Is it possible to lateral into restructuring consulting from strategy consulting?
Curious if anyone has perspectives on this. Most people I see in restructuring consulting seem to come from investment banking, transaction advisory, or big four accounting. Very technical, finance heavy backgrounds.
How would someone stack up with a non MBB, T2 strategy background?
Transitioning into restructuring consulting (Rx consulting) from a strategy consulting background is definitely possible, though it may require some strategic positioning. Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some key insights:
Backgrounds in Restructuring Consulting:
You're correct that many professionals in restructuring consulting come from investment banking, transaction advisory, or Big Four accounting. These roles often provide the technical, finance-heavy experience that aligns well with the demands of restructuring work.
Strategy Consulting to Restructuring:
While strategy consulting is less technical compared to the typical backgrounds in Rx consulting, it can still be a viable pathway. To make the transition, you would need to:
Non-MBB, T2 Strategy Background:
Coming from a non-MBB, T2 strategy consulting firm might make the transition slightly more challenging, as MBB consultants often have a stronger brand and network. However, this can be mitigated by:
Proactive Steps:
In summary, while the path from strategy consulting to restructuring consulting may not be the most common, it is achievable with the right preparation, networking, and positioning.
Sources: Thoughts on Restructuring Groups?, Q&A: I grew up in Consulting and reinvented my brand 3 times, Q&A: Strategy consulting Associate Partner offering career advice, Q&A - Consulting interview prep - firm specific questions, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/consulting/am-i-crazy-to-leave-a-500k-job-for-consulting?customgpt=1
Unsure about broader trends, but I did work with someone who made that switch - From non-MBB management consulting to RX consulting. Best of luck.
Thanks for the reply. Do you know if the person who made the switch used an MBA or was it direct?
Direct - Sans any further education.
Depending on which firm you're at, you'll almost certainly get interviews for RX. That said, as you alluded to, the work in restructuring is very technical. Beyond the finance part, which people in IB, Big 4, etc. will have a massive leg up over you, you also have to navigate legal jargon as well as general business operations. My firm has hired a fair amount of ex-MBB people and candidly, not a lot of them lasted here for a variety of reasons. Even guys from IB/PE may struggle with just how detail-oriented the modeling work we do is, even though they hang their hat on their excel/quantitative skills.
That being said, I don't want to make this stuff out to be rocket science. There are ex-strategy consultants who have learned the ropes and doing well as well as ex-science PHDs who are among the fastest risers at the firm. Accounting, and especially corporate finance, aren't impossible to learn.
I'd just be prepared to:
That said, I'd try to really think carefully about why you want to do restructuring. There's a lot of hype on WSO about it the last couple of years because the secret's out about A&M's total comp. You'll be cranking for that paycheck at A&M and other firms aren't going to have the same upside of especially MBB and it's not like you'll be chilling at non-A&M firms either.
McK pays its Business Analysts around 110-140k on average. Pretty sure even RX consulting firms that aren’t historically known for top of the line comp can atleast match that. I know brg for one does. Now, MBB does offer more brand recognition and other upsides than BRG etc but from a comp standpoint…
I believe FTI is lower though
Strategy Consulting in general just needs to increase bonus, especially since total weekly hours (including travel & non-billable) reach an average of 70 in sweaty CDD heavy groups.
Re-reading the last bit of you’re comment, I agree, RX work isn’t for everyone, and surely not for people who want the traditional 2+2 structure (you likely won’t learn anything substantive enough to translate any real operational knowledge to a non-distressed business, PE Ops dpmt) but, from people I’ve spoken to in the industry over the past 3 years, all T1 and T2 + M3, PPP, Meru, are paying much closer to IB than MBB, without as much travel (but probably more stress).
Especially with increased criticism of the traditional management consultant business model and many industry leaders questioning the real value-add of a strat. consultants’ analysis & recommendations (not to mention the increased complexity and scale of current RXs - ad hocs forming quicker in response to frequency of LMEs, specifically drop-downs and uptiering) the delta between the billing rates of, say Mckinsey vs. A&M, in my opinion, will only get larger and larger until the strategy consulting firms can prove out their AI workforce and find some sort of competitive advantage over mainstream AI models.
I could be wrong about MBB pay tbh. I was just guessing based on what some of my friends who have moved up at those firms are making. From what I can tell in RX, a lot of people either come in at a lower level or the progression is generally a bit slower, because there's a lot to learn. Therefore, I don't necessarily think the titles map 1:1 with MBB, and firms like A&M that pay a % of receipts aren't that common (maybe Portage Point is another one?). Even Alix doesn't and FTI's is much less lucrative than A&M.
Everything I've read is that MBB has a very strict up or out culture, meaning that people deemed high performers move up extremely quickly and get into the higher pay bands quickly. Of course, that's also a double-edged sword because you can get counseled out quickly. But you could be right that I'm overestimating their pay grades
I am very surprised reading this (Europe). I've worked at McK and saw a handful of people exiting over to Alix Partners and all of their lifes improved extraordinarily. I always imagined RX as this tough/IB-like/oldschool work environment but the hours at McK were off the charts harder and also the general drive to perfection every little detail totally higher.
They all love it there and tell me people (esp. seniors) are much nicer, nobody works consistently until midnight, etc.
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