OFFICE SELECTION
You pick an office partly because you like the city.
Then your first project could put you somewhere else.
That is the contradiction hidden inside consulting travel.
Your office is your home base, not necessarily your daily location.
But the opposite assumption can also be wrong. Joining consulting does not automatically mean spending every week on a plane.
The useful question is not, “Do consultants travel?”
It is, “What could travel look like for the kind of work and office I am considering?”
The airport stereotype is memorable... which is why it can mislead you
The classic consulting image is familiar.
Monday flight.
Client site.
Hotel.
Thursday flight home.
Repeat.
That pattern has existed in consulting, but it should not become your default assumption about every office, project, or firm.
Some engagements may involve substantial travel.
Others may involve local clients, hybrid work, or teams working from their home office.
Project reality beats the stereotype.
If travel is important to your decision, ask people who are actually doing the job.
Not, “Do you travel a lot?”
Ask:
“What did your last three projects look like?”
That forces the answer toward experience rather than generalization.
For a deeper look at what traveling as a consultant can involve, read Traveling as a Consultant: What It’s Really Like.
The same amount of travel can feel completely different to two analysts
Suppose two analysts each travel three nights in a week.
One loves the change of scenery, client interaction, and being with the team.
The other hates packing, misses campus friends who now live nearby, and feels like the apartment they rented is barely used.
Same schedule.
Different experience.
That matters for an undergraduate because your first full-time job may already involve several transitions at once.
New city.
New apartment.
New coworkers.
New workload.
New independence.
Travel sits on top of all of them.
| Travel feature | Sounds like | The question underneath |
|---|---|---|
| Frequent flights | Excitement | Will repeated transit energize or drain you? |
| Hotel stays | Perks | How do you feel about being away from home? |
| Client site work | Exposure | Do you enjoy working in changing environments? |
| Less predictable weeks | Variety | How much routine do you want? |
| Team travel | Bonding | How important is personal time at home? |
Travel is a lifestyle variable.
Your office still matters... just differently than you expected
If project travel varies, does office selection stop mattering?
No.
Your office is where your internal network may form. It is the city you return to. It determines your commute when you are local and the home life waiting after travel.
That can create a strange decision.
You may care less about living ten minutes from the office if you expect periods away.
Or you may care more about being close to friends and family because those local days become valuable.
The travel question and office question are connected.
They are not the same.
For the broader day-to-day implications, read Management Consulting Travel Lifestyle.
Then ask the question that actually helps you choose
Do not ask a consultant whether travel is “good” or “bad.”
Ask what changed after they had done it for six months.
The novelty may have faded.
The benefits may have become clearer.
The downsides may be different from what they expected.
Experienced travel sounds different from imagined travel.
Talk to analysts in the specific offices you are considering.
Ask about recent projects, not ancient stories.
Then picture the ordinary Tuesday, not the airport lounge photo.
Where do you wake up?
Where do you work?
Where do you eat?
Where do you sleep?
That is the version of consulting travel you are actually choosing.