Hey everyone! It's been a while since I wrote on FT... Been running around to survive college and do interviews (for summer internship)

All of the sudden however.... I've been bombarded with horror stories about life as a consultant, and now I'm starting to ask whether I should've really put more effort in looking for opportunities in other areas. (Haha, I dont even have the offers yet, so I am obviously being a freak) If I do become a summer intern and say end up taking a full-time post-grad offer (if I do well first, that is) on my way out, I think the job is most likely going to require me to travel a lot... My colleagues of 1-2 years above me who are already out doing this are all saying that they've had to fly all the time and sacrifice a lot on their personal life in terms of family and friends (since they are never home..)and other social activities to make this happen.

I am leaning towards: "It's worth the pain" seeing how the exposure I'll be getting during the time I'll be working as a consultant will be invaluable. But then again, I wonder if this is a bloated piece of expectation that's just not true... I thought maybe I would drop a line or two here on FT, betting there MUST be some consultants on the forum.

This is.. yeah, a genuine request for career advise. My alternatives include Software Dev Management (Product development manager-esque), worldwide logistics in IT, business analysis in a banking firm in the technology division.. (think in-house sw dev, rollout, support, etc)

Any thoughts? I would appreciate any input here.. from you veterans! ^

If you're going to do it, do it while your young. I did a lot of traveling (IT related) in my early to mid 20s. I'm much older now and still do a fair amount of traveling, but its not nearly as fun when you have a family and other commitments. Being gone for weeks on end when you are young, never seemed to phase me; now I find travel to be necessary, and not nearly as exciting.

I spent ~40+ weeks on the road and moved all my stuff into my parents/storage and lived for a couple of years with little to no expenses. It gave me the opportunity for a bunch of new experiences and save a up a bunch of cash.

As for being on the road all the time; I loved it for the first two years, after that it did start to get old and you get burned out. There is definately a lot that can be learned (hard and soft skills) for being in the field and under fire most of the time. I think working as a consulting gives you the opportunity to get a lot of experience in a lot of different areas and environments. It also gives you the opportunity to build contacts and relationships all over the country and the world. You can always move to a desk job later on ;-).

Everybody needs to make their own decisions, but a couple years as a road warrior when you are young is the probably best (and easiest) time to do it.

If you are young, you should really take a job, where you have to travel. This is a good opportunity to see the world, to make friends worldwide, ...

Don't know what kind of consulting you are involved in, but most IT consultants I know go to the same third-rate town for months, if not years on end. Then they move on to the next. Sure, you may see your fair share of domestic towns & cities, but don't expect to see "the world" unless you have some sort of qualification that no one else has.

If you're concerned about "too much travel," what are you doing on FT anyway?

My son worked for a small local IT consulting company for a couple years right out of college. While there wasn't travel involved, he got to work for many of the different companies in the area. Often got offered a full time job at the company to which he was assigned. Finally got assigned to one company that had an amazing corporate culture and value system. He really appreciated their honesty and ethics and yet casualness. Fortunately he was also offered a full time job there and this time he accepted. It has turned out well for him.

Think of consulting as sort of a smorgasbord of jobs. You will learn a lot about a lot of different companies, as well as a lot about technology, people, geography, etc.. In a couple years you will be able to make a much more informed and confident career choice for the longer run. And you will be a more attractive candidate with the work experience you've gotten.

On the other hand you might have gotten a belly full of traveling for a while, so I might be talking a FT member right out of membership?

Romelle

I am also working as an IT consultants, but I have projects around the world and expand my stays over weekends on the destinations, so that I can combine working and private interests together.

Haha, true; but I've been on FT because I obviously wanted to fly so much more than I do now, but now that an opportunity might arise I have been considering it in a more serous light...


Yeah, that's what I've been told as well.. that the amount of exposure to so many different things right out of school itself would be worth the sacrifice the first 3-5 years of sacrifice.

At this point, this is all just hopes; but I'll find out in 1-2 weeks... (they take forever!)

I did strategy / management consulting up until a few years ago and am now a software product manager. The colleagues I envied most in consulting were the entry-level consultants. If you go into consulting straight out of college, you're young enough to enjoy the travel and the skill set you build will serve you very well in whatever role you transition to next.

I'm in my 40s and didn't start out as a road warrior/IT consultant (local/desk IT jobs early career) but used my experience and got into consulting later and have spent the past 10 years doing the road warrior thing instead. I'm fortunate that my family situation allows it (wife and I are child-free, and we live in my wife's hometown now so there's always plenty of family around, and thus I'm not "leaving her all alone" all week), so it's been a good thing and frankly quite lucrative for us (plus, all my meals and day-to-day expenses are paid for on the road...that's a big chunk of family budget compared to if I were at home instead).

Having said all that, I would echo and amplify the comments others have made on this thread that early on is definitely the "better time" to do the road warrior thing if you are inclined to do it, for all the reasons the others have posted here.

I would also add the following advice: When you're in the various cities and towns where you might be working, don't limit your experiences to just the "typical business traveler venues" such as the local shopping strips and restaurant clusters and think you've "experienced the area". Take the time (it's easy via the 'Net, or ask around the offices) to learn about what the locals know: LOCAL neighborhood restaurants, park and trail systems, etc. Despite the long (and often thankless!) hours you'll be forced to work by your getting-their-monthly-incentives-based-on-how-many-hours-their-junior-consultants-bill consulting firm project managers, especially during the summer months there WILL be some available daylight each evening for you to do this. Getting good tastes of the "local color" is the BEST way to take fullest advantage of your travel experience.

Please trust me on this. How many other consultants have you talked to who proudly make statements such as "Boy, I can't wait to get another gig in Greensboro/Winston-Salem!"? Well, *I* do, because I went out and looked past the obvious. (And that area is just an example...I have many more.) Every area has something to offer...why else would the locals choose to live there? LEARN WHY. (It also has office/political advantages in your client offices as well: You can knowledgeably chat about the great local restaurant you sampled, the interesting neighborhood you drove through, etc...big difference from all those other consultants who invest no time in the local area - it matters.)

I'll second what everybody else has said. Do it while you're young.

Make sure that the travel is organized by YOURSELF and not by a corporate travel agent that sucks. THIS is what has made it possible for me to do it for nearly 10 years without losing my mind. Also check into the company's "alternate travel destination" policies. Some companies allow it, some don't.

Some companies allow it provided that the plane ticket is about the same price. E.g., if it costs 400$ to go ORD to ATL r/t, and you want to go to LAX for the wk-end, as long as it's about 400$, you can go. Some companies don't allow that at all.

And if possible... try to find a 4-day-a-week gig. Being gone Sunday-Friday is brutal on your social activities.

JP

Thanks everyone for replying. Very helpful! I have just received an intern offer from the firm that was at the top of my list... unbelievable. Will be based out of an office in NJ for the summer. Yay!

Not sure that i'd rejoice at being based out NJ... but if that means you're doing what you want to be doing... than more power to you!

JP

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Well, yeah, NJ isn't the ideal location, but it looks like, if I do get a full-time offer after the summer, it'll be real easy for me to pick an office apparently. So whatever, if it sucks there this summer (location-wise) i'll just have to suck it up!