Hey guys I was wandering if anyone could tell me if there are any management consultancy firms out there that offer lower working hours? I don't mind if the salary is less as I just want to do consultancy but with the same hours as I would do in a normal job.I'd really appreciate any advice, thanks a lot,Melissa

Melissa,No – and be suspicious of those that profess to offer them. In “good times” consultancy firms often find it hard to attract enough core candidates and will expand their recruitment net into part-time workers, etc. I have a number of friends and colleagues who have signed up to such deals only to find that part-time salary creeps into full-time hours, in the same way that 40-hour salaries seem to require 60+ hours.You may find some smaller firms have a better approach to work/life balance (or limit travel by only servicing a local geography), but generally the business model of consultancy is built around high day rates in return for long hours. If you enjoy the project nature of consulting and the variety that goes with it, I suggest you look at joining a “client” company as a business analyst/project manager/consultant in their internal change management department. This is like being a management consultant except – the money is usually slightly lower (although on a par if your MC firm is not paying bonuses), you are much less likely to work for an over-bearing egomaniac trying to make partner, the hours are more reasonable, and career paths tend to be more defined.

Would add the following to the above, having moved from consulting into internal strategy- Hours can be as long as consulting even longer in some cases, however you have flexibility when and how to work (e.g. at home, if you have worked loads during the week take an afternoon off)- You are in control of your own agenda a lot more in terms of travel- The pay and rewards can be susbtantially greater than consulting if you pick the right firm

thanks a lot for the info! ive just graduated though so without any experience would it really be possible for me to become a business analyst straight away without going down the consultancy route? Ive heard of BTs leadership programme but not many other companies seem to offer an internal business role for grads..

Hiya Melissa! You could try regional firms, i.e. outside of London. It's only the city psychopaths that work sociopathic hours.Have A Nice Weekend!

Melissa - re: BT - DON'T DO IT! You will be a vegetable within 3 months and wil be wasting your early career.

Some good advice in the posts.Avoid London? Agree - (although I work there!) lots of better life/work balance opps in lots of regional cities.Avoid BT? Like the plague. Could you join an Internal Change Mgmt dept straight from Uni? Less likely as they do not treat their grads as cannon fodder, they most MC's do, so need people with experience (warm bodies who do nothing but justify a day rate are oblyuseful to MC firms!)That said there is no reason why you coudl not join any normal grad scheme and position yourself as soon as possible to move into Change Management. 12-18 months would be sufficient experience.OR go for the MC route, put up with the travel and the hours in the short term, don't get sucked into nastier side of it, and be disciplined enough to leave after 18 months and join a "client" co.

Work on public sector projects - when your client goes home on the tick of 5 o'clock, your free to go...And in all seriousness, in over 5 years consulting in the public sector, I've rarely had to stay past 7pm, usually escaping before 6 (and I'm not work-shy)

Again thanks for the replies, i think my only issue with going into management would be that I would essentially be managaing somebody else's company, having to deal with all the stress that goes with managing people and not getting as much satisfaction as I would if it were my own company.What drew me to management consultancy in the first place is the fact that I would be gaining business expertise without feeling completely responsible for one business's success, and then maybe one day I could start up my own company.Consulting in the public sector sounds great if the hours really are as good as you say, how could I get into that though? I assume its not by joining one of the big 4.This is quickly turning into 20 questions! I'm sorry for being so long-winded but I really appreciate the advice your all giving me, there's a limit to how much sites like prospects can tell graduates!

Hi Melissa. THere are plenty of public sector consultancies that you could target (PA Consulting, Detica, or Tribal to name but three). Morale in all these companies is notoriously low though

Melissa, "i think my only issue with going into management would be that I would essentially be managaing somebody else's company"...this statement is entirely wrong. Even at the highest level, you will be just giving your point of view. You will never ever take a decision and your work will be just a support for any decision.

Melissa,You are worrying too much. Irrespective of whether you join an MC firm or a "client" firm your level of responsibility (and direction of people who work for you) will be so limited as a new graduate that you will have no impact on the firm as a whole.You will therefore have no stress associated with your impact on the firm. Your stress will be from much more mundane and posaic sources - hating travel, not being used to getting in by 9am, having a boss that leers at you, being bored, finding out that you hate the practical work assocataed with the degree subject that you loved so much, etc.Jump in, see if the water is warm enough then decide - you have time on your side.

I was also thinking of going into the civil service because of the better hours, but am a bit concerned about the responsibiity I wouldhave of running the country for the UK citizens. Not sure if I should learn how its done by going into consulting first, then start running the country once I have 2-3 years experience.

to the person who just wrote that last post pretending to be me...my question about consultancy may not have been hugely intelligent but if that's what you think then give me advice or just leave it, because being unecessarily rude is never helpful

melissa - I was trying to give you a dose of realism. trust me, you won't be given any 'real' responsibility until you're ready to handle it. the world of work just isn't like that. most of us are unaccountable little plebs who don't make any difference whatsoever. as a junior MC, you'll just be churning out graphs and powerpoint slides, and even when you get to senior levels, you still won't actually be making decisions (instead, you'll just be suggesting and discussing options). if you go into a management role in industry, you still don't really have much actual decision making ability until you reach very senior levels. almost all of us are just very small cogs in very big machines.