What's it like working as a Cyber Security Consultant?

Hi 👋

I work mainly at Wavestone's London office, but I also cross-collaborate with the Paris office too (I deal with French clients).

My work specialises in operational resilience—helping large multinational clients maintain their important business services in the event of a technical crisis.

(e.g. trying to avoid a big bank's IT systems from crashing!)

⏳ Hours

Typical hours: 9am - 6pm

When I'm super busy, it goes to 8am - 10:30 or 11pm.

Bear in mind I work with the French team, so I have to accommodate French hours.

Also, any internal initiatives that I find interesting (I recently helped set up a charitable pro bono initiative in my office!) have to be worked outside normal hours.

🗓️ Typical day-to-day tasks

• 20% project management tasks: Organising and coordinating meetings, documenting weekly updates, and tracking overall team progress for clients and team members.

• 40% research & analysis: Gathering requirements, dealing with input from stakeholders, and deducing key insights. There are lots of rounds of feedback for iteration here!

• 40% slide formatting: My team really cares about attention to detail in each presentation!

🪜 Expected career progression

12 months after joining as an Analyst, you are given the opportunity to become a Consultant. Then, depending on your performance, you can become a Senior Consultant.

Note: The fast track from Analyst to Senior Consultant can take three years.

The key to progressing in the role quickly is following the defined progression framework of the firm, which includes:

• Consulting skills (presentation and communication)

• Technical skills (context-specific business knowledge)

• Interpersonal & team-building skills

• Cultural contribution (whether you participate in initiatives outside of your regular business tasks)