Booz Allen Hamilton: An insider guide - Gymkhana

What’s HotShort and Sometimes SweetThough the economy is still unreliable, business is picking up in the consultingindustry, especially from the lows of 2001 and early 2002. But clients are lookingto get more bang for their consulting buck, and at least on the commercial side,insiders report that engagements are generally shorter than they used to be. Ofcourse, the multimonth mega-projects still exist, but well-defined 6- to 8-weekengagements seem to be becoming increasingly common. One insider tells us thatshorter projects can mean longer hours, but they also means there’s a good chancethat you’ll see plenty of variety. “In the 2 years I’ve been here,” says one associate,“I’ve worked on several strategy and operations projects in a number of industries,including energy, health care, and financial services.” Another insider says,“The assignments in the market are now a little shorter than before. They used tobe 6 months to 1 year; now we work 2- to 3-month assignments. So, we have tobe faster and more flexible in staffing people.” And a government-side insiderwarned that recent “rapid growth is causing a significant amount of work.”The FirmWorking for the GovernmentWTB insiders report that they are afforded what is a comparative luxury in theworld of consulting—a personal life outside of work. If you’re not sure youcan hack the demanding lifestyle of a commercial consultant, you could find abetter work/life balance on the government side of the firm. WTB tends towork on longer, multiyear contracts, and many government-sector consultantsare based in the federal government’s backyard, in McLean, Virginia, which25