How many hours do you typically work per week?
There is no typical week at McKinsey. On average a consultant works 60-65 hours per week, but this varies from project to project. Teams normally discuss working patterns at the start of an engagement to take into account individual needs and manage “crunches”. Occasionally some weekend work may be needed but you can usually manage your time to avoid this. The reason why we work so many hours is that we need to gain a deep understanding of the clients’ businesses and industries before we start solving their problems. We also work with very tight deadlines, which can change with short notice.
On average a consultant works 60-65 hours per week, but it varies from project to project. The reason why we work so many hours is that we need to gain a deep understanding of the clients’ businesses and industries before we start solving their problems. We also work with very tight deadlines, which can change with short notice.
What hours do you work? Do you spend a lot of time at your desk or do you travel? 60+/- [Sixty hours plus or minus]. From 6 a.m. to 4:30-5:30, and often 3-4 hours on a Saturday. Fairly frequently, there are night and weekend responsibilities and appearances in connection with the job. There’s a lot of inside work, some outside work, some travel, mostly in Pennsylvania, outside P-A once/twice a year for speaking engagements (on New Media, primarily, although that’s flat right now) and conferences. Do you have kids? If so, what do they think of your work? Joe thinks my work takes too much time. He likes to stop by the office from time to time. He likes to read the sports pages. My older boy, John, is a senior at Ithaca College, majoring in computer science (and interning at the DOE in D.C. this summer). He is proud of paper, of the New Media pioneering, in particular, and likes to discuss the internal workings. What do you do when you are not working? Spend time with my wife MJ and boy J
