How was your personal life during your consulting journey?

Hi,

It's definitely true a job as MBB consultant is more demanding in terms of working ours compared to a normal job. At my office, Thursday and Friday are early evenings (with 80% of the time a hard stop at 20h); weekends are off. So yes, there is still time for hobbies and friends.

Mattijs

Hi there, 

as previous replies have mentioned, yes, MBB is on the tougher side of working hours. In Germany, it was like this: 

Monday - Wednesday: Long days, no time for anything else; also factor in the travel which got less but is still every other week I would say
Thursday: Usually protected evening (case dependent), off by 20:00
Friday: Shorter day, off by 18:00

What makes it hard to keep a hobby, especially something with a clear schedule and committments to other people, is the unpredictability and frankly that on a more Junior level, you cannot really "protect" things. The traveling makes commitments throughout the week (Mo - We) very challenging. 

Other systems are better though: I worked in NYC for BCG and working hours are more relaxed, people travel less and you can slot in things in your evenings. Benelux region is similar to that. 

Best, 
Sebastian

If occasional indulge in a hobby, go out for drinks and have a life means Friday night to Sunday night, then from a time perspective its generally fine. 

If what you need requires more time, and mental space, beyond that, then its really difficult. 

I worked in Asia - hours are bad, generally ~12-14 hour averages a day and frequent travel. And so you might get the weekend off, but the impact of that on your energy and mood and capacity might be affected. 

Life is about trade offs, you will lose many things by going to MBB but it will give you benefits in the corporate world that are hard to find elsewhere.

That being said, I have encouraged friends and even coachees not to go to consulting. It's just one of the many jobs that exist in the world, and there are many paths to living a fulfilling life. 

hi there, 

It depends on what is your definition of "occasional indulgence", how much time would you want to protect for the other things in life. 

You can definitely still make friends especially with your colleagues in the same case team, same consulting firm. Such friendship can go a long way actually even after consulting. 

For friendship and relationship beyond consulting colleagues or other things in life you'd like to do, you'd need to be diligent and disciplined to carve out time to maintain the relationship, especially given your time would be precious. Mon to Thu would be hard, but weekend usually quite okay. 

Best,

Emily

Hi there,

I’ve found that you can make consulting work for a while with a few compromises.

One of the biggest advantages is the clear boundary between work (Monday to Thursday at the client site) and personal time (Friday afternoon to Sunday). This predictability allows you to plan ahead - whether it’s scheduling quality time with family, your spouse, dates, or friends. Travel can also be a plus, giving you opportunities to meet new people or reconnect with old friends in different locations.

McKinsey offers Take Time, allowing consultants to take up to three months of additional (unpaid) leave per year. It’s a fantastic program, and every young consultant I knew took advantage of it. Few other jobs - or even self-employment - offer the flexibility to completely disconnect for, say, a six-week backpacking trip without checking your work phone once. Other firms have similar programs as well.

One challenge I found was maintaining hobbies that require consistent practice, like learning an instrument. Picking up a guitar only once or twice a week slows progress compared to playing daily, for example.

In a nutshell, consulting demands a lot, but it also offers incredible experiences. Some of my fondest and most treasured memories come from opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise - whether it was meeting great people, forming lifelong friendships, or finding myself in unexpected situations and places.

At the end, it pretty much comes down to what you make of it. You can have a great experience or a miserable one, depending on your effort and preferences.

For most, there comes a time when the drawbacks begin to outweigh the benefits, often due to shifting life priorities, like starting a family.

Cheers,
Florian

Client comes first. 

In general, weekends are yours. 

It will be difficult to have a significant personal life or maintain any hobbies during the week, although that depends on specific firm and office.

You will make a lot of (great) friends in consulting, and a part of your social life will overlap with the consulting firm.

Of course, if your point is to occasionally indulge in a hobby, drinks, etc., the "occasional" is definitely possible.

Hey there 🙂, consulting at MBB is an amazing experience in terms of learning, exposure, and career growth, but I won’t sugarcoat it—personal life takes a hit.

Even during Covid, when I was working remotely, it was still tough—without travel, it actually felt like there was even more time to work since there were no flights or commutes as natural "breaks." Weekdays were definitely intense, and taking time off midweek was difficult unless it was something urgent.

That said, your personal life will depend a lot on what your friends are doing—if they’re also in consulting or similar demanding jobs (finance, law, startups), they’ll have a similar lifestyle, which makes it easier to sync up. Maintaining friendships outside of work requires more effort, but weekends (if not fully occupied) and vacations help balance things out.

If you want some level of personal life—time for hobbies, socializing, and unwinding—it’s doable, but requires discipline and prioritization. Ultimately, whether it’s "worth it" depends on your goals and what you want to get out of it. If consulting is a stepping stone for you, the intensity is temporary—but if you’re looking for long-term balance, you’ll need to be mindful about managing your time.

Hope that helps! Best, Alessa 😇

Hi there!

When I worked for McKinsey 90% of my projects were intense (DD, turnarounds, crisis management), however I managed to workout 2x a week, surfed almost every weekend and would have dinner/drinks almost every Saturday. I managed to do that by sacrificing sleep time, since I felt better after exercising than after 1h more of sleep, but that took a toll on my health.

Regarding friends, I made great friends within consulting projects, and some of them are still close ones. I also would met my “regular” friends from time to time, but definitely not as often as before.

Summing up, IMHO it is not a sustainable lifestyle but one can make it manageable for a period of time. It pays off afterwards in terms of good opportunities in companies with a better work life balance. 

Best,

Mari