Economic Consulting in UK
So I am from the UK and interested in a career as an economic consultant. However I cannot find much info about what the role is like in the UK. The only information I have found is from people in the US. Therefore, I would really appreciate if anyone who is/was an economic consultant in the UK could provide more info about the role. Specifically I am looking for answers to the following:
- What the day to day role involves
- Salary progression
- Average working hours per week
- How much travel is involved?
- What are the exit opportunities
Used to work at one of the top economic consulting firms in London (CRA/NERA/FTI) so can weigh in here.
1. Day to day at the junior levels involve data analysis, sifting through a lot of case information and plenty of modelling (depending on the type of case). Being quantitatively inclined is highly desired since that's what you'll do most of the time.
2. Pretty good. I wouldn't say it is like IB, but you regularly start with 50K and can have bonuses of up to 50% of base. Much better than traditional consulting
3. Depends on the firm, but typically people at my firm worked 60-70 hours regularly, with heavy cases or tight timelines pushing that to 80.
4. Very little at the junior level. You might visit your legal counterparts in your local city for in-person meetings, but usually it is senior staff that travel to meet with clients or go to court. Expect to travel more after 2-3 years of experience
5. Somewhat limited. Most people go to competitors and stay in the field. Others go into academia or find an economic/economist role at government or para-government organizations. Rarely do people go into finance and if they do, it is in some economic role not a typical FO M&A job
Thanks for your reply! It was really insightful. Hope you don't mind me asking, but what role do you have now?
Also, would you saying having a masters in Economics is a neccesity for getting into the economic consulting firms?
I moved within the field! So in line with the most common exit opps. Yes, having a masters is very much needed in this field, or at the very least strongly recommended. Additionally, the field does love it's prestige so an economic masters from LSE, Bocconi or other very well known European economics schools is almost necessary for London.
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