What is a Management Consultant: 7 Things You Should Know

1. What is a Management Consultant?

A management consultant is a business expert who assists firms in discovering prospective development opportunities, optimizing value, and finding solutions to internal problems. They are skilled professionals who create essential strategies and find solutions to challenging business issues.

Qualified specialists offer strategies and solutions to enhance an organization’s financial and operational health. In addition, they have the expertise to provide companies and businesses with strategic counseling to help their clients’ organizations become more financially and operationally sound. 

You might have seen many management consultants assisting organizations in acquiring specialized talents that they might be lacking. Employing their business expertise, these trained professionals guide firms in resolving internal problems, enhancing performance, maximizing value, and spotting prospective development prospects.

2. What Types of Work does the Management Consultant Do?

When you become a management consultant, your main focus is the company’s strategy, structure, management, and operations. You are responsible for discovering opportunities for the organization, making recommendations for change, and offering advice on extra resources to carry out your ideas.

You may work for a consulting firm that provides complete solutions to small and established businesses in particular industrial sectors.

Your work could include:

• E-business
• Business Strategies
• Financial and Management Controls
• Supply Chain Management
• Marketing and Advertising
• Operations 
• Reorganizations and Mergers
• Strategic Leadership and Organizational Development
• Risk Management
• Human Resources
• Information Technology 

As a management consultant, you will:

• Conduct analysis
• Interview the client’s employees
• Manage team and other stakeholders
• Lead focus teams and facilitate workshops
• Create business proposals and presentations
• Identify issues and form hypotheses and solutions
• Present findings and recommendations to clients
• Implement solutions to ensure your client is happy and satisfied

3. What are the Working Hours of Management Consultants?

Working as a consultant can be difficult and require lengthy hours past the standard 9-to-5 business day, with additional work to complete larger projects and meet deadlines. 

However, businesses are paying more attention to work-life balance by providing advantages that support families, such as flexible scheduling, part-time employment, working from home, and extended maternity and paternity leaves. Some people support career breaks in different positions or outside the business.

Your hours will, however, vary depending on the company and the project.

Some of these factors are:

– The Firm You Work for

Of course, one of the main factors influencing your working hours as a management consultant is the company you choose to work for. For instance, firms like BCG, Bain, and McKinsey work with extensive schedules compared to other consulting agencies such as Big 4. 

One reason behind this is because the project team is required to perform at high standards within condensed deadlines on extremely complicated topics due to McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and Bain & Company’s much higher (and occasionally exponentially higher) daily costs compared to other consulting companies.

– Type of Project You Are Doing

While implementation projects, which last for many months and include working concurrently with the client team, tend to go more slowly (8–10 hours/day), due diligence projects, which are brief (2-4 weeks) and intense, tend to have very long working hours (+12 hours/day).

– Specific Sector

Long work hours are more common in some industries, primarily when you serve as a management consultant. For instance, banking is typically on the more demanding end, whereas mining, where working hours are restricted for safety reasons, is typically on the opposite end.

– The Geography You Work in 

Geographical location is crucial since it represents the particular clientele, demographics, and corporate culture. 

– The Leadership of Your Project

A more significant number of leaders encourage a continuous shift in the project’s goals and methods for attaining them, leaving the team to reassemble and work under pressure.

 – Your Professional Goals

You, as a consultant, need to recognize your own needs, establish boundaries, respect your team and clearly express your expectations.

4. What Can You Expect From Being a Management Consultant? (Pros and Cons)

PROS

Significant Step for Your Career 

Management consultants have many opportunities to advance their careers. You can grow your career with additional training to learn new tactics and commit to a lifelong career.

Plus, professional consulting may be a very lucrative vocation, with some earning six-figure salaries annually and the opportunity to earn more with experience. That means you can earn high incomes as an effective management consultant.

Networking Opportunities

Management consulting is about getting numerous opportunities to connect or network with high-profile professionals and clients. It is a fast-paced, sometimes unpredictable professional path full of variation.

Rewarding Career Choice 

Consulting can be a fantastic career choice if you can thrive in challenging situations and find constant change interesting. It will give you immense satisfaction to help a variety of businesses succeed.

Diversity in Work

In consulting, it’s uncommon to spend your days working on the same responsibilities while seated at a desk. You get many learning opportunities and hone organizational, analytical, and communication skills. 

Flexibility and Variety (Flexibility in Clients and Day-To-Day Activities) 

Another benefit that makes management consulting a progressive career option is its flexibility and variety. You can meet clients per your working schedule and plan day-to-day activities.

Opportunities to Travel 

Management consultants spend a lot of time traveling from location to location. As many firms have offices overseas, it can allow you to work and travel abroad. 

Amazing Exit Opportunities

As a consultant, you work in a variety of industries and several different sectors or functions. Thanks to this broad exposure, you have the necessary skill set such as leadership, problem-solving, and achieving to succeed in various professions. This makes management consultancy a profession with excellent exit opportunities. 

CONS

Stress and Expectations

Dealing with chaotic management and challenging personnel while having a big task may be quite stressful.

Lengthy Working Hours

You have to work approximately 60 and 80 hours a week evaluating and analyzing enterprises.

High Competition

As management consulting is one of the most competitive industries, you may face a lot of rivalry for clients and opportunities.

Less Family Time

Management consulting can be demanding as you will have to travel all the time for work. That may require you to sacrifice your family and home time.

Lack of Tangible Outcomes for Some Clients

Not all clients or deals give the same results. You need to put in more effort to get tangible outcomes.

Insufficiently Creative Environment

Management consulting often includes strategizing business to make informed decisions. You may find this field less creative in that sense.

5. How much does a Management Consultant make?

A management consultant’s salary is typically around $100,000 per year. This will be strongly influenced by your firm, your chosen industry, the clients you serve, as well as your training and prior job experience. The good news is that over the upcoming decade, management consultants’ employment (frequently referred to as analysts’) is expected to rise 11%.

6. How to Become a Management Consultant

Acquire a Bachelor’s Degree

Most management consultants begin their professional lives by obtaining a bachelor’s degree in a business-related or consulting-related discipline. Therefore, enrolling in a degree program at a college or university should be your initial step in becoming a management consultant.

You can select a major in business administration, commerce, financial management, accounting, marketing, general finance, project management, economics, or a related topic.

Seek out Chances for Internships to Gain Experience

As your career progresses, internship opportunities will give you crucial and practical information about the management consulting industry and will enable you to comprehend the function of a consultant. Additionally, by participating in such activities, you might network with business leaders and make meaningful connections that could help you land a job after earning your bachelor’s degree.

Obtain a Professional Certification or a Master’s Degree

Since business administration or related fields offer certificates or master’s degrees, it may be advantageous for candidates to legitimize themselves given the competitive nature of the management consulting industry. 

Not only can this degree help you develop your expertise as a management consultant, but it can also provide you an advantage when you enter the job market.

Even getting a degree in the specialist field, you wish to consult on is helpful. For instance, consider obtaining a professional certificate or advanced degree in IT if you’re interested in consulting on IT issues.

Look for Job Opportunities

Start looking for work as a management consultant as you complete a four-year degree program. It is crucial for professional growth and experiential learning.

Remember that individuals pursuing summer internship positions are preferred by renowned consulting firms. That is why you should focus on demonstrating your ability to blend into a company’s professional culture and offer value to its operation.

Join a Network and Keep Learning New Things

With increasing competition in the consulting firm, it’s crucial to have a growth-oriented mindset. You should actively seek out career networking opportunities, especially in your internship phase. Keep in mind that you can only attain and maintain long-term success when you put effort into expanding your professional network while learning current consulting trends.

7. What are the Exit Opportunities Available for Management Consultants?

Corporate Management

Regardless of how experienced a consultant you are, you can choose corporate management as one of the exit opportunities. It helps you sync all your skills, allowing you to employ your industry knowledge and functional expertise. 

Banking and Finance 

Suppose you have exceptional financial capabilities, which enable you to work for some of the finest financial organizations in the world, including asset management, private equity, hedge funds, and equities research firms. In that case, this can be a great exit opportunity for you. 

Non-Profit Organizations and NGOs 

This consulting exit opportunity could be for you if you sincerely desire to improve the world over solely pursuing financial gain. You develop your problem-solving skills while serving as a consultant for large corporations or small non-profits. 

You can use your problem-solving abilities to address societal concerns such as a lack of clean water and food, inconsistent electrical supply, access to climate change and healthcare, etc.

Public Sector

Do you have the ability to influence people as a management consultant?

You have an opportunity to serve in the public sector to bring social change. You not only get numerous networking opportunities but also chances to impact society.

Start-up 

If you decide to pursue a career in management consulting, you will spend most of your time assisting organizations in finding solutions to their challenges. You’ll gain an understanding of how businesses are created and expanded, and having this knowledge and expertise can help you launch your own company. Ex-consultants frequently launch new businesses from nothing.

Independent Consulting

Of all the exit opportunities, this could be the one that provides the most flexibility in your career. Only a certain level of business has effortless access to top-tier consulting firms. Additionally, working with top consulting firms that have been around for decades may be expensive. 

This creates an excellent opportunity for you. You can work as a consultant on your own. You can pick your own clients, projects, working hours, and location as an independent consultant.

In Summary

Succeeding in management consulting requires you to pass through several milestones, such as suitable undergraduate or graduate degrees, MBA programs, priceless work experience, and networking. The information should give you a good head start.