Industries & Capabilities

It is very difficult to generalize industries & functions that fall under the category “less workload-heavy”. I would answer the question from a different standpoint excluding those industries & functions that are (often) workload-heavy: e.g., insurance, banking, restructuring, DDs (as a form of project), and (some) automotive projects. 

Regarding the team & the travel logistics: they are definitively company-dependent. From my experience, consulting companies reduced traveling since COVID-19 and offered new work models - also clients are much more flexible and have increased working from home. Also there you cannot conclude with one right answer. 

My advice: before getting involved in a study: ask the team about the YOUR LEARNING on the project, the workload, the travel logistics, etc. since all those aspects depend on the project team (leader) and the client. 

Hi there,

based on your description above, it is important to you that your traveling requirements are “simple” (e.g. no travel) and that you have a moderate workload. Depending on how important these two aspects are for you, consulting might not be the right choice for you here. You can still learn about business and finance in other career paths at companies that also have “solid teams”. Some food for thought here.

If you do end up pursuing consulting though, keep in mind that due diligence projects are typically NOT long-running (3-4 weeks on average) and are often very workload-heavy (depending on how experienced the project manager is in standardizing the analyses and documentation etc.).

Lastly, I agree with the sentiment that you can't really look at industry sectors alone to determine where there is more to learn or which ones are “more chill” than others. This is really project dependent. With maybe the caviat of the banking sector which is always stressful.

I think you have to think about your whole endeavor on a more fundamental level rather than seeking guidance based on the questions you posted here.

Best

Good afternoon! 

Because you're asking the wrong question….

It's not like one industry has more learning….

Please stop over complicating this.

Find good projects with good bosses and good clients. Work on things that seem interesting. Get lots of exposure.

It's not like Airlines is inherently better than Automotive is inherently better than Mining…

Hi there,

This is something you should find out via your network on the job.

There are significant differences between offices of the same firm related to work-life balance. There are also differences across clients within the same industry.

As a general rule, look for client industries with relatively normal work hours. If you work with investment banking clients who work 100+ hours themselves your lifestyle will be tougher than with public sector employees who work 35 hours a week, mainly due to 2 reasons:

1. Expectations are different.

2. You can get most of the work done without distraction only once the clients leave the office.

Ian is right though, do not overcomplicate this! Regardless what you are going to do - you will learn a lot.

Cheers,

Florian

Two industries I can think of are Sustainability and Heavy Industries. 

What you need to do, practically, is get an overview from the staffer once you're in the firm on what are the main practices/industries (ways in which the content delivery areas in the firms are structured). 

Then, take some time to reflect on which ones are most relevant for you. 

If you're unclear, then talk with people from your office who work in that space. 

That's about it.

Best,
Cristian

With DD you don't get consistent industry experience. You get consistent funcional experience of doing DDs.

Regarding your “dream project”, honestly, it is not a function of industry. It is a matter of partner and client. And this is information that you can only get through networking within your own office.