As a general rule it seems fair to assume that consulting shops aren't going to get 60 hour weeks out of their employees. The ones I know of that do that pay OT for that time, or aggressively balance the time out with bona fide vacation days.
Similarly: 80% utilization is a totally sane rule of thumb for a consulting shop.
The thing that makes these points somewhat misleading in an HN context is that most HN people wouldn't start consulting companies where bill rates are so low that these things matter all that much. It's the same problem, writ large, as Cohen's analysis that "just giving clients a 10% discount can crater your profits". If 10% discounts are cratering your profits, find a better market to work in.
As a general rule it seems fair to assume that consulting shops aren't going to get 60 hour weeks out of their employees
Yes and if I wasn't clear I wasn't saying that. The point was some weeks will be 30 hour weeks, but some will also be 50, while you will lose some time you will also make it back. Your industry seems different from mine. Ours don't tend to pay overtime or "aggressivly" balance vacation days (this happens but only maybe 2-3 days a year), but we have larger and faster burn out rates. We do tend to have significant bonus structures however.
You and I aren't saying the same thing. The occasional 30 hour week is the consulting fact of life called "utilization rate". Consulting firms don't get to balance out utilization with overtime. You don't make up the 30 hour weeks with 50 hour weeks.
The firms I know that have a culture of semi-frequent 50-60 hour weeks pay OT rates for the off-hours work, regardless of prior utilization rates for those consultants. This is a manifestation of the classic consulting problem of "sales vs. delivery". It is not the consultant's problem if sales stuffs the calendar full of too much work to staff in a 40 hour week.
Similarly: 80% utilization is a totally sane rule of thumb for a consulting shop.
The thing that makes these points somewhat misleading in an HN context is that most HN people wouldn't start consulting companies where bill rates are so low that these things matter all that much. It's the same problem, writ large, as Cohen's analysis that "just giving clients a 10% discount can crater your profits". If 10% discounts are cratering your profits, find a better market to work in.