Are MBB consulting roles suitable for people who get bored easily?

Question

I tend to give my all to the roles I take up towards the start and once it becomes routine, I get bored from those tasks easily, even in situations when I enjoyed those roles initially. The boredom usually lasts to the point of frustration and mental upset however since I discussed it with my managers and they modified my roles and responsibilities, it wasn't as bad.

This happened in an internship I took up previously and the job I am currently doing. Will the multi project nature of the consulting firms be suitable in this case?

Answer 1

Hi!

From what you describe, you would not enjoy the typical tasks of a junior in consulting too much. The more junior you are, the higher the share of "transactional" and repetitive work. This is however needed to develop the required methodical toolkit to later give guidance to younger colleagues and be an effective leader. So if you struggle to keep the discipline to force yourself through roles and tasks that you don't enjoy, consulting might not be an ideal career path for you. If, however, you are a resilient nature and able to get through things that you don't enjoy, then a very rich and rewarding array of opportunities may arise after 1.5-2 years. But no guarantees of course.

Cheers, Sidi

Answer 2

Hi,

It really depends on how far your boredom goes. I think you should take into account several factors:

Consulting is not about a variety of projects and industries. If you want to grow fast, most probably you'll have to specialize and keep with the same clients from early on
There are many tasks boring tasks in consulting. Ironically the most boring projects have the best work-life balance. Do you prefer boring tasks or staying all-nighters?

However:

Consulting is on average much more exciting than most of the industry job
In consulting you have 3 completely different roles: consultant, manager, partner - and they have huge variability

Best