Front line client work usually means sitting in the client's office and your team may be fully Deloitte or a mix of client/Deloitte. If you're lucky you'll get to work in a mixed team of client/Deloitte/competitor - makes for interesting office dynamics ;)At consultant level you typically won't be the one leading requirements gathering or designing solutions. You may provide input and you may even be assigned some analysts to manage, but you're generally a do-er.[b]Deadlines:[/b] What worries me is why you think you wouldn't meet deadlines?I'm not "heavy handed" and never beat my consultants if they miss a deadline, but I certainly want to know as soon as they see any risk or possibility that the deadline can't be met. Missing deadlines consistently for no good reason is NOT acceptable, and in some places they will take you off the project. [b]Working hours and working style[/b] varies and it really depends on who you're working for, what the client's expectations are, and how organised you are. There will be times when you're working 14-hour days under high stress conditions, but there'll also be times when you're doing straightforward 9-6. There are no strict times when you may or may not leave the office; the key is you need to be fairly flexible on location and working hours. [b]Performing magic[/b] to get tasks done is a bonus. Usually you're just expected to produce great work within the given deadline. Only deviation from this is if you're working for a terrible project manager who can't estimate task/time or if something comes up at the last minute due to other dependencies.[b]Cycling to work[/b] is not a problem in consulting - you'll need to check the bike and shower facilities at the office you're in though. Make sure you shower and change (deodorant please!) in time to be at your desk and ready to work with everyone else. That is, don't rock up at 9am, shower and change for 30 mins, get brekky and swan around the office before logging in at 9.45am.[b]The 'bench'[/b] - This is something that we all love to hate. When you're not on a project you will be 'on the bench' doing odd jobs for various managers whilst trying to find your next role. I'm not sure what bench life is like as a consultant developer at Deloitte, but in other parts and other firms it's a lucky dip. You may end up supporting a bid working until midnight every night or chilling from home watching daytime TV. Just make sure you're signed in on IM and contactable on the 'phone.Consulting isn't all that scary and you will definitely need to adapt to this way of working. It's not for everyone, and at some point in people's lives they may need more stability and work-life balance. I personally love it for the variety of clients and interesting work I get to do :)
