Management consulting

Management consulting is a popular career for graduates, with the potential to earn salaries way above the graduate average. Entry is highly competitive.

Management consultants analyse and evaluate a client’s organisation and propose ways to improve its structure, efficiency or profitability. The range and type of work that management consultants undertake varies with each project: some large consultancy firms operate in all sectors, while other firms (often smaller in size) specialise in a niche area such as IT or HR.

Careers in consultancy are open to graduates from any degree discipline. The common theme is that graduates who enter this area have always performed very well academically on their course.

Working in management consulting is a very sought after career option and many graduates consider it as something that would interest them. However, it doesn’t suit everyone. Working hours tend to be very long and intense; employees often have to sacrifice their personal lives for their careers. Similarly, because of the project-based nature of the work, you don’t necessarily get to see the long-term impact of your contribution to a client company and this does not suit everyone.

For the right person, though, this is a career with many benefits: the opportunity to work on leading-edge projects; high starting salaries; international assignments; and exposure to a broad range of industry sectors and functions.