How Much Do Consultants Really Work? A Comprehensive Guide

The idea that consultants don't work much is a misconception. This is likely due to the fact that many consultants are working on PowerPoint decks to present their strategies to clients. Consulting jobs are known to be among the highest paid in the world, and with the right strategies, you can get a highly-paid consulting job for yourself. Research conducted by Consultancy, United Kingdom, shows that consultants usually work between 50 and 80 hours a week to meet the demands of their role.

Boutique firms fare a little better, as only 67 percent of them work beyond their contractual consulting hours. In the typical representation of consulting or the “big four” firms, consultants work on a project for three to six months or so. Senior Consultants manage a team of junior or associate consultants to ensure the effective and efficient achievement of the organization's goals and objectives. The impact of long consulting hours on the mental and physical health of employees is detrimental to both individuals and companies.

Tax advisors are hired to minimize tax liabilities without creating a situation in which the company could come into conflict with the IRS or other similar tax oversight organization. Since there is no portfolio or social proof, you can start with a small initial fee for hiring consulting and you can charge an ongoing monthly consulting fee. If you have a degree in finance, marketing, or operations and more than five years of experience providing certain services, you could land a well-positioned job at any Fortune 500 company or even generate tons of business on your own. Medical consultants or healthcare consultants assist clients on a wide range of business issues, such as finance, staffing, budgeting, insurance compliance, patient confidentiality, etc.

Strategy consultants assess business processes and situations to recommend high-level strategic decisions. Accounting consultants also make financial forecasts and determine the profitability of their business. Financial risk management consultants deal with market risk, credit risk, operational risk, inflation risk, and other similar factors that can affect the economic value of a company. In the era of cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS), security consultants play an integral role in protecting the interests of business organizations.

Despite the benefits of long consulting days for consulting firms when it comes to providing services to demanding clients, there may be no incentive to get to the root of these problems. In consulting firms, multiple organizational backgrounds predispose staff to work longer consulting hours, leading to increasing conflicts between work and personal life and increasing the risk of exhaustion. This post lists several types of consultants that are in demand or are among the highest-paid types of consultants.