I’ve never seen myself as someone cut out for consulting. Based on my conversations with friends and classmates with experience at large firms like Bain, BCG, and McKinsey, consulting required really long nights, the ability to consistently overpower any feeling of burnout, and a passion for creating a social life out of work...and frankly, everyone loves to joke: “what do consultants even do?” But jokes aside - it just didn’t feel like an industry that would work for me and what I wanted out of work.
After working on this semester-long consulting project, however, I’m starting to see a lot of the appeal of the consulting space. I appreciate the project-based structure, where you see a clear start and finish and outcomes are (for the most part) measurable. I really enjoyed working with a client with whom we shared a mutual interest in the content of the project. Knowing that our ultimate deliverables would be delivered to our client raised the bar for the quality of our work, which pushed us to think outside of the box and exceed their expectations. It felt good, at the end of the project, knowing that the work we were doing would contribute to the ability of our client to succeed. Consultants play a crucial role in guiding organizations through transformational changes. It is impactful work.
Hearing about the fascinating work that my classmates undertook with their own clients also highlighted the fact that consultants are exposed to diverse learning opportunities across various industries, business models, and organizational cultures. Through this work you get to connect with a wide range of professionals and build a strong network, which can be beneficial for future career opportunities. Gaining exposure to different industries and different business segments within these industries also means that consultants develop adaptability and transferable skills, making it easier to switch industries or roles in the future.
Finally, I loved getting the experience to think creatively about this project for our client. After working in finance for four years, an industry that, for the most part, is somewhat lacking on the creative front, it was nice getting to itch my “right-brain.” I learned to think on my feet and not be afraid of the challenges that were thrown at my group, but rather to leverage our group’s diverse set of skills to overcome the challenges through creative solutions. This class could potentially be the cornerstone of my sustainability-focused career, and I look forward to exploring how the skills I’ve developed through this experience can contribute to making me a leader in making the world a more sustainable, just place.