Hi,I work for a mc where I travel every day of the week, every single week. I know this is expected in many companies, but the lifestyle is just killing me. I need to improve my work-life balance, however naïf it may sound in this kind of forum... I wonder if I can stay in the mc business (operational improvement, change management, etc.) but working in/around London most of the time. Can you recommend any company? Any ideas? Many thanks!

Think less about which company and more about which sector you service. Focus on central government and you'll be able to spend a lot more time in London -- same story with financial services.

I'll agree with VI here. Travel depends less on the firm than on the sectors/engagements. Also, have you considered going independent. that way, you can target your own clients and projects, not have an MC to force things upon you. Independent you're likely to make more money personally as well. Of course, it brings its own risks and insecurities, so weigh it up. Just mentioned it as an option.

t_o_t, Funny to hear you say this, I'm a change manager with one of the fastest growing consultancies, but hardly travel at all - so little in fact that I crave a few trips (preferably foreign!). Perhaps we should swap notes?!

Thanks for your comments guys. Very much appreciated.NG, if you want to travel to death try Proudfoot. They are always recruiting (they prefer people with at least one foreign language).

not true about Proudfoot at all. I speak another European language but spent 12 weeks commuting the half hour drive to a project near home, then several months around/nearby (40 miles - an hour's drive) and am now on a slightly nearer project which I drive to each day.

As always, there's an element of luck-of-the-draw to this. Sod's Law says that if you want a project where you'll travel, you'll be stuck in Milton Keynes; if you want to be close to home, they'll send you to an oil field in Siberia.If you work in a larger firm with a diverse client base and a good range of work, let your manager / partner know what kind of project you're after as well as your resource manager. While it's not a 100% cert, they're generally pretty good about trying to get people on the sorts of projects they'd like to be on.

I work for a major PLM vendor. I’ve been traveling for about 2 years now. It has to end. Work live balance is more important when you get older. In today’s global market clients understand this and are usually willing to compromise on travel. Try to work at home at least 1 day a week. Don’t leave your house in the middle of the night to get to the customer. Make use of IT…..every body has broadband and Web cam ….use collaboration. I don’t understand why clients only perceive value if your on site %100. Its time for Consultant’s and Firms don’t use what they preach

Could you not get a job in industry with the type of consulting you've been doing?Eg. Someone who does HP/Change getting a senior HR job at 1 company?