New to WSO + Industries—Looking for Insight into Consulting + Finance

Hey everyone,

I never thought I’d be here, but after my first internship experience at a boutique revenue operations consulting firm this summer, my interest in finance/consulting has grown tremendously. I didn’t exactly know where this post was applicable since it touches a few sectors, so I hope this is the right channel for it (my apologies if not).

Quick background: Spent the last near-decade focused on field-based public sector and nonprofit work in conservation and public interest. Never was a “fit” because I was more focused on optimization than on platitudes, but I still loved the challenge of solving problems with minimal manpower/resources. Lots of dirty, arduous work across 11 eleven states and countless communities at this point—especially during the three years as a wildland firefighter. After having my fill of moving every 3-6 months and sleeping where I worked (which typically was outside), however, I decided that it would be interesting to see what kind of impact I could make that wasn’t dependent on what my two hands could do. Got super intentional about how that would look in terms of schooling/career, then got after it in 2020.

Now: Currently at a target school studying Data Analytics (graduating in 1.5-2 years depending on how I decide to pace it), just was hired at fintech company through a business training program where I flipped my public sector experiences to applicable an tech role, and am taking the IBM data analyst cert this semester (the program at my school focuses on quant analysis/R/SQL/Tableau and the cert focuses on Excel/Python/IBM Cloud).

Knowing my interest areas, I put feelers out for/started researching opportunities in consulting and finance. Discovered an analytics-driven company called ZS through an old high school classmate of mine on LinkedIn. Very cool company. Got to speak with several people who work there, and am talking with a Principal Associate next Monday about the potential to intern.

It’s been great being able to consume content, read articles, and follow ridiculous meme pages to kind of contextualize my perspective on both industries, but I would love the perspective of real people in the industries now.

My questions:

1. I noticed ZS has a PE-focused office in Chicago. PE was a big interest area of mine after learning more about what they do at a granular level, but I wondered whether it made more sense to work with PE funds as a consultant versus working at the fund itself? Pros and cons there? Differences in workflow or required skills? I ask this because I’ve seen very mixed opinions and experiences for folks who jumped from consulting to PE.

2. Given my non-traditional path and my current area of study, I’m not sure where it makes the most sense to focus my energy. Never realized how diverse this sector was until I starting watching videos and reading about it. Which area of finance or consulting would it make the most sense to explore and attempt entry (internship or analyst level) with a Data Analytics degree?

3. Have you noticed any specific trends or notable areas where data analysis (+ quant analysis/research or any predictive analytics) seems to have the deepest impact? In other words, in what sort of consulting role or financial institution would a degree like mine be most valuable?

4. For those who came from analytics, what is that like (working on a team, leveraging your skills with said team, daily workflow, salary, etc.) and what technical skills do you think are most important to prioritize to be successful?

5. Given that a degree only seems to get you so far in any of these realms, what is one thing you’d say to try being intentional about as an intern outside of your formal education? Any key soft skills?

6. As a newcomer in any of these fields, what does optimal value-creation look like when your capacity is so limited? What can be done now to build comfort around said optimization?

I know this is a lot, so I wouldn’t blame you for not responding. I just am trying to exercise as much forethought and get as informed about each step into this next chapter as possible. I’m aware that there is much that is beyond my control or is totally subjective, but it never hurts to develop a decent blueprint. Anything is welcome!

Thanks guys.