Hi Guys - Can someone confirm how the Deloitte weekly cycle works? I've heard it is three days on client site, one day in office and one from home......is that accurate? Thank you.

Hahahahaa..... no.Expect client site 4 nights/5 days a week (in the UK at least). If you get to be in the office/at home for a project, count yourself very lucky - these are few and far between!

Many consulting firms hold out this model as an example of how to achieve work/life balance, and while it does occasionally happen, it simply cannot be relied upon. I’d say if you get six months like that every two year, you’d be doing well.

Thanks for the responses.I'm a grad with an offer from Dot and that's what they mentioned, but it could just be to lure me in.This could be a silly statement to make, but is it really worth it if you have to be on a client site for 5 days a week? So a Londoner working onsite in, say, Blackpool and having to spend the whole working week away from friends and family.......surely that can't be healthy? Any words of advice? I am seriously considering turning them down (and consulting) if that's the way it is going be.Appreciate your inputs.

It all depends my man, on the industry/type of Consulting you work in, your network, and how important being in London is for you.If you knew what you were doing and being in London was the MOST important thing (forgetting career development, type of role/project etc), you could probably be in London most of the time.But it does just depend. For example, I haven't left London in 3 years, but one of my colleagues has been to the US, Australia, and Sweden in that time, and only been in the UK for a total of about 3 months!

That's the problem with these big places. They send you all over the place. The travel can be a nightmare. The worst thing is when they expect you to use public transport and be at your destination for 9.00am. So you end up travelling from your home in Brighton to Manchester every morning at some awful hour. Then they expect you to eat your dinner with colleagues and talk business when really you desperately just want to get on the phone to your girlfriend for an hour or two because you're concerned you're drifting apart (and what a way to do it! by spending time with douchebags rather than the ones you really want to be with). Have you ever had to do a long journey by train (standard class) during rush hour? It is literally hell on earth. I did this last week and sat next to the most obnoxious man I have ever met. He sat there in a shabby suit drinking a can of Stella whilst clipping his nails for about 25 minutes (seriously!!) and blowing his snotty nose to the extent that the whole carriage must have filled out with the cloud of disease he was furiously pumping out of his nostrils into the carriage.This game ain't what it use to be. You used to have a relaxed breakfast in a private carriage and arrive at client site at a sensible hour like 11.00am. Now they expect you there for 8.30am because "they gotta go home early for squash lessons today". So you, the poor mug, end up getting up at Count Dracula O'Clock and still working until the evening, just because Johnny 9-to-5 needs to get his daily exercise in this evening. And you know what? I'll bet the b*stards won't even offer you a cup of coffee when you get there. You'll just step straight off the train, into a cab, then straight into a meeting. Plus, the train travel ruins your suits. Sat in those cramped little seats facing opposite to the direction of travel with bent legs and your suit jacket on whilst some fat slob crushes up against you for several hours.Any other consultants out there willing to share the realities of public transport from a consultant's perspective?

Not sure how seriously to take the last post but thanks to you all.Fortunately, I am in a position where I can turn down the offer so I will just tell them that if I cannot work at least 85% of my time in the capital then I cannot join. Before someone replies with "You'll get nowhere with that attitude", I am aware that they may send me on my bike. As I said, nothing to lose.

Dave's post is entirely the way that many consultants feel after a few years in the business.It definitley aint what it used to be.

Crikey.....some real doom and gloom on here. Have been at Deloitte for nearly a year and never done 5 consecutive days (most was 4 days, 3 nights in OK hotels with business class travel where available) on client site...usually get Friday at home office and client is generally forgiving of long travel.This entirely though depends on how good the partner you're working for is....a cr@p week partner will let your client walk all over you, a strong one will push back....just make sure you work for a decent partner and you'll be fine (plus stick up for yourself).

In my view, it only makes sense to look at grad entry to a major firm by considering the bigger picture. These places take in grads with very few tangible skills, pay incredible wages (compared with the UK average salary), and slap on great training, opportunities, and benefits. It's a fantastic opportunity in many ways, but there has to be a downside. For most young grads (apart from the lucky ones), this means doing whatever work you are given, and travelling anywhere to do it. When I was on a grad scheme (many moons ago), a lot of my peers would moan about this - sadly I think these people didn't come into it with their eyes open, and made ridiculous initial demands of which roles they would "accept". (So fair play for being realistic about what you really want before you commit).Many people will face long hours outside of London 4 nights a week - anyone who has done this will tell you it puts massive strain on maintaining a broad social life. On the other hand if you're the kind of guy who has a smaller social circle and would normally spend the evening chilling at home anyway, it won't be so much of a strain.If you've just left uni and are eagerly awaiting throwing yourself into the capital's nightlife and living a Friends-style existence with your mates, however, then working a big firm's grad scheme will basically rule that out, in my view.

I haven't worked 345 yet, after near 3 years at the firm. On the other hand, the first 2 years were 5 days a week on client site in London, so if you want to work in London, the opportunity is there. I actively looked for a role outside of London and have very much enjoyed not being in the city for the last year.However, to be perfectly frank, saying you ain't gonna take a job unless you can guarantee that you will spend 85% of your time in London isn't going to endear you and I suspect that no matter where you end up working, the reality of being at the bottom of the totem pole is going to smack you in the face. Realise that you will work where your employer tells you and if that is an industrial park in Hull for 5 days a week, you will either suck it up or leave. That's life.

I've been at Deloitte for nearly 5 years, and in my time at the firm have spent no more than 4-5 weeks per year on projects outside of London on average. One year I slept away from my own bed for a total of 4 nights in 365 days. So far so good.But...My industry sector is very London-focused, I actively network and concentrate on a South East England client base and I have had to do some truly nasty commutes (whilst colleagues might choose to stay over in, say Croydon, Hook or Newbury, I prefer the 2-3 hour commute so I can get home to my wife and kids). I know the 5.30am train schedule out of Waterloo very well, and the M25 and I share a truly special relationship.I am also of a grade where I can self-direct - this is not the case at Analyst level (nor probably until you reach M/SM). I have, on occasion, turned projects down - and whilst I've done okay from a career progression perspective, I don't feel that I will ever be considered a true superstar in my team as a result. Additionally, every time I near the end of an engagement, my heartrate quickens in case the dreaded 'three line whip for a project in Newcastle / Timbuktu' arises. Scheduling is a lottery unless you are able to network yourself into projects of your preference - this means you always have one eye on the next thing, even during busy periods at the end of a project. I always feel my colleagues who think less of living in a Travelodge for 4 months at a time are vastly more relaxed about project assignment.There is very little consideration of personal choice in staffing - its all business need. That said, when my partner had health issues I was able to state a preference to remain within commuting distance of home, but short of that you will be expected to travel when / where business need determines. So, in summary, I have played a very risky game and have lucked out so far. I am absolutely certain that the time will come when I get a call from the partner offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for excellence running a 6 month project in Bahrain, and I will have no legitimate or justifiable way out. I might resign then and there if this happens.At analyst level, you will lack a lot of the toolkit I've drawn upon to remain close to home - but with a degree of luck, circumstance and mental agility you might well be able to minimise travel during your time at Deloitte.Hope that helps.

Fabio and Hal make good points. A very successful recruitment consultant who has specialised in FS consulting once admitted to me 'consulting is a young man's game'. says it all - grab the training and experience for a few years out of uni when the value transfer is mostly in your favour, then get the hell out when you decide to have a life outside work