Everything I have heard about consulting is the hours and the travel are brutal if you have a family. Gone 6-9 months of every 12 would be a long time to be away from my children. Is that your experience?
For the first type of role, you're essentially hired help to solve non-technical problems in broken well-capitalised businesses, whereas in the second you're hired individually for your own skills. The second type are normally much more flexible with respect to remote and lack of travelling.