Saturday, June 8, 2013

Career FAQs - Management Consulting


What is management consulting?
Management consultants help clients make business decisions by collecting data and providing analytical insights into diverse aspects of business, including understanding consumer needs, responding to new regulations and entering new markets. For example, a bookstore may seek input on whether to develop its own line of electronic reading tablets, or a pharmaceutical company may seek help prioritizing drug candidates following the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act. Clients include large corporations, non-profit organizations and government agencies.

Why switch?
Management consulting provides opportunities to develop an understanding of the value of scientific results within the framework of business development, as well as the ability to influence others and accomplish more as a team. A role in management consulting can provide you with experience that will open up additional career options in the future, and provides good compensation. This career is a good fit for scientists who enjoy working on diverse projects in a fast paced-environment, travel and the business aspect of science.

What positions can one hold in management consulting?
Most PhD graduates and postdocs are hired by management consulting firms at the associate level, generally equivalent to post-MBA hires. Associates work as a part of a team under the guidance of a senior consultant. Successful associates take on more and more responsibilities, which include setting the analytical framework of cases, handling client relationships and developing new clients.

Where will you work?
There are hundreds of management consulting firms in the United States alone.  They have offices in almost every state and many firms have international offices located around the world. Firms that have hired Yale PhD graduates and postdocs in the recent past include McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, L.E.K., and Simon-Kucher & Partners.

How to make the transition?
While at Yale, you can prepare to join consulting firms by joining the Yale Graduate Consulting Club, participating in Case Competitions, and connecting with Yale alumni and recent Ph.D. graduates from other schools who have recently begun their career in management consulting. You can also apply to McKinsey & Co.’s Insight program or “Bridge to BCG,” which are short immersion programs that give you the opportunity to experience life as a management consultant.

Prepared by: Yixiao Zou

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