10.1. CONSULTING TRADE-OFFS

Management consulting's popularity with millennials is somewhat surprising, but it serves to illustrate the conflicting priorities of this generation. Despite their desire for flexible schedules and a balance between work and play, many young people are willing to travel and put in long hours to land a lucrative and engaging consulting job.

Indeed, consulting seems to satisfy the two most important factors M.B.A. students consider when choosing a job. In an Aspen Institute survey of M.B.A.s at 15 business schools in 2007, respondents were asked to name the three top factors in their job search. "Challenging and diverse responsibilities" ranked first, mentioned by about two-thirds of respondents, followed by "compensation," named by about half of the students. Close behind in third place: "work-life balance" (about 45% of respondents).

Some millennials are drawn to consulting because they want to avoid the dreaded sameness syndrome of many corporate jobs. "I hate being bored, and I know that if I get bored, I will slack off," says Paige Marino, who joined a consulting firm after receiving herM.B.A. degree from the University of California at Davis. "Variety is very important to me. If I had to sit in a cube by myself and do the same thing every day, I would want to die."

The team-oriented nature of consulting also appeals to Marino, who became quite accustomed to group projects in business school. "I am able to work through problems better when I can bounce ideas off others," she explains. "Also, teamwork breeds a certain kind of healthy conflict that makes the outcome better. It is good for people to challenge what I think and for me to challenge them."

Nicholas Riolo, an M.B.A. student at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, readily acknowledges that management consulting hardly allows for "a smooth, laid-back lifestyle." He should know, having worked as a health insurance industry consultant at Accenture before starting business school. Nevertheless, he plans to return to consulting after graduation because he has found that the learning and stimulation more than compensate for the demanding hours.

"If you find yourself in a project that you don't like, you know it will be over in two months," he says. "I'm happy to pay my dues if I'm learning a lot and have an ever changing mix of work assignments, teammates, and bosses. In consulting, I never feel that I'm just rubber-stamping and pushing papers."

Some millennials also like consulting because many firms encourage employees to perform volunteer work. Riolo, for example, volunteered as a consultant and mentor to developing businesses in Los Angeles. He worked with a formerly homeless woman who was selling her jewelry at the beach and trying to move into retail stores. "It was a kind of turning point for me," he says, "because it showed me that business is a great way to help make people's dreams come true."

As for the work-life balance issue, Riolo has been talking with Dartmouth alumni who work in consulting about how they manage to raise a family and pursue other interests, especially given the heavy travel schedule. "I haven't come to terms yet with how I'm going to handle it," he says. "Because of the project-based work, a lot of consulting companies are able to offer sabbaticals, part-time programs, healthy vacation time, or partial work-from-home situations. That being said, I still know that I will have to make certain personal sacrifices to continue along the career path I have chosen."

From their perspective, consulting firms believe they are attracting millennials because they provide a good springboard to other careers. "For millennials, consulting's appeal is deeper than just that it's interesting work," says Kermit King, senior partner and head of recruiting for the Americas at Boston Consulting Group Inc. "They don't know that they'll be consultants for life; they may start a business in two years or aspire to be a CEO. The note we need to sound to keep attracting this generation is that if you come here for five years and then go into industry, you can be sure that the road through BCG will have made you a better leader."