lol. you it seem like in other professions you have good quality of life?.. even if you are a medical doctor.. you pack in some extremely long hours.. you show up on a weekend to check on patients, nurses call you in the middle of the night because your patient is having problems.. or if you are doing manual labour.. you think after 20 years your back is still ok?.. tradeoffs everywhere..
@@Mellowyellow8888 true. no such thing as a perfect job. It reminds me of something that I want to say Mark Manson(?) said - which was something along the lines of nothing's perfect so you have to figure out what kind of shit you're willing to live with.
I’d say it does in the sense that it takes advantage on an inefficiency. The same way recruitment consultants bridge the gap for companies but in an ideal world they wouldn’t exist.
People should also consider how the pay really doesn't matter when you consider they work over 40hrs a week and do weekends even. That means they're getting paid less than they should for the hours they work. When you compare this to someone who has a 9-5 and makes 6 figs the consulting life makes no sense unless you're going for the name and like to be thrown in the deep end.
Consulting is an advisory service and is about putting recommendations. The problem is that end users already know what they wanna hear so the advice given is actually a supporting evidence for the decision already taken at the top level. For this kind of work, i would say the value is not zero but agree that its not creating much value
Really insightful video. I hit the 2-year mark last month in consulting. Every single one of your points clarified exactly what I’ve been thinking and trying to understand in the last few weeks - thank you! Think you explained my thoughts to me better than I have ever done
@@shubhamanand5021 love hearing that it resonated with you. So many of us are trying to figure out this thing we call life and how we can find meaning in our work - glad I could be a part of the process :)
This sounds like school, and things I've learned throughout my career. What I noticed is when I talk to managers or directors with a consulting background, they always have very surface level insights, but have no connection to the feelings or products passionate bottom line customers feel. This ends up with products and service proposals sounding disconnected from the user needs. I think it foregoes the most important step: getting to know the way an industry works by operating in the industry's cogwheels
@@Token-p1s I have mixed opinions on this. On the one hand there’s definitely a lot of BS that can get sold which has resulted in memes like “paying $300k for a consultant to tell you what you already know” On the other hand, I think there can be a lot of value from having a 3rd party outsider perspective, who while they might not have expertise, might also not be bogged down in how things “have worked in the past” and the inertia of traditionalism. I saw this a lot in a former life of mine where I worked as a writing tutor in college and we’d help people across all disciplines (philosophy, biology, pedagogy, econ, etc..). There’s some universality in good writing and clear reasoning that transcended discipline.
I will suggest to anyone interested in consulting with far fewer downsides, I recommend long-term consulting with a Federal government agency. This has been my work for the past 4+ years, after escaping private sector consulting, and it literally saved my mental health. We function almost as an extension-of-staff (aka Feds without the pension) and provide program management, strategic development, scheduling, and cost estimating services to Federal acquisition programs. I rarely work longer than 9-5 and have very good flexibility with my schedule. My Federal clients are passionate and mission-driven, but very respectful of our work-life balance. We typically work 1-3 year contracts
Tech consulting has kicked my ass. Coming up on year 3 and I have been interviewing for industry roles and I am blown away by how much I actually know. Like you said I work with so many bright minds I genuinely feel mediocre and not that they make me feel that way. My colleagues are the reason I am still there but the imposter syndrome hits hard still and I am battling if I should go another year and dive into some specialty to then go client side.
Yah, had a taste of consulting and quickly was like "nope". There was a guy that tried to convert me back to consulting even though he was obviously miserable. I was like "I'll pass". Management consulting will always be a bunch of BS that adds zero benefit to the world outside of the most superficial, fake corporations.
Just getting out of consulting after a couple of years and going to go work for a state agency. The pressure to work more and more isn't just worth the marginally more pay.
The problem with consulting is that the organizations and their consultants have no industry expertise into the field they are trying to guide the client into. In practice this means that you have to connected with people that actually know what they're doing or just outright bullshit your way into a commission. The client is usually happy because they can shift the blame when things go wrong in their own organization by saying that they did everything by the books, which in fairness they did. The societal impact of this bullshit career is very negative however and the lifestyle is not very good either.
I spent 7 years in management consulting at a 2 notable firms before moving into banking. This video is the BEST representation of the industry I’ve seen and perfectly encapsulates my experience. I have no doubt my experience in consulting propelled my career. Very happy to have done it but glad I’ve moved on. Great video
I’ve fallen out with a friend who went into consulting specifically over the psychological aspects you mentioned (pressure to grind, conventional success..etc). I went into the government/NFP world after graduation and the underlying differences in motivation/culture drove us apart.
38:12 Jacky, you're right - you thought joy would come from one way and it didn't - You'll find it again on every other thing, you will keep chasing it unless you find out the truth. Not saying to sound super preachy or anything but I genuinely found peace and LASTING joy from the Book of Mormon - and I've seen it help others beyond what they thought was possible - go to the source, it's phenomenal, every page, it's all phenomenal and no man wrote that book without the help of a Creator, it will touch your soul to it's very core and feel more right than any powerpoint you got "just right" - it's beyond human satisfaction. It's the joy and the love of God made manifest - seriously, give it a look, you won't regret it, I promise you that - you will find joy, true joy!
For someone coming from a back office financial analysis background who is interesting in pivoting into consulting, do you have any recommendations on certifications, licenses, etc to help assist with the career pivot?
I tried working for a large consulting firm after working in a full-time developer role for 4 years. I only lasted 10 months and instantly knew when I left that firm that I never wanted to do consulting again. The weekly traveling was grueling...and even when you manage to get a local assignment, you're still subject to higher workloads and more hours because consultants are often expected to pick up extra work that the full-time employees hand off. 0/10. Would not recommend.
@@tp2005 I hate commuting when it’s just on the subway. Can’t imagine how tiring it must be to do it week in week out while flying or traveling to whole other cities.
Im in the process of applying for EY. I dont actually want to be a consultant but as a new grad I kinda feel like beggers cant be choosers. If they want to hire me I will humble accept, get some experience and move to a new company in a year or two. Grind culture in consultant companies is definitely a worry of mine.
@@Bjorn_R I’m sure a lot of people would resonate with that. It’s hard to find a job that pays well - let alone one where you hope to feel fulfilled by. Part of accepting things aren’t as you’d ideally want them to be but being able to make the most of it. Resilience can be a powerful thing.
@@FVrusoX internship is where a lot of people start but certainly not a pre requisite. For full time, if you aren’t at a target school you’ll just need to network your ass off. Find alumni or 2nd degree connections on LinkedIn who work at the places you’re interested in and could refer you.
From my side in technical consulting: life is good if you're senior here. Since you're the only one who knows how things work you can say no easily, especially in Europe
The thing about consulting is you will learn to work, most work doesn't really make sense and it doesn't provide any value for your customers, but you learn to put in hours. The only time you do something impactful for a busines is basically when you fire a couple of people, because thats mostly the only option left because you simply do not know the inner workings of the company better than anyone at management does. On top you might get some knowledge how to approach topics and get structure into your work life. Do it max for 1-2 years, move to a company and actually work on projects and products. The thing with fancy name companies (McKiney, PwC, KPMG,..) is, they know that everyone wants to come to them for the prestige, so they can also simply use you as an extendable ressource. they are Gucci and you are a customer who pays way to much for a leather bag.
I don't get why people pay so much for just advice. It just seems like those finance gurus/dating coaches that overcharge for a course/coaching program but at a corporate level. I feel like 99% of consulting advice, could be found through your own online research.
It means they can blame someone else if it goes wrong. The same reason why governments use consultants or their party would be to blame. It’s very inefficient. There’s a book called The Big Con
It’s a matter of liability. If the company pays someone else to make decisions they can pass the ball and the CEO can say “it wasn’t me! I was following the advice of my consultants!” Whenever a business starts tanking. It’s become an extension of bloated middle management, attempting to extract as much money for as little value as possible. Hundreds of people will “consult” on a project for millions of dollars when 1-2 qualified people could’ve made decisions more efficiently and for less cost.
That’s funny. I’ve only ever heard “golden handcuffs” about working a state job. (NY) It used to offer great pension, 401K, standard work hours, etc. Its more like Silver or Bronze level offerings now. Oh well!
For me the greatest source of anxiety was the constant pressure from inside the consulting company. The relative performance assessment - the laddering. The higher level colleagues you need to impress. Making the client happy was most often easy in comparison.
I went into consulting just for fun. Gave myself one year and see what’s up. Left a year later and spent ten years in VC. Best life choice ever. Consulting work is the best way to earn an MBA and get paid. But don’t do it for the money. Do it for fun. The money will come along.
How might someone go into a strategies and ops role without going through consulting? Or is it extremely competitive without that experience? As someone applying to an MBA program and curious about consulting, I appreciate your perspective, especially explaining the negative side. Thanks for sharing.
It's extremely competitive - even for those who do have consulting experience and the right "fit" on paper. But more so than the actual consulting experience it's about what that conveys - structured problem solving, data analysis, ability to quickly build powerpoints and make assumptions in ambiguous situations. If you capture these experiences or show that you have these skills in other ways that are obvious on a resume and during the interview, you could also get a fair shot.
I’ve worked in the construction industry for principal tier one contractors and blue chip developers in project management roles. I gathered around 14 years of experience prior to moving into consultancy at the start of last year. I’ve actually enjoyed being in a position to advise clients and ensure I take an active role in securing multi million pound projects through competitive bidding. Moreover the ability to help people grow and working to reach their potential is a reward itself. I would however strongly advise anyone to gain solid and substantial experience in the industry so that you are subject matter expert in your field to advise clients prior to joining a consultancy firm.
Your last piece of advice is hilarious. Most consultants are people fresh out of school or they have almost no experience in industries they advise. It’s really the number one reason people outside of the industry have so much disdain for them.
@@HelloThereWhy i think u have to differentiate what he's talking about (technical consultant) and the business consultant.. He's talking about a technical consultant.. you only fall under this category after many years of experience.. Usually if you were able to plug them in to your company they probably would be a subject matter expert or higher grade.. these don't come a dime a dozen.. many of which also have project management experience also.. depends on the industry... they are only a "consultant" by choice.. because they want flexibility.. most of which are ready to retire.. and only work on a per project basis.. i should point out.. some of these guys are "consultant" only contractually ... but they don't act in the same manner as a "business consultant" which this video is referring to..
I was a consultant out of college. Crazy scam. What is a new grad going to be worth consulting on? Anyways I did software development consulting for Disney. It was weird. I barely did anything for 3 years. Got laid off eventually. I barely gained any skills during that time so getting my next role was like pulling teeth. Now I work my ass off at a startup for more $. Very lucky
honestly consulting doesn’t exactly open up as many doors as you think especially when you’re a junior consultant - most people just end up moving to another consulting firm or stay in “strategy” roles which are rarer. I had to start over when I wanted to do sth more technical - learned this the hard way 🙃
@@audreytirtaguna9885 I’ve noticed this too. The skills are transferable in business / corporate world but if you want to something different, you still have to start over from scratch cause the hard skills and day to day work are different
Nice video! I'm a data engineer and noticed that many things you pointed out as tedious and boring work could be easily automated by scripts. Why do you think consulting firms don't hire programmers that automate internal stuff and make the consultants more productive?
Honestly? I’m not sure they have an incentive to. The more hours used to do tedious manual work, the more the firm gets paid. Likewise for the analyst, their incentive is to bill lots of hours so even if they automate a task, they end up getting more work anyway. Put simply, efficiency isn’t incentivized. That’s the more cynical perspective anyway (which has some truth to it). Even in Econ consulting where we spend most of our time in programming (R, Python, SAS, Stata) and trying to automate work, there still ends up being lots of manual effort. Some other reasons - The cost of automating is too high or the precision too low - It’d be faster to brute force it than think of an elegant solution
@@Jackyye Exactly this. There is systematic redundancy in order to give people jobs and therefore $$$ for the corporation. Across all the different orgs I've worked at there are varying degrees of this - but it holds true across all firms.
@@cod4ipodwawRight? Whatever the industry, there’s a lot of inefficient processes, and it’s not always for lack of good people or effort. It’s sometimes (many times) just really frickin hard to scale and make things work better. Which is why people hire outside consultants in the first place I suppose 🤷🏻♂️ but they’re no silver bullet either.
Consulting firms give advice on how to improve management, optimize processes...but can't resolve the issue with overworks of their own analysts??? How is that possible???
@@annabocca wait your videos are actually SOOO good!! I just watched and it feels like I’m watching an investigative documentary. I’ll be staying tuned for the rest of the series!
Consulting only helps you developing the skills if you are in your 20s. After being in the real world long enough, consulting will not add anything, unless you get a cushy gig at Director or MD level.
Software or tech, still where it is IMO. Much lower stress for the most part, still, even with all the layoffs. I guess if you're not into product dev or building things it might not be for you. But there are strategy and business bits and pieces at the large tech companies. Don't do the software side if you're not actually into software though I'd say - you'll hate it.
my company hired mcK consultants for some work. these folks came to our office and gave us a very fancy presentation, but the funny thing was, the content wasnt anything surprising. the presentation sure was dramatic xD
If you can’t work like that, don’t. Many are willing to and don’t mind it. Also there’s so much wrong in this. Currently at Bain I’ve had 70 hour weeks and 40 hour weeks. On average 45-55 and I know some that never touched a minute over 55 (working in PEG by the way). Depends on the case. I’ve also never worked on the weekend and out of hundreds of us, probably two have worked a weekend in the past several years. Same with my friends at BCG. This is very firm dependent and just because MBB has a ton of money and many people can’t handle it doesn’t mean it sucks and people shouldn’t do it as you mentioned.
YMMV. I agree that's it can be very firm and location dependent. I literally say say in the video that most management consultants average 50 hours a week. Some will have more, some will have less. What I disagree with is this idea that "if people can't handle it, then it doesn't mean it sucks". YES it does suck. If someone can't handle something and it causes them a lot of stress or overwhelm (or insert other negative feelings), it means it's not a great fit for them and that means IT SUCKS FOR THEM. The point of the video is not "consulting sucks". It's "consulting can suck and isn't this amazing shiny thing people get sold on"
It’s not hard to understand… it’s a place to earn a lot of $ relatively young. It teaches you certain business skills that are highly transferable, and being able to hack that grind also serves as proves to future employer that you can work hard and can thrive in a corporate environment. It’s kind of the well trotted path to senior management. Thats why all the high achieving young kids want to do it.
I think you just saved me from a misstep in life. Quality of life is the most important. Thanks for this!
Health is wealth !
lol. you it seem like in other professions you have good quality of life?.. even if you are a medical doctor.. you pack in some extremely long hours.. you show up on a weekend to check on patients, nurses call you in the middle of the night because your patient is having problems.. or if you are doing manual labour.. you think after 20 years your back is still ok?.. tradeoffs everywhere..
@@Mellowyellow8888 true. no such thing as a perfect job. It reminds me of something that I want to say Mark Manson(?) said - which was something along the lines of nothing's perfect so you have to figure out what kind of shit you're willing to live with.
Got laid off from consulting. It was good learning while it lasted. I rather not go back. It has NO value for society.
I’d say it does in the sense that it takes advantage on an inefficiency. The same way recruitment consultants bridge the gap for companies but in an ideal world they wouldn’t exist.
Was it RSM? I also got laid off few weeks back
People should also consider how the pay really doesn't matter when you consider they work over 40hrs a week and do weekends even. That means they're getting paid less than they should for the hours they work. When you compare this to someone who has a 9-5 and makes 6 figs the consulting life makes no sense unless you're going for the name and like to be thrown in the deep end.
Completely agree. It's a parasite on the economy
Consulting is an advisory service and is about putting recommendations. The problem is that end users already know what they wanna hear so the advice given is actually a supporting evidence for the decision already taken at the top level. For this kind of work, i would say the value is not zero but agree that its not creating much value
such a great video. it's like suddenly having a super smart mentor for 40 minutes. thank you for sharing!
@@hanfromhan2159 I love that ty !
Really insightful video. I hit the 2-year mark last month in consulting. Every single one of your points clarified exactly what I’ve been thinking and trying to understand in the last few weeks - thank you! Think you explained my thoughts to me better than I have ever done
@@shubhamanand5021 love hearing that it resonated with you. So many of us are trying to figure out this thing we call life and how we can find meaning in our work - glad I could be a part of the process :)
Definitely external pressure. In my MBA program - everyone wanted a consulting gig and was so envious of anyone that got one.
This sounds like school, and things I've learned throughout my career.
What I noticed is when I talk to managers or directors with a consulting background, they always have very surface level insights, but have no connection to the feelings or products passionate bottom line customers feel. This ends up with products and service proposals sounding disconnected from the user needs.
I think it foregoes the most important step: getting to know the way an industry works by operating in the industry's cogwheels
@@Token-p1s I have mixed opinions on this. On the one hand there’s definitely a lot of BS that can get sold which has resulted in memes like “paying $300k for a consultant to tell you what you already know”
On the other hand, I think there can be a lot of value from having a 3rd party outsider perspective, who while they might not have expertise, might also not be bogged down in how things “have worked in the past” and the inertia of traditionalism. I saw this a lot in a former life of mine where I worked as a writing tutor in college and we’d help people across all disciplines (philosophy, biology, pedagogy, econ, etc..). There’s some universality in good writing and clear reasoning that transcended discipline.
I will suggest to anyone interested in consulting with far fewer downsides, I recommend long-term consulting with a Federal government agency. This has been my work for the past 4+ years, after escaping private sector consulting, and it literally saved my mental health. We function almost as an extension-of-staff (aka Feds without the pension) and provide program management, strategic development, scheduling, and cost estimating services to Federal acquisition programs. I rarely work longer than 9-5 and have very good flexibility with my schedule. My Federal clients are passionate and mission-driven, but very respectful of our work-life balance. We typically work 1-3 year contracts
@@Adjacent_2 didn’t know about this thanks for sharing!
This is what I do right now as well. That’s the reason they say that Washington DC is “recession proof.” The city is full of government contractors
Tech consulting has kicked my ass. Coming up on year 3 and I have been interviewing for industry roles and I am blown away by how much I actually know.
Like you said I work with so many bright minds I genuinely feel mediocre and not that they make me feel that way. My colleagues are the reason I am still there but the imposter syndrome hits hard still and I am battling if I should go another year and dive into some specialty to then go client side.
Yah, had a taste of consulting and quickly was like "nope". There was a guy that tried to convert me back to consulting even though he was obviously miserable. I was like "I'll pass".
Management consulting will always be a bunch of BS that adds zero benefit to the world outside of the most superficial, fake corporations.
Great video! You are so eloquent and I loved listening to what you had to say. You definitely earned yourself a new sub :)
Thank you! That’s really sweet
Just getting out of consulting after a couple of years and going to go work for a state agency. The pressure to work more and more isn't just worth the marginally more pay.
The problem with consulting is that the organizations and their consultants have no industry expertise into the field they are trying to guide the client into. In practice this means that you have to connected with people that actually know what they're doing or just outright bullshit your way into a commission. The client is usually happy because they can shift the blame when things go wrong in their own organization by saying that they did everything by the books, which in fairness they did. The societal impact of this bullshit career is very negative however and the lifestyle is not very good either.
This was such a thorough and thoughtful video
@@Talidataluda thank you 😊
I spent 7 years in management consulting at a 2 notable firms before moving into banking.
This video is the BEST representation of the industry I’ve seen and perfectly encapsulates my experience.
I have no doubt my experience in consulting propelled my career. Very happy to have done it but glad I’ve moved on.
Great video
@@blueyays2312 thank you! Love what said at the end. Happy to have done it and get the learning / launchpad but also so glad to have moved on.
I’ve fallen out with a friend who went into consulting specifically over the psychological aspects you mentioned (pressure to grind, conventional success..etc). I went into the government/NFP world after graduation and the underlying differences in motivation/culture drove us apart.
@@beanie741 it doesn’t get talked about much but it’s real. Sorry to hear that
38:12 Jacky, you're right - you thought joy would come from one way and it didn't - You'll find it again on every other thing, you will keep chasing it unless you find out the truth. Not saying to sound super preachy or anything but I genuinely found peace and LASTING joy from the Book of Mormon - and I've seen it help others beyond what they thought was possible - go to the source, it's phenomenal, every page, it's all phenomenal and no man wrote that book without the help of a Creator, it will touch your soul to it's very core and feel more right than any powerpoint you got "just right" - it's beyond human satisfaction. It's the joy and the love of God made manifest - seriously, give it a look, you won't regret it, I promise you that - you will find joy, true joy!
Great video, thank you for sharing your experience.
Thanks!
For someone coming from a back office financial analysis background who is interesting in pivoting into consulting, do you have any recommendations on certifications, licenses, etc to help assist with the career pivot?
I tried working for a large consulting firm after working in a full-time developer role for 4 years. I only lasted 10 months and instantly knew when I left that firm that I never wanted to do consulting again. The weekly traveling was grueling...and even when you manage to get a local assignment, you're still subject to higher workloads and more hours because consultants are often expected to pick up extra work that the full-time employees hand off.
0/10. Would not recommend.
@@tp2005 I hate commuting when it’s just on the subway. Can’t imagine how tiring it must be to do it week in week out while flying or traveling to whole other cities.
Im in the process of applying for EY. I dont actually want to be a consultant but as a new grad I kinda feel like beggers cant be choosers. If they want to hire me I will humble accept, get some experience and move to a new company in a year or two. Grind culture in consultant companies is definitely a worry of mine.
@@Bjorn_R I’m sure a lot of people would resonate with that. It’s hard to find a job that pays well - let alone one where you hope to feel fulfilled by. Part of accepting things aren’t as you’d ideally want them to be but being able to make the most of it. Resilience can be a powerful thing.
How could you ever mix up Times New Roman and Arial?? 😮
How would you recommend for someone that wants to break into consulting? Is it necessary to do an internship?
@@FVrusoX internship is where a lot of people start but certainly not a pre requisite. For full time, if you aren’t at a target school you’ll just need to network your ass off. Find alumni or 2nd degree connections on LinkedIn who work at the places you’re interested in and could refer you.
From my side in technical consulting: life is good if you're senior here. Since you're the only one who knows how things work you can say no easily, especially in Europe
The thing about consulting is you will learn to work, most work doesn't really make sense and it doesn't provide any value for your customers, but you learn to put in hours. The only time you do something impactful for a busines is basically when you fire a couple of people, because thats mostly the only option left because you simply do not know the inner workings of the company better than anyone at management does. On top you might get some knowledge how to approach topics and get structure into your work life. Do it max for 1-2 years, move to a company and actually work on projects and products. The thing with fancy name companies (McKiney, PwC, KPMG,..) is, they know that everyone wants to come to them for the prestige, so they can also simply use you as an extendable ressource. they are Gucci and you are a customer who pays way to much for a leather bag.
I don't get why people pay so much for just advice. It just seems like those finance gurus/dating coaches that overcharge for a course/coaching program but at a corporate level. I feel like 99% of consulting advice, could be found through your own online research.
It means they can blame someone else if it goes wrong. The same reason why governments use consultants or their party would be to blame. It’s very inefficient. There’s a book called The Big Con
It’s a matter of liability. If the company pays someone else to make decisions they can pass the ball and the CEO can say “it wasn’t me! I was following the advice of my consultants!” Whenever a business starts tanking. It’s become an extension of bloated middle management, attempting to extract as much money for as little value as possible. Hundreds of people will “consult” on a project for millions of dollars when 1-2 qualified people could’ve made decisions more efficiently and for less cost.
That’s funny. I’ve only ever heard “golden handcuffs” about working a state job. (NY) It used to offer great pension, 401K, standard work hours, etc. Its more like Silver or Bronze level offerings now. Oh well!
@@IzChik all handcuffed to a system 🥸
For me the greatest source of anxiety was the constant pressure from inside the consulting company. The relative performance assessment - the laddering. The higher level colleagues you need to impress.
Making the client happy was most often easy in comparison.
very real. There's baseline anxiety of keeping up and not coming across as a poor performer
My goodness. Dodged a bullet when I decided to leave the business world. Thanks for the info.
I went into consulting just for fun. Gave myself one year and see what’s up. Left a year later and spent ten years in VC. Best life choice ever. Consulting work is the best way to earn an MBA and get paid. But don’t do it for the money. Do it for fun. The money will come along.
@@ForTheFLOL sounds like you had fun in VC?
How might someone go into a strategies and ops role without going through consulting? Or is it extremely competitive without that experience?
As someone applying to an MBA program and curious about consulting, I appreciate your perspective, especially explaining the negative side. Thanks for sharing.
It's extremely competitive - even for those who do have consulting experience and the right "fit" on paper.
But more so than the actual consulting experience it's about what that conveys - structured problem solving, data analysis, ability to quickly build powerpoints and make assumptions in ambiguous situations. If you capture these experiences or show that you have these skills in other ways that are obvious on a resume and during the interview, you could also get a fair shot.
I’ve worked in the construction industry for principal tier one contractors and blue chip developers in project management roles. I gathered around 14 years of experience prior to moving into consultancy at the start of last year.
I’ve actually enjoyed being in a position to advise clients and ensure I take an active role in securing multi million pound projects through competitive bidding. Moreover the ability to help people grow and working to reach their potential is a reward itself.
I would however strongly advise anyone to gain solid and substantial experience in the industry so that you are subject matter expert in your field to advise clients prior to joining a consultancy firm.
Your last piece of advice is hilarious. Most consultants are people fresh out of school or they have almost no experience in industries they advise. It’s really the number one reason people outside of the industry have so much disdain for them.
@@HelloThereWhy i think u have to differentiate what he's talking about (technical consultant) and the business consultant.. He's talking about a technical consultant.. you only fall under this category after many years of experience.. Usually if you were able to plug them in to your company they probably would be a subject matter expert or higher grade.. these don't come a dime a dozen.. many of which also have project management experience also.. depends on the industry... they are only a "consultant" by choice.. because they want flexibility.. most of which are ready to retire.. and only work on a per project basis.. i should point out.. some of these guys are "consultant" only contractually ... but they don't act in the same manner as a "business consultant" which this video is referring to..
Why did I get this in my recommendations when I will have my BCG online assessment in like 5 days
but no worries I applied to many other industries not just consulting. I really just want a job at this point
😂 good luck!
i don't even get to try if I like it. I applied for like 5 years and never made the final cut.
@@kevinj.carroll9807 who knows, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise 🤷🏻♂️
I was a consultant out of college. Crazy scam. What is a new grad going to be worth consulting on? Anyways I did software development consulting for Disney. It was weird. I barely did anything for 3 years. Got laid off eventually. I barely gained any skills during that time so getting my next role was like pulling teeth. Now I work my ass off at a startup for more $. Very lucky
honestly consulting doesn’t exactly open up as many doors as you think especially when you’re a junior consultant - most people just end up moving to another consulting firm or stay in “strategy” roles which are rarer. I had to start over when I wanted to do sth more technical - learned this the hard way 🙃
@@audreytirtaguna9885 I’ve noticed this too. The skills are transferable in business / corporate world but if you want to something different, you still have to start over from scratch cause the hard skills and day to day work are different
37:30 That for me is the essence of it all
Nice video! I'm a data engineer and noticed that many things you pointed out as tedious and boring work could be easily automated by scripts. Why do you think consulting firms don't hire programmers that automate internal stuff and make the consultants more productive?
Honestly? I’m not sure they have an incentive to. The more hours used to do tedious manual work, the more the firm gets paid. Likewise for the analyst, their incentive is to bill lots of hours so even if they automate a task, they end up getting more work anyway. Put simply, efficiency isn’t incentivized. That’s the more cynical perspective anyway (which has some truth to it). Even in Econ consulting where we spend most of our time in programming (R, Python, SAS, Stata) and trying to automate work, there still ends up being lots of manual effort.
Some other reasons
- The cost of automating is too high or the precision too low
- It’d be faster to brute force it than think of an elegant solution
@@Jackyye Exactly this. There is systematic redundancy in order to give people jobs and therefore $$$ for the corporation. Across all the different orgs I've worked at there are varying degrees of this - but it holds true across all firms.
@@cod4ipodwawRight? Whatever the industry, there’s a lot of inefficient processes, and it’s not always for lack of good people or effort. It’s sometimes (many times) just really frickin hard to scale and make things work better. Which is why people hire outside consultants in the first place I suppose 🤷🏻♂️ but they’re no silver bullet either.
Consulting should have never deviated from soemone who is an expert in their field to provide advise to a firm based on their expertise.
Consulting firms give advice on how to improve management, optimize processes...but can't resolve the issue with overworks of their own analysts??? How is that possible???
THE IRONNYYYY
great video
worth the wait.
@@vivekkunwarpal appreciate that! 🙏🏼
OMG I am doing a video series on exactly this topic on my channel too hahaha loved the video!
@@annabocca wait your videos are actually SOOO good!! I just watched and it feels like I’m watching an investigative documentary. I’ll be staying tuned for the rest of the series!
@@Jackyye we should totally collab soon! :D I dropped you an email
Consulting only helps you developing the skills if you are in your 20s.
After being in the real world long enough, consulting will not add anything, unless you get a cushy gig at Director or MD level.
Software or tech, still where it is IMO. Much lower stress for the most part, still, even with all the layoffs.
I guess if you're not into product dev or building things it might not be for you. But there are strategy and business bits and pieces at the large tech companies.
Don't do the software side if you're not actually into software though I'd say - you'll hate it.
When he says it's SINK OR SWIM.
HE'S NOT LYING!!!!!
Make powerpoints for 100k
PowerPoint makers. That’s consulting.
This is true
my company hired mcK consultants for some work. these folks came to our office and gave us a very fancy presentation, but the funny thing was, the content wasnt anything surprising. the presentation sure was dramatic xD
@@SB-hv1kd very fancy presentation sounds right 😂
Worked for Deloitte. Awful. Worst company in the world, most partners were sociopaths
If you can’t work like that, don’t. Many are willing to and don’t mind it. Also there’s so much wrong in this. Currently at Bain I’ve had 70 hour weeks and 40 hour weeks. On average 45-55 and I know some that never touched a minute over 55 (working in PEG by the way). Depends on the case. I’ve also never worked on the weekend and out of hundreds of us, probably two have worked a weekend in the past several years. Same with my friends at BCG. This is very firm dependent and just because MBB has a ton of money and many people can’t handle it doesn’t mean it sucks and people shouldn’t do it as you mentioned.
YMMV. I agree that's it can be very firm and location dependent. I literally say say in the video that most management consultants average 50 hours a week. Some will have more, some will have less.
What I disagree with is this idea that "if people can't handle it, then it doesn't mean it sucks". YES it does suck. If someone can't handle something and it causes them a lot of stress or overwhelm (or insert other negative feelings), it means it's not a great fit for them and that means IT SUCKS FOR THEM. The point of the video is not "consulting sucks". It's "consulting can suck and isn't this amazing shiny thing people get sold on"
45-55 hours is nothing to brag about. People who think working that long is nothing are crazy. You all need to get a life.
I run away from people with prestige and status...
Consulting is the WORST 😅
Jesus, they have an entire vernacular of their own to describe the basics of a math/science undergraduate degree.
Power Point B!+ches
Consulting is annoying
eevee
It’s not hard to understand… it’s a place to earn a lot of $ relatively young. It teaches you certain business skills that are highly transferable, and being able to hack that grind also serves as proves to future employer that you can work hard and can thrive in a corporate environment.
It’s kind of the well trotted path to senior management. Thats why all the high achieving young kids want to do it.
Sounds like a lot of those tasks are good candidates to be replaced by automation or AI
It’s possible. I feel like it’ll take a while - people seem skeptical of AI; trust is a tough bridge to build overnight