Management Consulting for Experienced Professional w/ MBA
I am currently a Senior Manager at a large Auto Corporation with an MBA from a top 10 school, in my mid 30s. Been thinking about consulting and wanted to know what my prospects are to get into a top firm? Getting in at post-MBA Associate level would feel like a step back in my career (not that I have a problem with it) and a salary hit, but wanted to know if possible to join at Manager level? Is it even possible without prior consulting experience. My experience has been both in Program Management and Operations.
Thanks in advance for any input!
Bump. Also curious about the pathways into consulting for people later in their careers
I think each firm will be a little bit different, but here's what the opps would look like at my MBB: 1. Transition in to the Post-MBA role. Probably the least common of the 3, but the most basic. You wouldn't be able to start as a manager, but could come in an be a consultant for a couple years and then be a manager. The reason being is that you should have the skill set and understand the work well before managing a team/client. 2. Join as an expert. This is probably most common for someone in your shoes. You've been working for 10+ years, have auto/functional experience that consulting can't teach. You would come in work on multiple projects at once providing expertise in your area. The path to partner is a bit different (and can take longer) and you have to get yourself utilized in a different way than a normal consultant but it is pretty common and needed at all these firms. Let's say you've been working on engineering design within auto for the bulk of your time in the workforce. You would float between projects with a need for that type of work. It may not always be auto, and it can often just be for a week or two of the project, but the services are needed. 3. Join as implementation consultant. Again, you would not start as a manager, but the pay/progression is different. Also, this is probably the easiest to do, but only if you have the right background. If you have been doing a lot of project work (e.g., at plants) than you would be a coach and trainer to help a longer term project actually get implemented by the client. Hours are usually easier here than typical consultant and the area is growing (was before Covid at least).
This is rare but at my MBB a guy did T2 consulting pre-MBA -> MBA business schools">M7 MBA -> industry for 1.5 years -> MBB manager. He went to an office that does a lot of work in the industry he worked in post-MBA and almost all his projects have been in that space. His post-MBA industry experience wasn't too senior or impressive, but he might have had desired skills from his T2 work.
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