold

)

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 2/3/2010 1:19:07 AM
Author: TanDogMom

Date: 2/3/2010 1:09:32 AM

Author: Bella_mezzo

thanks TDM!!! That's exactly what I am worried about.



Sometimes I really wish I would have realized I liked this earlier I'm 31 now and we really want to start a family, it could be that I just need to find another way to build my career/another route to the top...I guess it will be an interesting adventure. I've seen a couple NYC-centric listings for consulting and for internal strategy, so it could be that I can make some connections at my MBA program in the next year and a half that will help me find something. If not, then I'll just need to leverage other things and figure out how to get where I want without that experience.

I've been thinking about this more. There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY that I could keep the schedule that was required at my previous firm and be the kind of parent I want to be. If I still worked there, I would need to have a full time nanny to care for my son and run our household. There would be many days that I would get home long after our son was in bed. My husband's schedule is already that way. I would not want my son to go literally days without spending time with at least one parent. That is just not right for my family.


If I were you I'd find some alum of your program who work for the firms that interest you and talk with them candidly. Consulting is a great way to fast track your career, but for me at least, completely incompatible with family life. Now, it's possible that some firms have made work/life more of a priority or have a 'mom track' - I hope so - but I'd proceed with caution![

bella -

i can see what you're hoping for, but i've seen nothing like it in the sorts of companies tim works for/has contact with.

in his 7 years consulting in NY he never had more than 1 week's vacation at a time. for the last 3-4 years, he kept talking about wanting a year off; he was utterly burnt out. and he was never home.

this is not a career you could pursue while also running a household and being a parent.

this is all quite discouraging. however - little things made it bearable.... i found tim these in a 'post it' format. they made for a daily giggle in a company that took itself sooooo seriously...

will be watching your progress with interest, bella. you've chosen a very tough road, and i wish you much good luck.

blessings on your choices...

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Whitby I just cracked up outloud at my desk

I know this is a difficult road I am contemplating, that''s why I''m trying to get as much info as possible and see if anything else will fit the bill. Transitioning from the non-profit to for-profit sectors is really tough and it seems the best time to do it would be at the end of this MBA if I decide that''s what I want to do, unfortunately I think that also coincides with when I am going to want maximum flexibility in my work life to accomodate young children. So, we''ll see. Perhaps I''ll find a great job in the non-profit sector that I love, maybe I''ll get my dream job at Bridgespan Group, or I''ll figure something else out.

I''m super entrepreneurial, creative, driven, and used to juggling a million things, so something always works out in the end. In my experience it can just take a while to find the right opportunities and leverage them into what you want (and to respond to the million changing variable in life that you can''t control

)

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I worked for several years as a strategy consultant for one of the biggest names in the industry.

The Pro:
- The people are great. I have never worked with such interesting people, who loved their work and who wanted to share knowledge and help you grow (I have heard this is not so true at other firms)
- The projects are interesting and challanging
- You will be exposed to a lot of many different industries and situations

The Con
- Quality of life
- You need to be able to cut your projects loose: in the end, it is up to the client (and they won''t always do what you recommend)
- Your relationship with clients can be stressful

 

[Bella_mezzo]

Thanks Lady Distain-The quality of life issue is the one thing that''s hanging me up, everything is fine, good, or great for me...

Could you let me know the first letter of the firm you were with?

 

[Lady_Disdain]

The red one, with a B

 

[Bella_mezzo]

thanks

 

[AmberGretchen]

I currently work for one of the major firms you mentioned - my background is that I have a double major undergraduate in biology and public policy, and then went on to get a PhD in life sciences, only to realize I didn''t want to spend my life working in a laboratory...

So here I am, about 6 months into working for one of the major strategy MC firms. I actually have to say that while the work/life balance has been challenging, I really feel like my firm makes a concerted effort to help maintain a work/life balance that works for people, and there are many senior women and men with families who seem pretty devoted to them as well as to their jobs.

There are definitely some very long days and long weeks, but there are also much slower days and weeks, and I would say that the majority of my weekends are pretty quiet. For me, since I''m traveling during the week, I don''t really mind working the long hours then, since there''s not a whole lot else to do in a hotel room in a strange city. Then when I come home during the weekends, I feel like I''m "really" home more than I was in grad school, since I''m usually not bringing a lot of work with me.

Also, I find the work so far to be both interesting and challenging. I would say that the unpredictability is actually something of a plus for me - as long as I remind myself to roll with the punches, its kind of fun that I never have a chance to get bored with anything because I''m on to the next thing before that has a chance to happen. And my colleagues are by and large very smart, interesting, and nice people, with very little ego in their work, but a lot of interest in getting to the right answer for the client. After being in academics, that''s very refreshing.

Anyway, its definitely not all flowers and smiles, and its not a career I would recommend for everyone, just wanted to share a little bit of my experience.

 

[Bella_mezzo]

thanks Amber...It''s an interesting option to consider. I know I would love the work, I''m just concerned about what happens if we have young kid(s) when I am working for a firm. I know some people have made/are making it work...I''m just not sure how I feel about making those sacrifices.

That''s fantastic that it''s working out well for you!!!!! Congrats on finding a job you are enjoying

 

[CrownJewel]

Bella, I know your program!

DH graduated from the other big NYC MBA program (uptown). So after seeing him go through the 2 years there, and talking to him about consulting...I decided that''s what I want to do also. My concerns were similar to yours - wanting to start a family and not wanting to travel too much. A lot of DH''s friends are now consultants at the major firms you mentioned, and I talked to them about whether or not it''s possible to avoid all the travel. The answers were pretty much the same; it depends on the firm you work for. DH says the top firms like McKinsey, Bain, BCG, etc are pretty much centered on shipping their consultants around. You may not have to travel for every project, but it''s not guaranteed that you can stay in one place, especially not in your first years there. DH says you can certainly have the kind of life you''re aiming for, and a have a decent quality of life, but probably not at those firms. From what they say, once recruiting starts on your campus...you''ll start to see which firms are best suited to your vision, and it looks like there will be plenty!!!!!

 

[Bella_mezzo]

thanks crown jewel! Good luck with the recruiting process! are you at the school uptown? I have several friends there. my school was a better fit for me and what I want to do, but the school uptown would have been a much easier commute for me

 

[rockzilla]

Former management consultant/Current MBA student here.

I have experience in both strategy and non-profit consulting (both firms I worked for you mentioned above). My personal take from my four years in consulting is the following:

a) You learn a lot, very quickly.
b) The people are awesome - smart, fun, young, exciting
c) You work a LOT, and it can be completely unpredictable. Do not expect to have a life during the week, and sometimes, on the weekend as well
d) Quality of your experience HIGHLY dependent on your manager

When I talk to people who want to get into consulting, I often try to figure out their logic in it. Do they want to be a career consultant? Do they really want to do and want to do consulting for a few years in order to transition? Do they really have no idea what they want to do and think they''ll figure it out doing consulting?

You have to think about what the value proposition is going to be for your overall career if you go into consulting, because you will be giving up a LOT in order to do it. Most women I know put off having children at least until they make manager (~3 years post MBA) and while part time is available, it is difficult to get promoted often if you are working part time. The people HAVE to be great, because you''re spending all of your time with them.

If you absolutely know you want to get into the for-profit sector, consulting could very well be a valuable transition point for you. However, I''d start thinking NOW about what the transition would be to afterwards. Corporate strategy position in industry? If that''s what you want to do, I''d suggest applying to those jobs at the same time you''re applying for consulting. Generally they require less hours and MUCH less travel.

 

[rockzilla]

PS Lady_D - which office were you in? Maybe we have met at a training

 

[NewEnglandLady]

My husband worked as a consultant for E&Y for a couple of years in his mid twenties. He is an actuary, so a bit far-removed from management consulting, but the schedule was very similar: 6+ week consulting projects (some international), constant stress on billing over 100% for the week and also working on very interesting projects with intelligent, energetic people.

For my husband, it was a good way to learn quite a bit, work on interesting projects and get the experience on his resume while he was still young--this was before we were married. He really enjoyed the experience and while there really was no work/life balance, he didn''t need it as much as some people do. The biggest drawback for him was that he was trying to pass his actuarial exams while also working 80+ hour weeks, wihch proved to be very difficult. After we were married he decided that he was burnt out, so he used his experience to land a great job for more money and better work/life balance.

He''s glad he did it--while not all of his projects were in fabulous cities, he loved travelling and we still got to spend our weekends together.

Also, his boss was a woman with 3 kids. Granted, she wasn''t a typical mom--she literally had 2 full-time nannies because she and her husband put in 14+ hour days every day. My husband was talking with her about a project on the phone once and she told him she had to let him go because she was in the hospital, in labor, and the doctor was going to make her push soon. I don''t know how consultants stay on for more than a few years, but some people really love it.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I am a Management Consultant at a top consulting firm. I like that my work is usually challenging and I never get bored. I have a chance to work with great and smart people. My work/life balance is horrible although it is partly my fault - we hire mostly A types that push themselves to succeed which means giving up parts of their life.

 

[wyndham]

Date: 2/4/2010 3:07:48 PM
Author: rockzilla

You have to think about what the value proposition is going to be for your overall career if you go into consulting, because you will be giving up a LOT in order to do it. Most women I know put off having children at least until they make manager (~3 years post MBA) and while part time is available, it is difficult to get promoted often if you are working part time.

I work for one of the firms you mentioned, Bella, and I completely agree with Rockzilla. It's really difficult to be a successful career woman here and have a young child: most of the women who work at my firm are either young (i.e. twenties, not married / no children, etc.), or they 1) leave after they have a baby, 2) come back when their children are school-aged, or 3) never have children. The environment can be incredibly interesting, challenging, and dynamic, but there isn't a lot of tolerance for employees who have complicated personal lives. What I mean by this is that my colleagues are generally very understanding regarding illnesses, deaths, emergencies, etc., but they tend to look down on people who habitually have 'personal circumstances' that interfere with their ability to work late, get to the office early, work weekends, etc. I think you *could* be the mother of a newborn and work at one of these firms, but you would have to have someone else (your husband, a nanny, etc.) be the 'primary' caregiver, because it's not realistic to expect to walk out the door by 6:30 pm EVERY night. Some nights that might be the case...other nights, you might be at work until midnight, and your colleagues won't want to hear 'I have to get home to my baby' as a reason why you habitually can't work late. They probably wouldn't say anything to you directly, but if you're always having to arrange your work around your childcare schedule, it will affect how people in the office think of you (i.e. they might say you're not as 'reliable', 'dependable', 'professional', etc. as your colleagues).

If it were me in your situation, I would definitely go after the MC jobs (GREAT way to pay off your MBA debt quickly). If I got one of these jobs, I would put the baby plans on hold for a year or two while I worked my tail off in MC, then I would start TTC once my debt was almost paid off. I'm sure that's not the answer you want to hear, because I've read in some of your other threads that you'd really like to have a baby soon, but I think that waiting would provide you the greatest amount of mental sanity...and set up some financial security for you, too, so that you can do whatever kind of work you like in the future. I'm definitely not saying you can't work in MC and have a baby...I'm just saying that it will be incredibly stressful and you will have to demonstrate that you're as devoted to your job post-child as you were pre-child if you want to succeed in that field.

Good luck with your decision, I'm sure it's a difficult one!

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Date: 2/4/2010 3:09:33 PM
Author: rockzilla
PS Lady_D - which office were you in? Maybe we have met at a training

São Paulo - what about you?