All right, I know it is not an industry known for its few working hours, yet I would like to know if there exist some firms (big or small) or practices in the UK where you could expect to work a more reasonable 45-50h / week or at least have Friday evening + weekend for free on a regular basis.I think I would really like the job of a management consultant IF I did not have to sacrifice my personal life altogether. I would be keen to get a lower pay in exchange of better working hours (if that would be possible...)It would be for post-MBA positions. any comment appreciatedthanks

I would say the long hours are necessary to familiarize yourself with the companies that you are working with. Personally, the least amount of work in the consulting world would be around 60 hours a week; however, if you run your own firm, you can possibly do less. It is really a test of how efficient you are with your work. From my own personal account, working long hours was to perfect those pitches and those models (they are paying you a ton of money, so making this easy doesn't necessary happen).There are reasons why people leave consulting, I read an article about people leaving because of these hours especially women.http://www.consultingcafe.com/articles/consulting-equals-modern-slaveryFrom working within the EU, I know that the weekends are pretty much free; however, staying in the office is necessary for at least 12 hours a day. I'm not too sure about the UK, however.

Advisor has the right direction - 45-50 hr weeks on an ongoing basis are not realistic for any consulting firm I've seen (there are of course exceptions - some weeks are better than others, and I did once have a dream project that actually was 45 hrs / week throughout). I have however been working for large firms that have a reputation for hard work anyway, and there may be smaller shops with better lifestyle.Weekends & Friday evenings are kept clear as a rule, with exceptions for proper blowups or clients scheduling steerco meetings for Mondays.I'm sure there's a sliding scale here; at some firms having a sub-65/70hr week is happiness, in others 55-60 etc. But pretty much everywhere you go you will be expected to work hard, and to put your work and client needs before your personal life. If this loss of freedom is going to be difficult for you I would not suggest consulting, or for that matter any other highly-paid service industry job.

So much bravado, exaggeration and willywaving on this forum. That, or in this instance, some very suspect calculations.People bandy about "60 hours", "70 hours" but have a think about what that means.Say you start work at the client site 0900 Monday. You were up at 0500 so call it a day at 1900.Tuesday and Wednesday you are in to the client office 0800 and work through to 2000.Thursday you arrive 0800 and head off for your flight at 1600.Friday, you're back in your own office, arrive 0830 and head home 1830.Total hours? 52, if you exclude lunch breaks. Admittedly, few people take an hour for lunch, but it is nevertheless excluded from the 37.5 hours in your employment contract (i.e. you "work" 7.5 hours a day but are in the office for at least 8.5, from 0900 to 1730). So the 52 is nominally 47 - and you will probably have 10-20 mins here and there during the day to have a sandwich or a tea.So 47 / 52 is already a pretty long week - but I would suggest it is not untypical for many consultants.To reach 60 (let's be generous to the willywavers and forget about the breaks) that's another 8 hours to find. So that could be half a day on the weekend, every weekend, plus extending your Monday finish to 2000, your Tues/Wed to 2100 and your departure Thu to 1700. Not uncommon but this is not the norm week in, week out for most people.I have been a consultant at a Big 4 Firm for 6.5 years and have been reasonably successful. In that time I have probably worked somewhere in the region of 10-15 weekends (not counting the odd hour or two on Sunday evening - which is pretty common). Currently, I work on a project which most weeks goes something like 0900-1830 Monday, 0800-1900 Tues and Wed, 0800-1645 Thu and 0900-1730 Friday. This makes 43.75 (48.75 - look at my big one) and I would think is pretty typical. Many of the consultants on other workstreams do fewer hours.

Thank God DCF isn't as much into willywaving as s/he is into condescension!I was talking of my own experience, and I'm glad that you enjoy far better lifestyle. Good for you! The only parts of Big 4 that I knew for a fact enjoying good lifestyle were government/NHS, and that FS is rubbish wherever you go. I guess we'll add whatever sector you work for to the list as well.How about I tell you my average working hours and you do that amazing calculation thing for us again?Last study I travelled an hour by cab each way every day, but worked full out during the ride doing team/client calls and/or updating documents ahead of meetings.Left home 7:30 Mon-Thu, headed back to office from client site at 19:30. Quick break for dinner, then back to work till between 11-12 most nights, but at least one night of the week till about 1-2am.Fridays in the office, head off around 7pm, and pretty much no weekend work (a few hours Sunday afternoon sending off emails to team, chaseups etc).There is not a single person in my office that goes home before 9pm Mon-Thu, and that is when you are having a "good" study.

In many consulting firms, you are your own worst enemy. In summary:> The more you take on, the longer you will work> The less you say "no", the longer you will work> The more you believe what you are doing every day actually matters, the more you will work> The more you believe wording longer means working harder, the more you will work.> The more you believe working longer means working smarter, the more you will workIn the end - when you are older, jaded and perhaps a little cynical, you will realize some truths in this business:1) What we do every day does not matter in the bigger picture and when you are 65 and sitting on your deck-chair outside your house, you will not look back and be proud that you worked 60 hour weeks. If you believe you will be proud of this, I would be worried.2) The work we do is not special - it only serves to support our over-inflated opinions of ourselves and justify our exhorbitant daily rates.3) The people at the top are heartless and motivated only by sales. They will use you and abuse you every second of every day unless you say no. This is a uniform truth.4) If you don't say no and if you don't fight for your personal life; if you believe that long weeks means better promotion chances; if you think that being everyone's bitch is the key to success (and here I mean success in life, not in Consulting) then you are foolish.So - my advice is: You be the judge of what you have to work. Don't be afraid of saying no. Concentrate upon what really matters (if there is something). Don't be a slave to the firm. Don't waste the most precious years of your life chasing some corporate bull-cr@p. It's just not worth it!

Dear Jason001,I would suggest you look into big4 type of consulting ather than strategy consulting houses. For the latter, I would say 60h is the minimum, although yu often do get free weekends. Big4, on the contrary, can offer you a shorter workweek, if you choose teams that work mostly locally. The salary will be lower, too, though.[url]http://www.FemaleConsultant.com[/url]

Arby - what you say is true for anyone who is in consulting thinking it's all one big happy family. I'm as cynical as it gets, have a good understanding of my options outside consulting and am willing to put in the hours now because I am happy with the payoff I will get (either in the form of getting to partner or having better exit options).Also, despite the horrible hours I actually enjoy the work I do. It isn't a cure for cancer, sure, but for me it's the most interesting thing for me to do in a corporate environment.

So let's get real here....a year or so back when I stated facts I was ridiculed but it still holds goodWhat is a normal working week then?Monday - arrive no later than 1000 and stay until 1800 at the very leastTuesday to Thursday, the peak days, start at 0830 and ends by 1830 at the very leastFridays...come on, unless you are building a proposal to rock the world, you wont realistically and honestly work more than 5 hoursThe total - 50 hours tops excluding lunches and coffee breaks.....which is nothing.Anything more and you are either already at the top or pretty closeBeen in the field for 9 years now and on average, given that you know what you do and do what you should, any 'decent' consultant can get away with a 40 hour week. Most cannot, which is why they work hours and hours at a stretch.....The ones who can dont think twice about the Consulting world because it is as good as it can getTake all advice with a pinch of salt - all that matters is how good you are at being efficient..what takes you 2 hours could take most 6 hours to complete....it all comes down to how well you manage your workPS : I work 4 days a week with Fridays being my own....I do have the odd 12 hour day once every couple of months but then Fridays are there to make up for it....plus IO have some weeks where I am home 2 or 3 days...the most important question to answer is - Are you above the grade to make Consulting as easy as any other Industry role?A

What you say can work at Big 4 & ACN - I know I used to be able to do that from time to time. Where I am now it's just not an option, because the expectations are completely different. As FemaleConsultant said, less than 60 hrs / week in strat/management consulting is a pipe dream - whether you are "decent" or a rock star. Her post is the summary of this whole thread- go Big 4 / ACN if you want any work / life balance - and within those I would still put Deloitte at the more long hours side, as well as FS work.

Hi, I agree, FemaleConsultant's post seems to be honest about it, going below 60 is a dream in top-tier consulting.Local niche boutiques could be an option for you,Cheers.