What is the general opinion of Oliver Wyman? How do they compare to other consultancies in terms of work/life balance, travel, status etc? Also, do they have a good renumeration package? i'm thinking of applying, but i'm a little ignorant of OW currently.Cheers,Duke

OW is not hiring a lot, but it varies across regions. Where are u applying?Anyway, it has a good reputation in the FS sector. It is not a direct competitor of MBB since OW projects tend to be very focussed on specific aspects of the FS sector.Work/life balance is highly affected by their staffing policies. You will travel a lot and often assigned to projects outside your country. Middle East for example.Compensation package seems to be expectional, higher than MBB, especially at the Consultant and Manager level.Cheers

I have 3 friends who used to work for OW. This is what I heard:1. Pay is absolutely amazing.2. Hours are looooooooong.3. Travel is unbearable (unless you like being moved from one corner of the world to another every 6 months or so).That's all I know. May be right, may be wrong.

Cynic has it about right, in the good times expect good comp, in the low times (like now) expect less than peers - but you pay for it in hours and travel...Bear in mind OWFS pays more that GMC but you'll get more free beers from GMC...

They've been doing well in ME, quite a robust operation, but Europe has suffered - FS pipelines down to almost zero, TMT pipelines fading fast. I've spoken to people at all levels there who have jumped ship recently or been pushed out and morale is low across the board. Great firm on the whole, great brand, strong and highly capable people (in fact I've been wholly impressed with the OW people without exception, more than I can say for McKinsey), but their gameplan in Europe at least is uncertain for the next few years. ME looking much better for them - if I was joining OW right now, I would join them in the Gulf.The pay is heavily weighted towards a variable bonus element, so basics are lower than MBB, but in a good year you can make a very tidy package. You can expect a bonus in the region of 40 - 70% on top of base depending on business and personal performance. TMT seems to be a little healthier than FS (i.e. the legacy Diamondcluster business).

Just an additional two cents, most things have been said already: OWFS covers all topics FS clients face, hence is not specialised on "certain areas" as mentioned earlier. We started with a strong focus on risk but now are also doing lots of strategy engagements, therefore we do have overlap with MBB (most of the cases I've been on had been pitched against MBB). Hope this helps!

Are you looking at UK?Comp @ GMC is similar to MBB, perhaps fractionally lower. Brand is significantly weaker - speaking as an ex-OW consultant. Hours and type of work pretty similar (except I think McKinsey gets more support so consultants do less PPT and Excel gruntwork it seems) - I know people in all firms so these are not guesses. I don't think morale in London GMC is low (they sound pretty busy still doing retail work), but FS may be. US doesn't sound like much fun right now.Nice, clever people - for consultants...

Many thanks to all for your very helpful comments!I'm based in the UK (working elsewhere) and i've been contacted by a headhunter regarding a position in FS. I specalise in risk management, so i guess that's why i've been contacted.Cheers,Duke