I left big tech for Bain's technology practice. Eighteen months later I left Bain. This is my honest take on culture and WLB, which I wish I'd had before I made both moves.
The travel is real. For client-facing roles, 'Monday through Thursday on site' was the norm early in my time there. It ebbed somewhat as I got more established, but the expectation exists and it's not soft. If you have young kids, a partner with a fixed schedule, or just value being home during the week, get specific numbers from your hiring manager before accepting. Ask how many weeks per quarter were actually travel weeks last year. Get it in writing if you can.
The hours vary by engagement. Some project phases are genuinely manageable (50-55 hour weeks). Some are not (70+ during a client crunch). The problem is you can't know which phase you'll be in when you start. My first engagement was rough. My second was fine. It's not consistent.
The people are good. This sounds like a Glassdoor cliche but I mean it specifically. The colleagues I worked with were sharp, generally low-drama, and actually interesting. The firm culture is less cutthroat than McKinsey's reputation and less bro-y than some of the tech firms I'd been at.
Prestige is real in certain contexts, less real in others. My Bain time unlocked a lot of doors in corporate strategy and VC that would have been harder to open otherwise. But for engineering roles at tech companies, it was basically neutral. Depends on what you're optimizing for.
Why I left. Burnout. Travel plus always-on culture plus imposter syndrome in a new domain hit me harder than I expected. It's a lot of role-switching and pressure to appear confident across engagements where you're coming up to speed constantly. I underestimated that.
Would I recommend it? For 1-2 years with a clear goal, yes. As an indefinite career, only if travel and variety genuinely energize you. Know which one you are before you sign.