Hi, I'm wondering what people's thoughts are regarding the UK consulting market & employers.. I've just left a consulting firm & either will be going into another consultancy (such as cap gemini, accenture, deloite etc) or direct to clients (financial services). I'm a solutions architect & overall have 18 yrs experience (8 in consulting)Most importantly would be work/life balance.. I know the consulting lifestyle is heavily biassed to work, but out of the consulting firms which would you say have the better balance? or have people found it just simpler contracting?interested to hear what people's experiences are at the mid-senior levels, as my last place was rather extreme..Thanks

Problem is it completely depends on project. I have had some very nice projects where i can leave at 5.30 and work from home on Fridays, to ones which were utter hell working in some far flung cess pitt... What you should therefor focus on is culture of said companies, for example capgemini may be a lot cooler in terms of demands than say Deloitte, where they have a "work long hours" culture for sure. Industry would be your best bet ideally close to home if you want a normal work life balance.