By: Kristine Schoonmaker

Next week I’m speaking at Georgia Tech’s Consulting Day to help educate students on the career opportunities in management consulting.  Of course one of their most burning questions is what is a day in the life really like?  As I was putting together my own account, I thought I’d look a fresh look at what the firms were providing.  There are many places that offer a perspective and, as you would expect, they run the gamut in terms of detail and realism.  Nonetheless, here are 12 that certainly offer the most detailed depictions, from both consulting firms and independent websites.

But the bigger question still remains.  Which is the most realistic?  You decide.

Firm Blogs & Websites

• Accenture Career Blogs features video and blogs from Interns, Consultants, and Recruiters to give you insight into the day-to-day and the recruiting process.
• Life at Bain has a few features that are pretty interesting. You can go through a week in the life of employees at various levels (Associate Consultant through Partner), see the breakdown of industries and project experience they’ve had, and read their blog if they have one. In the employee overview, they also have a “Personal Results Story” which are great examples of a high-level “story” for performance review time.
• MyLife@KPMG has video diaries and journals from both interns and associates.
• McKinsey takes a look at the day-to-day which is a launching point for overview information such as client case studies and the team culture.  From there, you can see the breakdown of what a week in the life is like for a Business Analyst, Associate Principal, Engagement Manager and Partner.
• PwC has a pretty robust section of videos.  While they may not provide an hour by hour view, they do give a glimpse into what a client engagement is like…oh yeah, except for the fact that Levi’s is probably one of the only clients where consultants actually wear jeans to the office…
• ZS Associates lets you meet the ZS team by reading a bio and a week in the life account of the associates and consultants profiled.

Independent Blogs & Websites

• Businessweek’s MBA Insider: A Day in the Life describes a typical day of an associate from Booz Allen.
• ConspicuousCynic is a slightly more sarcastic version we’ll say.  While the video doesn’t exactly depict the details of a day by hour, it offers a peak at a conversation between a consultant and their boss.
• ConsultingCase 101 offers a number of accounts from consultants in a variety of firms that all breakdown the day in hourly detail.
• ManagementConsulted offers a nice summary of takeaways for recruits, some background info and a detailed hour by hour breakdown.
• Newlyweds Next Door takes you through her day from the moment her alarm clock goes off until lights out.
• Vault.com offers a series of posts, A Day in This Life, over the span of a year from a supply chain consultant