Picking up on previous post from Bushy today...what's it really like at Partner level Bushy?A life of boffing attractive Analysts with mega bonuses? Ludicrous levels of travel and stress? Or somewhere inbetween...

It's not a lot different to being at manager level actually. You earn more but you also have the stress of having to make sure the business is making a profit, which isn't unlike making sure you keep your utilisation high except now you have to make sure everyone else is doing it too. You have the freedom to leave the office at 3pm every day if you wish, yet you can never do that... Because you also have the stress of having so much to keep track of and do that in reality you end up also working early in the morning and late into the evening.It's more enjoyable in so far as the fruits of the hard work benefits you personally... But likewise you can't just ignore or walk away from any problems because those affect you personally too.A lot of people talk about "making partner" as if, once give done that, you're somehow "made for life". It's simply not true. Partners in big firms can get nuked just as easily as analysts and in small firms you've got to keep that business profitable - or else it all goes pear shaped very rapidly indeed. The work and stress is still there, the same as at other levels. Earning more is great, but in this line of business you can be very comfortable financially but you're never going to end up banker style rich. 5 bed detached house in Surrey and a bmw 4x4 in the drive - yes. Yacht in Monaco - no.

And tell us bushy, is it worth it? You've seen things from both sides, from being manager with less stress less pay to being partner with more of both? As an aspiring manager thinking if it's actually worth killing myself to make partner I would be interested to know your perspective.

As I'm sure you've seen in client organisations, this lack of job security isn't so different from being a senior exec in the corporate world. You can be the rising star one minute, but if performance dips or there's a change in owners or CEO you can quickly find yourself fretting over your position. Being a Partner who could get the chop is no different.The additional thought I would throw in is that once you're a Partner you increasingly have the option of striking out on your own. I've met countless founders of consulting businesses over the years who've done just this. Some have done it to be masters of their own destiny and have more control. Others have done it with a view to selling the business a few years down the road - which is a well-trodden path to riches in consulting.Thanks for your insights BEP, interesting as ever!Tony RestellFounder, [url]http://www.Top-Consultant.com[/url] and [url]http://www.Social-Hire.com[/url]

Really interesting BEP, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Pity about the yacht in Monaco though.... :)Also interested to hear if you think it's worth it?