Honestly, I think work-life balance in consulting is a myth we tell ourselves so we feel better about working weekends. Every time I think I’ve found balance, a new client crisis drops out of the sky and wipes out my entire week. It feels less like balance and more like alternating cycles of burnout and fragile recovery. Is true balance actually possible in this industry?

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I think it depends on what type of consulting and the level you’re at. For example, in professional services it’s possible as a lower level techie as long as you can implement, get better/faster at it you should have time on your hands (doesn’t account for studying up on tech). You get some balance because you will probably have the code/scripts to implement well within scoped out time. However, if you’re in management consulting, probably not. That’s usually collaborating more with other team members and they will (or should be) keeping you busy.

In just about all types of consulting though - as you move up, your responsibilities expand outside of basic delivery (developing thought leadership, Biz Dev work etc).

A favorite saying of one of our managing partners - “greatness doesn’t happen 9 to 5”
- leaders like this build a culture of “what else are you doing” regardless of how much you’ve been working.

It’s been my experience with smaller boutique firms that their culture is usually a little bit better. However, as revenue targets increase and the firm grows, they’ll also expect more.

My suggestion is that if you don’t live to work. Get in, get your experience and $$$ and then get out when another opportunity presents itself. You may not realize it at the time, but it takes a toll on your health (and possibly your family).

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Balance? In consulting? Please. It’s seasonal misery with occasional good weeks. Anyone who says they have balance is either lying or on the bench.

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