How to break into the management consulting industry with an MBA

Looking for a career where you get to work with senior leadership, board members and executives? Do you want to find and implement solutions to business or operational challenges and provide independent business analysis of a company's current operations? A career in consultancy might be for you.

With these benefits, it’s no surprise that many MBA students and graduates see management consultant jobs as the perfect opportunity to apply their new skills and expertise.

Amandeep Gill is a recent graduate of UQ’s Master of Business Administration who now works at Hatch as a senior consultant. He says there were 3 reasons he was interested in a consultant career:

1. I wanted to broaden my horizons. Consulting jobs offer a wide array of projects, presenting a great learning opportunity through exposure to various industries, businesses, and challenges.
2. Getting into consulting aligns with my long-term career goal of becoming an executive. With its multifaceted projects and client engagements, consulting jobs offer opportunities to create high impact on client organisations in key strategic areas of their business. This experience will equip me for challenges in future leadership roles.
3. I’m a curious person by nature. Consulting is all about staying curious to collect data and deliver a meaningful outcome for clients through analysis and synthesis of collected information. It is an ideal terrain for a naturally inquisitive person like me.

So, what is consulting?

Consultants can be employed to provide information, advice and recommendations to clients to address problems they need help with. They may also assist with implementing solutions and facilitating client learning and look for additional opportunities to improve organisational performance and effectiveness. Areas of focus for advice include operations, strategy, management, IT, finance, marketing and HR across a wide range of industries.

If you’re considering studying an MBA and wondering what career outcomes are possible, or if you’re just interested in learning more about the management consulting industry, here are 4 ways our graduates were able to leverage their MBA to move into successful consultancy careers.

How to launch your consulting career with an MBA

1. Explore, redefine and choose your niche

The UQ MBA is designed to expand your knowledge, thinking and experience by covering a diverse range of topics relevant to business leaders, from management and HR to marketing, finance, innovation and operations design. While some students come into the program with a clear idea about their career direction and where they’d like to go, others find opportunities to develop or adapt their speciality along the way.

This was true for Pratiti Nath. While studying her MBA, Pratiti started meeting new people and exploring different industries where she could combine her previous business knowledge and extensive research experience.

“Being surrounded by sharp thinkers enhanced my knowledge and I learnt to think in a new way,” she says. 

“While I’d had a lot of research experience and launched my own startup, the UQ MBA expanded my knowledge of accounting and consultancy to create new career possibilities.”

Similarly, Amandeep had 14 years of experience in the engineering domain before starting his MBA, including a 5-year tenure as a chartered engineer. He found the MBA expanded his problem-solving perspective and skills from a technical focus to a more comprehensive, business-oriented approach.

“I gained understanding and knowledge of various business concepts such as strategy, finance, operations, and marketing, which are essential in a consultant career,” he says.

Oscar Bouman came into the MBA with a background in architecture and found he was able to explore a new focus area over the duration of the program.

“As a consultant, you want to narrow your focus and develop your own brand that you’re known for,” he says.

“The UQ MBA gives you time to figure out what your niche is.”

2. Establish diverse exit opportunities

Many MBA candidates enter the program in pursuit of new opportunities. During their studies, our MBA students prepare for the variety of day-to-day responsibilities they’ll encounter in consulting positions by gaining strategic leadership knowledge and skills that can be applied across industries.

“My MBA helped me reflect on my leadership skills and improve them,” says Amandeep.

“I have developed the ability to tackle complex, multifaceted problems, which contributed towards gaining a leadership role."

“I’ve also honed my presentation and communication skills, while learning about the power of communicating complex ideas in a clear and compelling manner."

“The UQ MBA involves conducting thorough research as part of most courses and the capstone project," he says.

"This is a crucial skill that I’ll take into my consultant career.” 

Practical UQ MBA projects

If you study your MBA at UQ, you’ll complete your choice of 1, 2 or 3 project courses to apply everything you’ve learned to a product, service or idea. Amandeep’s MBA project gave him the opportunity to work with a client and provide them with strategic advice.

“I chose this project based on our client’s desire to explore an entrepreneurial and ambitious venture but in a highly uncertain and ambiguous context,” he says.

"While I had the confidence to contribute to the team and client based on my prior experience, what truly excited me was the intricate nature of the opportunity facing our client. It offered endless potential for exploration and learning in a new area, an opportunity I had not encountered in my previous career.”

Working in a consulting job opens up global opportunities for MBA graduates to leverage their expertise and accelerate career outcomes.

“I began working as a consultant while studying my MBA, and soon joined one of the big global consulting companies in Australia,” says Pratiti. 

“It was rewarding being able to grow in a new industry and apply the skills I was learning in the UQ MBA to my work. Six months later, I moved overseas and then I was hired as a senior associate in the same organisation.”

One of the benefits of working as a consultant is the opportunity to continue developing key skills.

“In a short period of time, I’ve worked on a variety of government health projects, facilities, software upgrades, and more,” says Oscar.

“I’ve also worked a lot with project managers and private enterprise. You gain a diverse variety of experience very quickly in consulting jobs.”

3. Diversify your connections and industry network

Much like how management consulting jobs engage a wide array of clients, the UQ MBA attracts a variety of professionals to the program. The diversity of this cohort strengthens the networking opportunities available to current students with peers, alumni and industry, and these connections can help shape successful consultancy careers.

“The UQ MBA offered me access to a valuable network of classmates, professors, and alumni who either previously worked in consulting or were currently in consulting jobs,” says Amandeep.

“Networking is key as it can open many doors in consulting. Especially with the UQ MBA cohort, there’s a good chance you already know someone who works in consulting.”

There’s even an MBA Consulting Club you can join if you’re keen to meet with peers already working in consulting jobs or looking to get into the management consulting industry. 

4. Career support and tailored opportunities

The MBA Careers and Professional Development Team provides students and alumni with opportunities to make professional connections and expand their opportunities. This can include mixer events where you can meet employers from growing consulting companies with vacant positions in all industries and learn more about this career path.

“The MBA careers team runs employer mixers, which can provide students with valuable insights into what it’s like to work in the consulting industry and how to make the move,” Amandeep says.

Amandeep met a representative from international consulting firm Hatch at one of these MBA Careers Employer Mixers. Now, he works as a senior consultant in their advisory team.

Pratiti says the UQ MBA offers a unique support network that positively influences student and graduate career outcomes.

“Throughout the program, I gained valuable resources from the MBA team that supported different aspects of my career,” she says.

“It was helpful to have someone work on my CV with me early on, as well as connecting me with a broader network of people.”

Oscar agrees.

“One of the reasons you do an MBA at UQ is for the huge network and opportunities it affords,” he says.

“When I first started the program, I didn’t know who I wanted to work for, so the support of the UQ MBA team and having a mentor helped me string it all together.

“Due to the opportunities the UQ MBA has given me, I’ve been able to consolidate my career in a completely new environment.” 

Discover your next career opportunity with a UQ MBA