Hi there,I'm interviewing with 2020 Delivery and Integration Consulting Group. The former does primarily public-sector work in the UK and the latter does international development projects. Does anyone have any experience either with these particular firms, or could comment on similarities/differences between these kinds of outfits and more general management consultancy? Are there fundamental differences in the work (aside from the obviously narrower range of clients) -- the analytical/research process, pay, career prospects, transferability of skills, etc.? What about the case interviews?

If you already committed to public sector work then fair play but if 2020 would move you into public sector work be cautious - once in the sector it becomes harder and harder to return to private sector client work.

in the public sector you'll be working with people who aren't subject to the efficiencies delivered by market forces, hence expect a lot of dysfunctional behaviour

Goes without saying watch Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister as essential prep.

All of the above replies are useful, particularly Marsday's regarding "Yes Minister" however is there really any public sector management consulting left outside of the NHS?EC

As we now technically live in a communist country (most of our GDP goes to the government in the form of taxes), I suspect that the public sector may be a growth industry in futureyears.So get beavering away on those process maps, comrades!

probably still some projects running at MoD.

Thanks for all your insights, particularly about getting stuck in the public sector. As far as clients, it does appear that probably at least half of their cases are healthcare, with the rest comprised of various other government projects. I was originally drawn to management consulting to get some strong experience in the commercial sector and then move over to nonprofits/NGOs after a few years. But places like 2020 or Integration Group seemed like they might provide better experience for the kind of work I'd ultimately like to be doing.