What are the best industries to do projects in as a management consultant?I know that it depends largely on the person's interest but just wanted to hear some opinions :)

Public sector, because of the attractive exit options. "Work in a Local Authority - it's better than being on the dole and has a lower barrier to entry"

Fin Svcs - even in a downturn there is workthe downturns are shorter than other industriesthere is a barrier to entry - previous FS experiencewhen you finally go from poacher to gamekeeper, the banks can actually match your consulting salarythey adopt just about every "new thing" going (TQM, Lean, Six Sigma, TOM, Zero defects, Bus Transformation, Prince2-like-cm, etc)The employees are so low risk its easy to out-perform themand yes, I work almost exclusively in FS.

makes sense!! this question is for all the people working at firms not just the one doing consulting individually! If you had the choice what would you choose and why?

I fully agree with Mr.Cool. The (big) financial institutions will try anything new which directly conflicts with the risk averse attitude of most employees. As a result it is a interesting (variety) environment for consulting (and easy to impress/out-perform employees).

Public sector, as they will usually accept any old tripe you give them as "best practice"Pepper your report with terms like "customer engagement", "Lean Six Sigma", and "Visioning", and they will gobble it up.Plus you get to go home at 5:05, because all the layabouts have left by then.

hahaha screw the public sector you go there to be put down

Beyond FS and PS then, what do people think of the different industries (products, health, energy etc.) scored along:- Interesting work- Exit options / long term prospects

I'm sorry to bang on about this, but all the post are correct: public sector and financial services are always hiring people like project managers. The quality of the people working there are average, so simply being better than average is considered stellar in some people's eyes. The work is easy, intellectually lazy and boring plus the salary is probably better than the consulting pay packet given the squeeze on consulting rates recently.All in all, easy work and colleagues who lack structure and organisation and hence nothing gets done makes this a perfect step for people disillusioned with consulting.ZB

I am surprised to read that FS employ average-quality people...I though it was sector with tough competition and high entry barriers...

I think something like 500,000 people work in the City every day. Its pretty clear not all of them can be top performers. In fact, most aren't even mildly competent.