Traveling as a consultant: ideas from a former important consultant. Because you have to be available to the customer, flying is common in the consulting industry. The following article provides information on flight statistics from the hand of our expert Agrim, so you know more or less what to expect. Travel is a defining characteristic of management consulting, regardless of the company you're in.
From Bain to Accenture, from McKinsey to Alvarez & Marsal. If you're a consultant, you'll become familiar with acronyms such as LGA, LAX, and ORD. You can expect to spend enough time in hotels for staff to recognize and greet you by name. For consulting, the transition to remote work has been especially significant.
Before the pandemic, many consultants were expected to spend 60 to 80 percent of their time traveling for work. The change could be an advantage for the many women, especially those with children, who are considering leaving the sector altogether due to the demand for travel. Hopefully it's not a big enough loss to influence your decision, but it's a factor of the consulting lifestyle that can become addictive, especially over extended periods. If you work for consulting firms focused on the region and with functional experience (for example, in environment or taxes), your chances of spending a lot of time in those places will increase.
Many consultants will accumulate important points, especially the longer you have been a consultant and the greater your experience, and they will have “prestige” in all the major airlines and hotel chains. These are the FIVE most important myths about travel consulting and my take on the “broader truth” behind each of them. For decades, companies have instituted flexible work plans that would allow consultants to choose not to travel and work from home. Throughout their careers, most management consultants will find themselves in one or two cities with few beneficial qualities.
Companies based in Paris, Texas, also need consultants, but they most likely can't afford the services of the big three firms. None of the industry leaders who spoke to LinkedIn envision a post-pandemic world in which consultants work exclusively from home. As soon as you leave consulting, you'll lose control, unless you plan to continue spending on credit cards with travel rewards. Dye remains hopeful that management consulting will become one of the most flexible industries to work in, a prediction that might not have been possible before the pandemic.
Based on your background, your interests, your stated preferences, and your ability to build relationships with strong leadership, you can influence personnel decisions from the first day of your job at a management consulting firm. Known as a demanding, well-paying profession for people who want to learn a lot about business, he said management consultants were expected to be always available and always there. So what are consulting firms doing to accommodate the variety of work experiences that Helfrich and others envision? Most are cautious about specific plans or proposals, but restructuring the way teams communicate will be key.
