Anyone here a consultant?

[GoingUp]

Looking at joining a major consulting firm here. The offer is good moneywise, but wondering how quickly I'll get sick of the travel.

Any consultants or ex consultants here that can give me some advice about life on the road? Do you still like it or hate it?

Thanks

 

[Queasy]

I interviewed for a consulting position with Unisys once. When we got to the travel part and I said 50% or less, the interviewer stopped the interview and started explaining the travel requirements and how he doesn't think the job fits me. I said, "Yeah, I'd like to keep my girlfriend. I don't think we'd have a relationship with me being gone 100% of the time." The interviewer responded, "Yeah, this is why my wife left me."

:shocked:

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

It'll get old fast and the travelling is a hassle, but the experience is great and money is good as well. I'd go for it.

 

[mpitts]

I'm a consultant in Atlanta. I only work with companies in Atlanta, so my travel is limited.

The job is fantastic, BTW.

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
It'll get old fast and the travelling is a hassle, but the experience is great and money is good as well. I'd go for it.

You still in it? How long have you been one?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Queasy
I interviewed for a consulting position with Unisys once. When we got to the travel part and I said 50% or less, the interviewer stopped the interview and started explaining the travel requirements and how he doesn't think the job fits me. I said, "Yeah, I'd like to keep my girlfriend. I don't think we'd have a relationship with me being gone 100% of the time." The interviewer responded, "Yeah, this is why my wife left me."

:shocked:

Yeah, generally expect to be away from home Monday through Friday. When you're home, you'll want to stay home, eat at home, etc. - eating out everyday isn't the greatest thing ever as you can imagine.

If you have a family, it'll be tough, but you can still get through it. If you aren't tied to anyone, then I'd say go for it, no reason not to IMO.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
It'll get old fast and the travelling is a hassle, but the experience is great and money is good as well. I'd go for it.

You still in it? How long have you been one?

I'm not, but know many people who are. When I say it gets "old fast", I simply mean the travelling part. A lot of people see being able to stay in a fancy hotel, getting meals paid for, flights, etc. almost as a novelty, but if you're doing that weekly, it won't be exciting anymore.

I'd say that the experience is worth it, and you'll be in a position where people *will listen* to you. They're paying good money for every hour you're working and so they will take all the advice you give. Not sure what you're doing now, but you'll have some good opportunities to go into higher positions after doing consulting for a while. A lot of people leave consulting and start a small practice of their own, that'll be an option at some point too. Consulting will open you up to many opportunities, give you good experience, and you'll be likely to work with people who know what they're doing. You won't have to put up with incompetence nearly as much as other jobs - it'll still be there, but not as bad.

 

[GoingUp]

I'm 26 and single... I think it might be good for a couple of years to make some good cash and see the country.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
I'm 26 and single... I think it might be good for a couple of years to make some good cash and see the country.

In that case, I'd go for it. You're right, you will get to see the country, and for a good bit of time too - unlike taking vacations where you visit a place for just a few days or week, you'll be there for a while, and will get to experience life in many different places.

 

[mpitts]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
I'm 26 and single... I think it might be good for a couple of years to make some good cash and see the country.

You definitely should.

 

[Bacstar]

Did it for a couple years. Travelling was nice for the first year...maybe gone 2 weeks each month, got to see the country. However, the second half of my second year got really busy. I was gone for like 3 months straight with maybe a few weekends, here and there, at home. During the holidays, i was stressed and missed most of it. Caused me to decide that I had it with the travelling as well as all the east coast hops from southern california was getting old. Travelling on Sundays to be there for a monday start was no fun either.

Before taking the job, make sure they give you a company credit card. I had to cover my expenses with my own funds and get reimbursed which kinda sucked. Inquire about comp days for travelling, overtime, etc etc. I got sick all the time. It's tiring, and eventually it got pretty depressing.

 

[SoulAssassin]

I've been doing the traveling consulting thing for a little over a year now. It's not old yet but I only see it happening for another year or two. Probably is I got a 35% pay increase over my last job (which wasn't peanuts) and it's going to be hard going back to a normal salary if I leave. I wouldn't take a corporate card if they gave me one, I make too much money/points on being able to pick which card I want to use. I have a live-in girlfriend and if this was a few years ago and I was still single I could see myself doing it for longer. There's definitely opportunities for ass when traveling like this I have to pass up.

What is your expertise? Might be able to get you an interview with my company. Send me a PM.

 

[RKS]

from a number for friends and family that were in financial/accounting for the big 6/3? they all lasted about 24 months.

 

[lightpants]

I did it for almost a year a few years back. It was right after 9/11 so flying was a pain. I was gone 3 out of 4 weeks a month. It was good money, but the towns I stayed in were nothing to write home about (except for a 2 week stint in LA). One of the things they always told me was "wine and dine the clients" so every night I would eat out in fancy restaurants. I gained about 15 lbs
I left when the project was over (I was brought on just for the project), it has been a few years, so I think I would do it again. But nearing the end, it was getting old.

You are 26... I say go for it.

 

[dquan97]

Being a gov't auditor, I get to travel within the state about a week every 12 weeks. It does get old eventually, plus my wife and kids really miss me being gone

 

[GoingUp]

Thanks for all of the info from everyone

 

[Liviathan]

About 2 years.

It's a great chance if you are single and don't mind missing out on a local life during the week. For me it god old after 2 years or so. I did it before and after 9/11 and the airports got really annoying. Also be ready to cancel weeknight plans with friends. That was the part that really made it old.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I did it for almost 10yrs as a financial consultant, it was good money and great experience but it was a horrible strain on family life (married with a kid)

It finally got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore and I gave it up for a local job paying quite a bit less

 

[pradeep1]

I worked for Accenture (Andersen Consulting back then) for four years before I left right after 9/11. I was fresh out of college and the life, pay, travel, and challenges were great, but each person's experience will vary. If you hook up with a good group/technology that is in high demand, you'll be like kings. If you are stuck doing run-service agreements, you'll travel less, but your life will be mundane, to say the least.

I'd say consulting is great if you are single and don't have any strong ties to a particular place. If your friends are equally busy, you'll do okay. The travel is draining...I usually left home at 4:00 AM on Monday to catch the 6:00 AM out to god-knows-where, and would be back either late Thursday night, or sometimes would work until Saturday morning. When you are a consultant, you are being billed out at least 8 X your salary (I was, at least), and therefore clients expect superhuman things out of you. It also doesn't help that your partner that you are working for also tend to overpromise, and you end up delivering.

Consulting is a great way to gold plate your resume. A few years of consulting work and you can walk into a middle level management position with an organization that you'd like to work for long term and have 9:00-5:00 hours.

I left and started my own import company, go figure.

Good luck.

 

[Descartes]

I've been doing it for about 6 years now. For the last 2-3 years that travel has been with great friends of mine, so I literally had some of the best times of my life. We went to the best restaurants, concerts, sporting events, etc. We worked hard (often 80+ hours a week) and played harder.

That said, the travel does indeed get very old. For me, it doesn't get easier with time. I find myself getting even more frustrated when planes are delayed, rerouted, cancelled, etc.

I would go for it. You'll never know if it's for you until you try, and you'll probably regret it if you don't.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: pradeep1
I worked for Accenture (Andersen Consulting back then) for four years before I left right after 9/11. I was fresh out of college and the life, pay, travel, and challenges were great, but each person's experience will vary. If you hook up with a good group/technology that is in high demand, you'll be like kings. If you are stuck doing run-service agreements, you'll travel less, but your life will be mundane, to say the least.

I'd say consulting is great if you are single and don't have any strong ties to a particular place. If your friends are equally busy, you'll do okay. The travel is draining...I usually left home at 4:00 AM on Monday to catch the 6:00 AM out to god-knows-where, and would be back either late Thursday night, or sometimes would work until Saturday morning. When you are a consultant, you are being billed out at least 8 X your salary (I was, at least), and therefore clients expect superhuman things out of you. It also doesn't help that your partner that you are working for also tend to overpromise, and you end up delivering.

That's absolute robbery, for you and the client.

 

[kstu]

I am, but rarely leave the dc metro area.

 

[pradeep1]

And also, don't forget, you travel on your time. So you are not billable until you reach the client site. If are on the east coast and your client is on the west coast, then your 8+ hour commute each way does not count. That comes out of your personal time, and that sucks. So when I was working on Salt Lake City, I would take the 6:00 AM out of Atlanta and be in SLC around 1:00 PM. I would work until 11:00 PM or late each night just to make the 40-50 hours that was manadatory on projects. Then I would try to fly out on the 4:00 PM flight on Thursday. That was good, at least I had Friday's off. But when the shiitake hit the fan, you were at the client site the entire time. I remember in one global implementation, we were at the client site for about 3 months straight with only a week or two of going back home.

That does wear on you.

Another thing that bothered me about consulting was that they expected you to be over-involved in everything. So in our firm, we were expected to help out with Habitat for Humanity projects on Saturdays, and do other bullshiitake stuff during the weekends. It was not big deal if you worked in-town, but when you travelled, the only time you had for yourself was on the weekends, and I didn't want to spend it with my co-workers. That part of consulting life did bother me.

What was cool however, were the international assignments, where you go to Paris or London or Amsterdam for like 6 months. They set you up with a sweet apartment, car, maid, etc. and you can really have a great time. What was nice that most fellow consultants were your age (21-26) in range, and equally disturbed bunch, so a lot of fun! Also, be careful, because of the hard lifestyle, many of my co-workers, who were social drinkers, ended up becoming borderline alchoholics, since we went out every single night we were working. Not good on the body.

 

[pradeep1]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: pradeep1
I worked for Accenture (Andersen Consulting back then) for four years before I left right after 9/11. I was fresh out of college and the life, pay, travel, and challenges were great, but each person's experience will vary. If you hook up with a good group/technology that is in high demand, you'll be like kings. If you are stuck doing run-service agreements, you'll travel less, but your life will be mundane, to say the least.

I'd say consulting is great if you are single and don't have any strong ties to a particular place. If your friends are equally busy, you'll do okay. The travel is draining...I usually left home at 4:00 AM on Monday to catch the 6:00 AM out to god-knows-where, and would be back either late Thursday night, or sometimes would work until Saturday morning. When you are a consultant, you are being billed out at least 8 X your salary (I was, at least), and therefore clients expect superhuman things out of you. It also doesn't help that your partner that you are working for also tend to overpromise, and you end up delivering.

That's absolute robbery, for you and the client.

Not really. This was during the Interenet bubble days (1998-2000 or so). I was being billed out at about $350-425/hour, with minimum 50 hours billable each week. I didn't believe it until I accidentally peeked at a pro forma invoice our partner was handing over to the client. Of course, our client loved us so much, they threw us a party on leaving...the global implementation went smoothly, and the client manager got promoted to VP, and it only cost them a few million.

 

[Bacstar]

hehehe...

There were some good times depending on the clients I was working with. Every company has their party animals, and if management sees how hard you bust your ass or impress them enough...it does open some doors for better jobs etc. down the line.

Just check your contract. Mine had a stipulation for clients not trying to recruit and hire away employees for a set amount of time. However, it didn't keep me from collecting business cards and networking. I did end up working for one of my clients