Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm not sure what internal vs external means but it's a senior consultant position and the client is a government agency (not DOD...think stethoscopes, not security

), if that makes any difference. In any case, I appreciate the input. The job duties are much more interesting to me than what I'm doing now but in the event that they make me an offer (and maybe they won't and all of this will be moot) I'll have some questions.
14:39 paints a very accurate picture. I am also a current employee and have been fortunate to have a very family-friendly team. I do an eight hour day at client site and leave by 4:30 to pick up my kid. Anything else that needs to get done waits until after she goes to bed. Maybe once or twice a week I put in those extra hours at home. The occasional marketing effort takes up nights and weekends but on the whole my schedule works well.
I am not in "stethoscopes" but many of my friends are - I would suggest talking to someone in that market if possible because many of them have had very different experiences from me. Also, as a senior consultant you will not have nearly as many demands for marketing efforts, unless you are looking to get promoted quickly, so work/life balance will be better. Just out of curiosity, how much experience do you have relevant to the job you're applying for? Since you're on DCUM I'm assuming you're a more seasoned worker and might want to push for a higher title...assuming you are interested in more responsibility.
Last, I totally agree its an unstable time for all government consulting. I would think long and hard about the decision before going into the industry - and that goes for all government consulting companies, not just Booz Allen.