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Economic Consulting Q&A
 

Hayek's picture
CO
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 4:30am
hbs q&a.jpeg

I’ve worked in economic consulting at one of the major firms for a few years. In that time, I’ve gotten a number of private messages from people asking me about what to expect in the interview process, what the work is like, and so on. I decided that it would make sense to assemble as much of that knowledge in one place, especially given that economic consulting is not always an active topic of discussion. So here it is. I’m going to later copy this info onto the consulting firm once this thread leaves the top page. See answers to questions I've already received below, and feel free to ask more.

What is economic consulting?
For the most part, economic consultants quantify damages and analyze economic, financial, accounting, and statistical issues in litigation. For example, if you’ve ever read about Apple suing Samsung for patent infringement, or heard about large payouts that a financial firm had to make to investors, I can guarantee that each side of those cases had consultants providing expert analysis. The final work product that the firm produces will be in the form of an expert report.

Generally in these cases, there will be one “expert” (often a professor at an economics department or a business school) who will be supported by a partner and team of people internal at the consulting firms. These are the ones who actually write the report and do all the analysis. The expert who’s name is on the report rarely does very much in the way of actual work.

Usually, these sorts of cases will settle before ever going to trial, but sometimes the expert will testify in front of a jury.

In addition, many of these firms will work on more traditional strategy consulting engagements that require more quantitative expertise.

Who are the major firms?
The big, major, national firms that do very high profile work include Analysis Group, The Brattle Group, Charles River Associates, Compass Lexecon, Cornerstone Research, and NERA. Berkeley Research Group, which mostly consists of people who worked at the now-defunct LECG, is another big firm.

Going down a bit on the prestige meter you have organizations such as FTI Consulting, Navigant, and Huron. The Big Four accounting firms also all have economic consulting divisions. Many of the firms here do work that is just as big and unstructured as the firms above, but they are also involved with many less prestigious cases as well.

There are many smaller boutiques as well: places such as Criterion Economics, Kenrich Group, MiCRA, and many, many others.

What will I be doing there? What’s the structure like?
Most firms will hire analysts directly out of BA or masters programs. It is generally impossible to move up the ladder unless you have a graduate degree, though exceptions exist, especially within the Big Four. The next step will be an Associate type of position for recent MBA/PhD grads. From there, the titles might be something like “senior economist,” “manager,” and “vice president” until reaching a “director” or “partner” type of title.

In a typical case, the partner will be responsible for managing the relationship with the client (the direct client tends to be a law firm), while a manager/VP will be responsible for directing most of the day-to-day research and analysis. As an analyst, you’ll be responsible collecting and cleaning data, auditing the work product of other analysts, building financial models in Excel, and analyzing large datasets in SAS, and creating charts and graphs. You’ll probably also spend a fair bit of time doing more qualitative research, such as going through equity research reports, looking for news items, reviewing academic articles. Then there’s the real boring stuff like putting together binders of supporting documents.

What are the interviews like?
The 30 minute screening interview will be very similar to any other screening interview. Expect to be asked why you’d like to work in economic consulting and be ready to walk through any substantive research projects that you’ve worked on. If you wrote a thesis, worked as a research assistant, or mentioned completing some substantive project, be ready to talk about how you approached your work, what sort of problems you encountered with the data, and how you resolved those issues.

What are the exit options like?
Economic consulting does not offer the variety of high paying exit options that you’ll get after putting in a few years at Goldman Sachs IBD or McKinsey. Most analysts go directly to business school after a 2-4 years, with smaller but still significant numbers going to PhD programs or law school. Smaller numbers will go to other masters programs, and I’ve even seen a few go to medical school.

Very often analysts will take a lower paying but perhaps more interesting job after working in economic consulting. I’ve known people who have gone on to spend 1-2 years at federal agencies such as the Federal Reserve board or various non-profits.

Some analysts, however, have managed to make careers for themselves at startups, asset management firms, or other economic consulting firms that are less stringent about requiring a graduate degree to advance.

The business school placement from top firms, I should add, is very good. My firm sends multiple analysts to Harvard, Wharton, and Stanford every year with many others going to UChicago, MIT, Northwesterm Columbia, and others. I think that the economic consulting skillset lends itself well to many post-MBA positions. I’ve known people who worked in economic consulting, worked as summer associates in IBD, and came back to economic consulting. They’ve all said that the economic consulting skill set is very easy to sell to the IBs. In addition, I’ve seen people from my firm make successful post-MBA transitions to asset management, management consulting, marketing—a whole range of stuff
---
Basically, I’ve enjoyed working in economic consulting. As an analyst, I’ve had the chance to do interesting, substantive work on some really big cases. I’ve built financial models, became adept as using SAS, and have lightening fast Excel skills. I didn’t need o travel like my friends in management consulting, and though I had more than my fair share of very late nights and weekends in the office, I wasn’t driven to the bone as hard as my investment banker friends were. I think that it’s a great stepping stone to grad school and other jobs.

Any questions, monkeys? Fire away.

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Comments

Khansian's picture

Wow, I'm thrilled to see this

O
 
Points)
 on 7/29/12 at 1:28pm

Wow, I'm thrilled to see this right now. My interest in econ consulting was recently rekindled, and I have spent all weekend searching WSO for whatever nuggets of information I could find.

1) Do any firms have MBA or other graduate degree (not PhD) sponsorship programs?

2) How much flexibility is there within the firm for analysts to move to other areas? So from securities litigation to antitrust to strategy, perhaps?

3) How much interaction would an analyst have with PhD economists (not just Nobel laureates)? Especially those who could write a good letter of recommendation for PhD programs?

4) Have you seen people move from econ consulting, either pre or post-MBA, to private equity specifically?

5) Do any econ consulting firms have part-time, school-year internships that you know of?

6) When is recruiting season for full-time analyst positions?

7) How much does the prestige of one's undergrad institution matter? For a math and economics major coming from a non-target but with lots of economic research experience (at school and internship), how much of a hurdle is the name (or lack thereof) of his school? (I can PM resume if you're willing :) )

Thank you very much for this thread, it's a huge help!

hnic's picture

good thread. very informative

CF
 
Points)
 on 7/30/12 at 7:03am

good thread. very informative

AndyLouis's picture

pktkid10: Hayek- Thank you

 
Points)
 on 7/29/12 at 8:02pm
pktkid10:

Hayek- Thank you for this thorough write up.. This type of work is often not discussed.

In your experience do most folks start here directly out of undergrad, or is it just as probable to transition over after a few years?

Thanks in advance.

gentles:

This might be useful for others to, what are the most sought after skills you see in the industry? I am starting at a Big 4 in Economics but ultimately I would like to move to one of the more specialist firms you mentioned earlier.

Is a graduate degree necessary to progress? Or is it possible to self develop economics skills and demonstrate these to a potential employer?

Any responses are greatly appreciated, as is your time taken to write this thread, SB for you!

WSO's COO (Chief Operating Orangutan) | My story | Connect with me on Linkedin.

2013 WSO Conference

Hayek's picture

Khansian: Wow, I'm thrilled

CO
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 11:17am
Khansian:

Wow, I'm thrilled to see this right now. My interest in econ consulting was recently rekindled, and I have spent all weekend searching WSO for whatever nuggets of information I could find.

1) Do any firms have MBA or other graduate degree (not PhD) sponsorship programs?

Among the major firms that I listed (Cornerstone, AG, etc.) you will likely not get funding for Bschool, mostly because you're expected to move on to something else after a few years if you're an analyst. However, associates are sometimes re-hired out of Bschool at the same firm that they used to work for.

Khansian:

2) How much flexibility is there within the firm for analysts to move to other areas? So from securities litigation to antitrust to strategy, perhaps?

This is wholly dependent on the firm and the particular office. Some offices are purely generalist, and an analyst will be part of an open labor pool. Others silo analysts in particular practice areas. Even in the open/generalist offices, however, analysts will develop relationships with certain managers and do consistent work for them, so if there's someone who's work you like, you can set it up so you mostly work for him/her.

Khansian:

3) How much interaction would an analyst have with PhD economists (not just Nobel laureates)? Especially those who could write a good letter of recommendation for PhD programs?

If the PhD economists are internal at the firm, then you'll likely have a lot of interaction, though it would depend on the level of the PhD in question. I'd imagine that there are offices out there where analysts will have little contact with very high powered PhDs who mostly build client relationships. But for the most part, you'll have the chance to work closely with PhDs who are associates/VPs/managers.

Khansian:

4) Have you seen people move from econ consulting, either pre or post-MBA, to private equity specifically?

Pre-MBA? I'm sure that it's happened, but I'd imagine that it would be difficult to do since those jobs seem to be 100% geared towards ex-banking analysts and a few management consultants. Your networking ability and raw determination will be very important. Post-MBA? I'd imagine that an MBA grad with a few years of economic consulting experience would likewise have a tough time moving into PE. An MBA grad who then worked in economic consulting as an associate for a few years? I'd wager that this would be quite difficult indeed.

Khansian:

5) Do any econ consulting firms have part-time, school-year internships that you know of?

I'm sure that some do. You'd be best off contacting the firms/alums directly. This would likely be easier and more common at smaller places.

Khansian:

6) When is recruiting season for full-time analyst positions?

It starts in the early fall, same as banking/consulting. Might run a bit later for the smaller firms.

Khansian:

7) How much does the prestige of one's undergrad institution matter? For a math and economics major coming from a non-target but with lots of economic research experience (at school and internship), how much of a hurdle is the name (or lack thereof) of his school? (I can PM resume if you're willing :) )

You can PM me if you'd like. Going to a school where these firms recruit from is obviously quite helpful, but you can still apply online/network with alums and if you're really good get your foot in the door. Also, smaller places should be more receptive.

Khansian:

Thank you very much for this thread, it's a huge help!

No problem.

option1234's picture

Thanks for posting. Was

(Chimp, 14
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 6:21pm

Thanks for posting.

Was wondering if you could talk about what kind of applicants CRA/Analysis Group/NERA/Cornerstone end up taking? Assuming mostly target kids (also what is the GPA cutoff?) but what types of internships do applicants do their junior year if they didn't do economic consulting for their junior summer?

Also in terms of networking and who decides to grant interviews for OCR, would you recommend talking to analysts/associates/etc?

Hayek's picture

pktkid10: Hayek- Thank you

CO
 
Points)
 on 8/2/12 at 12:38am
pktkid10:

Hayek- Thank you for this thorough write up.. This type of work is often not discussed.

In your experience do most folks start here directly out of undergrad, or is it just as probable to transition over after a few years?

Thanks in advance.

I would say that the majority of analysts get their job in the fall/winter of senior year and start after graduating from college, but this is by no means universal. I've worked with people who have worked at federal agencies, marketing firms, financial places, etc. for a year or so before making the switch over. I would say that it's best to make this switch with no more than 2 years of experience. At smaller places, they will likely be more open to people with varied backgrounds in terms of masters degrees, work experience, etc.

The most common hiring process is to interview in the fall/winter and get an offer to start in the spring/summer, but ad-hoc hiring does go on at other times during the year, most often around Christmas time, right before or after the new year. Sometimes analysts will leave unexpectedly around this time, or management may decide that more analysts are needed, which will result in a new analyst or two being hired. Although there are fewer slots during these periods my guess is that getting hired is actually a bit easier if you have an interview, since the firm won't have the same large pool of talent to choose from that they might have during campus recruiting, so if you fall above whaever bar they have, you'll be in good shape.

gentles:

This might be useful for others to, what are the most sought after skills you see in the industry? I am starting at a Big 4 in Economics but ultimately I would like to move to one of the more specialist firms you mentioned earlier.

Is a graduate degree necessary to progress? Or is it possible to self develop economics skills and demonstrate these to a potential employer?

Any responses are greatly appreciated, as is your time taken to write this thread, SB for you!

[/quote]

The most important skills, at least among analysts, are:

- Quant experience and grades: economics major with some math classes and programming experience would likely be the ideal academic background. This is usually necessary but by no means sufficient. Also, I have seen people who majored in philosophy or other soft subject get jobs if they also have some quant classes in their background. I need to emphasize that the top places in particular REALLY LIKE PEOPLE WITH HIGH GPAS. I've worked with multipl 3.9+ people as well as at least 2 4.0+ individuals.

- Research experience: This is huge; they really like people who write senior theses or worked as research assistants, since this sort of work (data collection/cleaning, emphasis on accuracy, reviewing academic literature) is so similar to the work that you'll do as an analyst.

- Internships: Consulting, banking, and anything that involves analyzing data.

- Personality/fit: This is huge, at least in the second round. THEY WANT PEOPE GENUINELY INTERESTED IN ECON CONSULTING. if you have a few IB/finance internships, you really need to work hard to get across why you don't want to go down that path and why econ consulting is right for you. Also, ECON CONSULTING IS NOT MANAGEMENT CONSULTING! I can't tell you how many cover letters I've seen that talked about the candidate's enthusiasm for "working on high level corporate strategy engagements" or "marketing products in new markets." You must know what these firms do and demonstrate interest in it!

Obviously people can get hired with different weights on all of these factors. People with a soft major and a few econ/quant classes can get hired if they have good research/internship experience. A weak GPA can be mitigated with good research experience and being seen as a good fit. And so on. I've seen people that were 3.9 econ majors with a dinky internship and almost nothing else going for them get offers because they demonstrated interest and clicked with their interviewers.

Hayek's picture

option1234: Thanks for

CO
 
Points)
 on 8/2/12 at 11:24pm
option1234:

Thanks for posting.

Was wondering if you could talk about what kind of applicants CRA/Analysis Group/NERA/Cornerstone end up taking? Assuming mostly target kids (also what is the GPA cutoff?) but what types of internships do applicants do their junior year if they didn't do economic consulting for their junior summer?

Also in terms of networking and who decides to grant interviews for OCR, would you recommend talking to analysts/associates/etc?

I covered this in my other responses, but to reiterate, they tend to like high GPA econ majors. Junior internships can vary a great deal. I've seen people to finance, management consulting, paralegal work, RA for a professor...it really runs the gamut. 3.5 is a good rough GPA target but they trend higher than that. And like I said, it depends on your major/minor, classes, internships, and other factors.

I would network with analysts, but if associates went to your school, then go for it. At my place analysts and associates review resumes (mostly analysts though) and the process is generally run by analysts.

pktkid10's picture

Thanks broseph. That's very

(Baboon, 159
 
Points)
 on 8/3/12 at 11:20am

Thanks broseph. That's very imformative.

Hayek's picture

pktkid10: Thanks broseph.

CO
 
Points)
 on 8/5/12 at 5:08pm
pktkid10:

Thanks broseph. That's very imformative.

No problem chief.

anthoney814's picture

Hi, I am currently a PhD

(Chimp, 1
 
Points)
 on 9/22/12 at 6:34am

Hi,

I am currently a PhD student in Econ. Do you know what position a PhD graduate can start a career at in an economic consulting firm or the Big 4? Do economic consulting firms hire intern？ If so, how can I apply(as I notice, the online application systems of Big 4 are only for undergraduates or MA...)?

Thank you so much!

somebodyy's picture

Hi, I was wondering if you

(Chimp, 6
 
Points)
 on 12/11/12 at 11:01am

Hi, I was wondering if you could shed some light on this? I posted this on another forum but you seem like a good person to ask! I've pasted my question below:
------------

I am a senior and have accepted an offer at one of the large econ consulting firms. What's unique about my situation is that I am graduating in Fall 2012, and not summer 2013 and have the option of an early start date (maybe in Feb 2013/Mar 2013?)

I am wondering: If i start in Feb/Mar 2013, do you guys think that will make me a decent candidate for applying to top MBA programs for admittance in 2015? I know there's several other factors to consider besides duration of work experience, but I guess I'm wondering if I'd be put at a significant disadvantage?

From what I understand ppl in econ consulting typically apply to MBAs with about 3 years of experience (about 2-2.5 years at the time of application)

Appreciate your help!

ZDR's picture

Thanks for the info, this

 
Points)
 on 2/18/13 at 2:59am

Thanks for the info, this thread is great. I'm looking at going into economic consulting and am really just trying to evaluate my chances. I have solid BA and MA degrees in economics from good schools (the former from the UK), and overall good GPAs for both. My previous experience is a bit varied and scattered - I have some decent research assistant experience (but not in Economics), and have worked in accounting and asset management. I also have a couple of gaps. I can PM my resume if you want.

My problems are, I think, my varied resume, the timing of my applications (I've been abroad, will be returning to the US this summer and so will be applying around now). Are these problematic? Is it problematic that I have some prior experience - about 2.5 years overall?

Thanks again for the great thread.

Hayek's picture

ZDR: Thanks for the info,

CO
 
Points)
 on 2/18/13 at 8:33pm
ZDR:

Thanks for the info, this thread is great. I'm looking at going into economic consulting and am really just trying to evaluate my chances. I have solid BA and MA degrees in economics from good schools (the former from the UK), and overall good GPAs for both. My previous experience is a bit varied and scattered - I have some decent research assistant experience (but not in Economics), and have worked in accounting and asset management. I also have a couple of gaps. I can PM my resume if you want.

My problems are, I think, my varied resume, the timing of my applications (I've been abroad, will be returning to the US this summer and so will be applying around now). Are these problematic? Is it problematic that I have some prior experience - about 2.5 years overall?

Thanks again for the great thread.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like. Don't worry too much about your varied experience--you need to work with what you've got and try to network + send your resume to as many places as possible.

manutd's picture

Awesome thread. Can I ask how

 
Points)
 on 4/2/13 at 9:24pm

Awesome thread. Can I ask how is the recruiting process for econ consulting different than investment banking or consulting? Do they have their own list of target schools for recruitment? The reason I am asking is because I am from one of the Big Ten, majoring in economics. Although I do not have a perfect gpa but I do have research experience from my senior honor thesis class last semester. Do you think I would stand a chance for breaking into econ consulting (Can I pm you my resume to have you take a look and possibly give some advice?)?

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