Started T2 Strategy from nontraditional background - any prep work needed?

Hi everyone - I am entering a T2 strategy consulting firm from a clinical background. That said, I likely do not have the excel/PPT skillset that most traditional entrants (MBAs, PhDs, undergrad, etc.) have. Do firms traditionally teach their entrants the necessary "hard" skills for their work? Would some preparation prior be helpful in my onboarding? If so, I'd appreciate input on how to best learn the relevant skills. Thank you.

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There is training when you join, but it isn’t  enough to leave you proficient in Excel / PPT. 

Now, you don’t ~need~ to be proficient at the start. It’s not technically expected of you. But at the end of the day, there’s a limit in how useful you can be if your projects are quant heavy and you’re still getting the basics of Excel down.

If you have time, buy / find an Excel course and work through it. I did this and cannot recommend it enough. It’s nice to have a hard skill to lean on that you know you’re good at while you’re still picking up the rest of the job.

PPT, there are a few shortcuts that are nice to pick up, but the return on prepping for PPT diminishes pretty quickly. PPT skill is less about speed, shortcuts, and advanced features, and more about your overall slide design skills, which you can’t really learn until you’re on the job. 

 

80% Excel, 15% PPT and 5% Word is the balance I'd promote. Like ConsultingQs said, there's "some" training, but also an expecatation you've already some experience to start off of. Think of it like them trying to teach you calculus because you've already taken algebra. They're bang on about PPT and I'd just extend that to Word as needed.

 

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