Offers from MBB but hesitant about the working hours

Your quality of life should be your primary consideration. While prestige and salary at MBB firms are certainly attractive, they aren't worth sacrificing your well-being and sleep over the long term.

Additionally, consider the evolving job security landscape. The consulting industry is undergoing significant transformation due to AI advancements. Many associate and engagement manager positions at MBB firms may face reduction as AI continues to enhance efficiency and problem-solving capabilities.

I recommend weighing these factors carefully before making your decision.

Congrats on the offers—this is a great situation to be in!

Your concern about working hours and lifestyle is understandable, especially given your current comfortable setup. On one hand, you have offers from MBB, OW, and Monitor, each known for strong learning curves and professional growth. On the other hand, your current role offers flexibility, excellent work-life balance, and evenings free—though you feel your responsibilities aren’t fully challenging you.

The choice ultimately comes down to prioritizing what matters most to you at this stage of your life: accelerated professional growth, prestige, and a steep learning curve, or maintaining the flexibility and lifestyle you’ve grown used to.

Monitor openly suggests that their work-life balance is relatively better compared to MBB and OW, although all three will likely demand more hours and higher intensity compared to your current role.

Many professionals have faced this exact dilemma. Those who moved into strategy consulting often felt challenged yet highly rewarded by the professional growth and exit opportunities, despite the intense workload. Others consciously chose to preserve a lifestyle-focused path, even if that meant slightly slower progression.

Reflect carefully on your personal priorities, perhaps setting a defined timeframe to test your limits. Also, talk with recent hires or managers at target firms to get accurate perspectives on workload, these often vary between not only firms, but also offices and practices. 

You’re facing a positive dilemma. Let me know if you need to discuss this further

Hi!

I worked at McKinsey and Monitor Deloitte, so I have some experience with the working hours at both.

I think the key question you need to ask yourself is: what do you really want?

• Why do you want to join the more prestigious company?
• Is it because you want to tick off McKinsey and then move on to another dream job?
• Or do you want to work at a prestigious company so you can say you work there?

You need to be honest with yourself: what do you want?

Here’s the reality:

McKinsey’s hours are intense.
You’ll have morning check-ins and evening check-ins. Sure, it's project-dependent , you’ll have some downtime on your beach days, and some projects will be more relaxed - but you can’t always count on that. (and you'll likely join as an EM or associate with a fast-track to EM given your consulting expereince so you'll be managing the whole project).

Work out the salary increase. Is it worth it?

Maybe it’s worth it for a couple of years (I was happy with two years there).

Monitor's hours are not as intense (in my experience).
I found the working hours more manageable and predictable. But, after being at both companies, I will say the McKinsey brand carried more prestige.

Bottom line:

• What do you really want?
• If you want more money and prestige, but at the cost of work-life balance, then go for McKinsey.
• Just be honest with yourself: how long can you sustain it?

McKinsey was a wonderful place - I learned a lot and I’d always recommend it. The training was more intense, but to be honest, I learned more there than I did at Monitor (again, just my experience!!!!).

Happy to chat more :)

Hi there

First of all, congratulations on the offers!

You are right, MBB has a bad work life balance, although being very good brands to have in your CV.

If I were you, I would reflect on (1) my career goals in the mid/long term, (2) my current life situation (do I have people that will be impacted by this choice such as children, marriage, parents?), and (3) my expectations with the new role - probably all of them will offer a good learning curve, for instance. You can make a table with all of the things you value and rank the companies accordingly. See what your gut tells you after seeing the numbers.

Good luck with your choice!

Best

Mari

Wow, congrats! 

That's a nice problem to have. 

Well, if you have the feeling that you're doing work below 'your level' you might actually be right, but that's not a problem in and of itself. You could consider accepting it for what it is because it's enabling you to have all the other perks, such as an actual life outside of work. 

One thing that you can consider - at least this is what I'd do - is give MBB a shot. Try it out for 1-2 years. If you like it, great. If you realise that you have it overall better before, you could come back. MBB will also improve your value prop so finding what you have now or similar shouldn't be a problem. 

Best,
Cristian

Hey there! 

First of all congrats on your offers and having this good "problem". :) 

I worked at Accenture and BCG (for ~5 and ~6 years respectively). The hours at BCG were higher but I found the biggest difference the intensity. I think you are thinking about it the right way, i.e. the main trade-off between WLB and learning curve / prestige / pay. 

One caveat (which doesn't make the decision any easier since its unknowable upfront): Hours at MBB etc. will vary substantially across projects and depending on your project mix, your overall WLB for your MBB career can be fairly different compared to others. With increased tenure and strong performance you will be able to (increasingly) influence what work you do (and hence your WLB; think long-term term transformation project with local client vs. diligence for PE firm in a different country).  

Other things to think about: 

1. This a two-way door: If you decide to try MBB and don't find it sustainable you can go back / move to a different role 

2. MBB on your resume will open many doors for the rest of your career 

3. Having said that, take the job you want to actually do vs. the job you want to talk about (i.e. which job would you take, if you could never tell anyone about it?) 

Don't hesitate to reach out directly. 

Good luck and remember: you are choosing among great options! 

-Andreas

You will work more hours, hours will be more intense, and you will be asked to prioritize client work over personal issues. 

That doesn't mean you will not have free time in the evenings, you will, but sometimes you will have to cancel to make sure work gets done.

The real question is: what is your time frame? Do you you want to do this for 2 years? 5 years? Do you plan to stay forever or more on to another type of role afterwards. Can you cope with a period that will be more intense (and also more fun and fulfilling professionally) or not?

Hi there,

I had the same concern before I started so I talked to quite a few folks at McKinsey who provided me with an honest insight into what's expected and normal.

I decided to try it out and what I found was quite okay for the short/medium-term and benefits outweighed the downsides for a while. Hours were long and pressure was high but I found some personal ways to deal with it and still enjoy most of my time there (through finding joy in the work and clients that interested me, working with teams I liked, saying "no" quite a lot, taking long breaks once a year - like 6 weeks in a row, etc). 

I have also created a video for PrepLounge on how to manage your work-life balance based on an excerpt from my book. There are some helpful strategies on how to reduce the hours without impacting your ratings: https://youtu.be/4VK8wL_xsmQ?si=giSBhp2EaP8XiS3B

I would try it - you can always leave after a bit and the experience will have made you richer.

Cheers,

Florian

Hey there,

Totally valid concerns — many face the same dilemma. MBB will likely accelerate growth but yes, lifestyle trade-offs are real. Some find it worth it short-term for the doors it opens later.

If you're unsure, Monitor might be a great middle ground — still strong brand, better WLB.

Feel free to reach out if you’d like to talk through your options or explore this in a coaching session!

Best regards,
Alessa