| Topic Name: |
Science to consultancy... any chance??!! |
| Message Name: |
Depends.... |
| Date Posted: |
05/22/2003 |
| In Reply To: |
I want to move into consultancy, specifically business strategy, however I have no "relevant" (ie consulting/commercial) experience. I am a research scientist for a major Pharms company and can demonstrate leadership, problem solving etc etc, but not in a commercial environment.
I am only 25, so retraining is not a problem...
Is my experience worth a hoot? Or should be applying for graduate positions?
Are there any firms that like people with a science background?
What can I do to boost my chances?
I've thought about moving to marketing (or other commercial depts) within my current employer for a couple of years to gain exposure to this side of the business.
I am UK (North West) based and am under no illusion that consulting is anything other than hard work!
Any advice is greatly appreciated. |
| Message: |
....on your background,I'll assume you were educated in the UK. The top strategy firms (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) recruit almost exclusively from Oxbridge, though there are a few from Imperial; an Oxbridge 2:1 is a minimum, or a first from Imperial, to even have a chance of interview. I know people with Oxbridge 1sts who haven;t been interviewed, however, as they had weak extracurriculars.
That said, if you have that, the time spent in pharma will not count against you. At McK and BCG you may even get some credit for it (higher entry level).
If you aren'tfrom the above background, don't panic- get a good MBA (ie ideally Harvard/Wharton/Stanford/Kellog/Insead; if it has to be a UK degree then LBS) whichis possible even if you aren't from Oxbridge, and apply afterward. The sign on/higher entry level will help recoup the cost of the MBA.
I'm afraid I don't know much about thew lower tier startegy firms, but would advise against delving too deep as startegy consulting is in poor shape at present, and I suspect only the top firms will come out in any recognisable form.
Best of Luck
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