Many people choose a career in consulting because they are uncertain of what they want to do. This is a valid reason to pursue a career in consulting as it provides an opportunity to learn and explore while being paid. At the highest level, a consultant is an expert in their field who helps people or organizations. At some consulting firms, you may enter as an analyst and then progress to a senior analyst and associate consultant.
Clients of major consulting firms pay a large sum for the services of consultants, so they expect highly committed individuals. Typically, consultants work on a project for three to six months. To avoid this problem, it is best to start looking for alternatives to consulting before your senior year of college. This way, you can do cheap tests and determine if there is anything better than consulting before graduating. The typical path for those in consulting is to work in a large consultancy for two years and then leave to pursue other interests such as working at a startup or joining a large organization on the client side.
I asked a former MD the same question; he had been in consulting since starting his career, transitioning into and out of the industry, but always found his way back to consulting. These are also large consulting firms that focus more on management consulting, specifically strategy consulting, while the “Big Four” are accounting firms that also have consulting.
