Musings

It's been a short week, in a fun place, crowned by a halfway successful presentation: not too bad, all things considered. And the team didn't have to go to Nowhere Land for once. Makes you realize how big a disadvantage the consultant's constant travelling actually is. And I'm single (sigh). Imagine what happens if you are in a stable relationship (or, worse, have a family). Your kids WILL go to that nice private school. But they won't have a very clear idea of what the person who pays for it looks like. Not such an appealing prospect. And I think it's a main reason why management consultants last an average of something under three years on the job.

But three years is still a long time, so why do people do it? Obviously, the money's good (though not as good as it once was), one learns a lot, one is in an ideal position to eventually land a cushy position in management. But the main motivator for consultants in the top firms is something quite different: no ordinary industry job offers quite the same mix of excitement, speed, variety of challenges, and eclectic assortment of colleagues. After you've tasted this, almost everything else will seem stale by comparison. And so, despite a lot of moaning, we soldier on.