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The Secret of Your Success: A Consulting Career

By Francine L. Huff
Learning & Life Columnist
July 16, 2007

Many businesses need help solving problems that may be keeping them from reaching the next level of growth. A management consulting career can allow you to use your expertise to help businesses streamline procedures and grow revenues. Management consulting also pays very well: starting annual salaries average around $49,781, according to CNN.

Big Picture People

Management consultants help organizations solve problems by researching current operations and procedures, budgets, technology, or asset management. Management consulting requires being able to see the big picture, having good listening skills, and communicating effectively. Management consultants spend a lot of time researching different areas of a company, analyzing data, and looking at the roles of employees.

Management Consulting Career Education

Although there are no specific educational requirements for management consulting jobs, 72% of consultants have a bachelor's degree or higher, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). A bachelor's degree in economics, business, statistics, logic, or even computer science can give you a good foundation, depending on your area of interest. However, many companies are looking for job applicants with MBA degrees. Studying for an MBA degree can build your critical thinking, management, business, and economics skills. Experience as an entrepreneur or executive can also help land consulting jobs.

Consulting Is a Demanding Career

Management consultants can often expect to work long hours, spend a lot of time in clients' offices, and travel a lot. Some management consultants polled by the Princeton Review reported 60-hour workweeks as part of the training and education process. IF that schedule isn't for you, however, there are ways around it. Working for a government agency as a management consultant may be a little less hectic. And about 25% of consultants are self-employed, according to the BLS, allowing them to set their own hours.

Management consultants work in a variety of industries, including marketing, finance, corporate strategy, e-commerce, and information systems. The job outlook is excellent, and consulting is ranked as the fifth fastest-growing industry through 2014, according to the BLS.

Sources

• Princeton Review, "Career: Management Consultant"
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services"

About the Author
Francine L. Huff is a freelance journalist and the author of The 25-Day Financial Makeover: A Practical Guide for Women. She has appeared on a variety of TV and radio shows.

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