Two months into consulting, I still felt like I was gasping for air, trying to breathe, and observe my surroundings. Maybe I am not quick witted or sharp enough to grasp the complexity of my new job but now, I am getting the hang of it only after 2 months to start strategizing my survival.

“It offers the chance to work with top-tier clients, solve complex business problems, and earn a handsome pay check.” - The Dark Side of Consulting: What Are the Downsides?

Not in my wildest dream or even thought that consulting is a career most people want or even has lucrative pay. My knowledge of consulting was limited to what my mother has exposed me to but soon I learned, there’s companies out there that essentially run the world. I am sure some of my readers here know about it but for those who didn’t know there are top consulting management firms such as McKinsey & Company, BCG, Bain etc that recent graduates of MBA want to get into. These graduates want to get into it as it offers plenty of perks and solving problems that has implications in real world.

I recently came across an article by that explained the dark side of consultancy that I can pretty much resonate and experienced these past 2 months. Since I am starting out and I am only considered as a staff, my starting salary is low but still manageable. But I know some with more experiences earned a handsome paycheck for their experiences.

Here are some of the lists from the article that I attached above and some that I researched that I felt resonated about

High stress and long hours

Apparently, I found that it’s normal for people in consultant firms to work more than 11 hours a day and that’s what I experienced too. I work 90-100 hours/week now, almost Elon Musk tier and there is pressure to do an impeccable job from the firm and partners. We also need to ensure that we meet the clients’ criteria and needs. I talked about how I did revisions multiple times and now, I learned my lesson to navigate less of it and be better at it.

For some, traveling is not a perk

Traveling too much can tire and even cause burnout. Sometimes it even impacts on your relationship with the people around you, especially your family. Think about how suddenly airport becomes your next best friend. You essentially live on airport than other places. For me, this isn’t much of a problem, I love travelling and love being in another place than my home for now. So, this is still a perk for me.

In my mom’s case, traveling too much definitely impacted her relationship with the family. Now I understand these things and started to realize that this life is not for everyone, especially someone that has children to take care of.

As I have made some adjustments when it comes to travel-related activities, it did not bother me much and isn’t much of my concern.

But what I am struggling with is this, the ethical dilemma that I face from time to time.

Do what your clients want, not what you think is right

“Consultants are hired to provide objective advice, but there are times when the client’s expectations or business practices may conflict with your personal or professional ethics.” - The Dark Side of Consulting: What Are the Downsides?

Sometimes what client wants can seem like it’s against our ethical values or even our own understanding. But I learned that precious advice from my mother that “Do what your clients want, not what you think is right”. We must follow what they want while also adding and addressing the problem that they needed to solve. Keeping the client satisfied but also solving the problem should be the top priority.

Most has an exit plan

After spending a lot of hours watching youtube and read on people’s experiences apparently, they all have 2-3 years exit plan. Most venture into other career path and some never left like my mother.

I learned that the career path is basically become partners or CEO or build your own consultancy firm to hire more consultant and the cycle repeats & that's how they feed each other and create a loop.

My mother was already offered a job to be a professor and teach but she rejected. She loved consultancy that much. For me, I don’t know.

There are some personal goals I needed to achieve before I can exit but I have an exit strategy. Afterall, I signed up for it. I understand that I complained a little bit because I haven’t grasp what I signed up for but now I do.

Consultancy job does not offer job stability

I realized that it doesn't offer job stability. As a firm, we need to constantly look for clients, polish our firm resume, network. Politics play a huge role in getting a job especially if your consulting works with federal government or government bodies. When there is a change in power, there will be changes in policies and how things run. This can take a toll for consultants and obviously having 0 projects if you’re not branching out as a firm.

When you understand what you’re doing that helps you plan and strategize

Being staffed with the right team is a luxury

Sometimes you are staffed with someone that works slow in a fast-paced environment. It can get stressful and I experienced that. But I also experienced being with someone who is sharp and quick witted that really helps with the way I work and make things faster and runs more efficient. Again, this is a luxury because you never know who you’re being staffed with.

You can work in one project with completely new different people as there’s high churn rate in this industry and even due to better fit for the project. With this nature, the boss constantly evaluates and reassess your performance. If you’re not doing well, you will be let go and replaced with possibly an innocent person who hasn’t learned the dark side of this industry.

I have seen some people being replaced because they couldn't do their job well. Unless you're the family of the consultancy firm, best of luck and do your job really well.

I already know enough about the perks and advantages of this job but after experiencing some things I thought it was not usual, apparently this is just another Monday in the world of consultancy. So, now my approach is to learn the dark side of consultancy and navigate my way though it.

At the same time, I also reflected on my mother’s past behaviour to try to understand how she operated. As well as ensuring that I survived before I initiated my exit plan strategy.

If you’re still young or plan to switch a career, would you jump into consultancy?