hi current and former MBB consultants, what are your extreme average working hours per day? Do you have time to sleep.
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Well, the extreme working hours will be extreme, but typically they are only present in 10% of projects.
An extreme, in book, was a project where I took a woke up at 3am for a 6am flight, then arrive at the client around noon and stayed at the client until 6am the following day, to then go to the hotel, nap, and go back for a board meeting at 9am. So, that's proper bad.
Average is 9am to 9pm.
Good lifestyle is when you leave the building at the same time as the client. That happens also in 10% of cases.
I actually wrote a guide on this that you might find useful:
Best,
Cristian
Great question — but the honest answer is: it really depends.
Across MBB and Tier 2 firms, hours can vary wildly by geography, practice area, and project. For example, a public sector case in Europe might be 9–7, while a PE due diligence or a turnaround in the major US/EMEA offices can easily push into midnight territory.
That said, the real gap is less about firm brand (MBB vs. T2) and more about the type of work. Strategy-heavy, high-pressure cases tend to burn harder, regardless of whether you're at MBB, OW, or even Big 4. On the flip side, implementation-focused roles (often at Big 4) can be steadier — but not always.
So yes, you’ll sleep — but in peak weeks, expect 12–14 hour days. The key difference is how sustainable the rhythm is over time and how much control you eventually gain over your staffing. Early on, you're expected to flex.
