hello everyone,I was wondering if we could get a nice overview of people who have left the consulting industry (to work in less time-consuming jobs).Which firm did you leave? Where did you go? It would be real nice if you could tell us too a bit about how you adjusted to the change - was it very different?Thanks :)friday

hello friday,I haven't yet left the consulting industry but would like some ideas please! Focus would be on IT type thingies. Thanks very much.

Not sure this is the site for this thread...why would people who had left still be posting threads here?Maybe you need www.ex-consultant.com

I left accenture and took a job in strategy development and implementation planning for a £350m organisation.I'm working 8am - 5pm with more responsibility, influence and no more nights in bland hotels. The differences are staggering:- The pace of life is slower, and sometimes frustrating. - One of the things I liked about Accenture was that concepts generally only needed to be explained once. Here you have to try many times to get a message across.- Pay and prospects are financially less here (but per hour I'm much better-off) but experience and skills-wise it's much better- Culture is genuinely concerned about work-life balance. Not just lip-service.- Work colleagues generally older. consulting is a young person's world. Here, more family focus and a broader range of ages mean that there's relatively little social life. That suits me fine, however, as i want to get back to my family.And I'm still in top-consultant as so many of the debates are just so entertaining!

Left consulting a couple of months ago (2 years in consulting post graduating). Now work in strategy and corporate finance (M&A etc).Positives:- Higher levels of senior exposure than consulting, regularly work with the CFO and know most MD's and board members very well- Responsibility for delivery and defining company strategy, rather than merely advising- Sense of belonging and being tied into the organisations sucess, not bought in to solve a particular problem that has got out of control- Work life balance, not an obvious improvement (sometimes work longer hours than I did in consulting) but very much a bank account approach so can take it easy when not so busy + get to go home every nightNegatives- Not as much challenge nor as dynamic operating environment - Less bonus potential (do get paid more than I did in consulting though)- Less obvious career progression in the shorter termAll in all a good move for me and very happy I did it. Still drop here to view some of the debates and also offer any advice to other looking at alternatives / specific advise on my former employer

Just to be clear"Not as much challenge nor as dynamic operating environment"I was refering to the fact that people don't push back or question your ideas so much within a corporate environment.....the role is probably more challenging than a number of consulting projects I undertook

Just to be clear"Not as much challenge nor as dynamic operating environment"I was refering to the fact that people don't push back or question your ideas so much within a corporate environment.....the role is probably more challenging than a number of consulting projects I undertook

Really interesting thread. I have been in consulting 18 months and although I am loving the type of work and learning lots I do sometimes question whether is it worth being away from my fiance for most of the week/ sitting opposite each other on our laptops on a Sunday...My question is for people who have moved into industry from a graduate training scheme. Are you glad you made the move/ is the work still challenging/ do you have good career prospects/ how does the pay compare?Thanks in advance

It is a tough transition. My advice is to think about the afterlife from day 1 or as early as possible. It is amazing how many strategy consultants apply so little strategy to their own careers. Become industry renowned within 1 sector. You should then not have to look for a job - the job will come to you. The people who have the problems tend to be those those have bounced around unrelated projects and suddenly expect a VP level position in a field in which they effectively have on 1 or 2 years experience. Try to specialise early. Become your company's guru in a given field and wait for the phone to ring. The sector you serve and the top Head-Hunters - as oppose to the chancers who seem to get such bad press on this forum - will come to find you. When it is you touting your own skills in the open market, you will be judged on what you have actually done - the company you have worked for will be a very big help of course but try not to end up being viewed by the market as a jack of all trades and master none....