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How can I transition into the consulting field when I have a background in engineering?

Veteran

Tsu Kong Lue Santa Maria, CA

I have perused the websites of the big four strategy management consulting practices and searched though various online personal accounts about people's experiences. However, I am still left with some questions about how to best position one's self as a transitioning military officer coming from an engineering background. Seems that many who choose to go into consulting complete an MBA first. What are some tips for marketing myself?

23 January 2015 26 replies Career Exploration

Answers

Advisor

Seth Lynch Plano, TX

Tsu,

If you are looking at joining one of the big 4 as a strategic management consultant, your only real bet is to get your MBA from a top tier university and go through the recruiting process. Exceptions are usually if you are an internationally recognized leader in your field.

If you are looking into more technology consulting though, the door is a little wider open (but not too wide). Deloitte, Accenture, McKinsey, Boston, TCS and most of the other top tier all have non-management practices that recruit and hire technologists to support their work for clients. They are usually looking for people with key technical skills in a very specific market or people with demonstrated project execution experience for projects similar to what they provide to clients. While that is an effective way to join a top tier consulting firm, the military typically doesn't provide any relevant, referencable experience for those types of roles.

There is some hope though if you want to look at consulting roles right out of transition.

Most major technology companies and systems integrators have either consulting arms or systems integration practices that can get you the experience and connections to move to a more 'pure' consulting company. Take a look at Lockheed, NG (specifically NGIT), HP (specifically HPES and HPTS Consulting), Ericsson, L3, etc. Those companies have a little lower barrier to hire and are looking for engineers to fill out project teams. Those projects will get you the referencable experience to move.

Alternatively, look at corporate roles in Fortune 500 companies (Director level or above) who are usually the consumers of management consulting services. Spend 10 years in a decision making, engineering management role at any large, engineering centric corporation (think ATT, Verizon, GM, Ford, Schlumberger, 3M, etc.) , and the top tier consultants will be interested.

Good luck.

23 January 2015 Helpful answer

Advisor

Charles Krause Glendale, AZ

If you want to enter the strategic business planning consulting ranks you should have a plethora of successes so prospective clients will have something to judge your capabilities and how they relate to their business. You will, most probably, want to start with a consulting firm large enough to cover a beginner. However, you will almost certainly want to have your MBA and a STRONG knowledge of accounting and economic principles.

Face it - without those tools you will not have much to offer.

Chuck Krause

10 February 2015 Helpful answer

Veteran

Chad Cisco Coppell, TX

Current consultant at McKinsey.

There is a definite path to McKinsey direct from active duty. We have been proactively recruiting JMOs for some time. Typically non-MBA hires will come in a level below MBA grads. Also, the engineering background is a big plus. Business schooling is not required.

The above replies are correct that the main source of new talent is from Top Tier MBA programs, but I am not sure the return on investment (lost income and cost of school) makes sense if you can go straight to work.

I would suggest pursuing both paths. Apply to consulting firms and top tier MBA programs, if you get into a firm great. If not then, go do the MBA.

Feel free to reach out, if you would like to talk more.

5 February 2015 Helpful answer

Veteran

JD Modrak San Diego, CA

Tsu,
Just my two cents, as an MBA at a top 5 school that just recruited into consulting, and yes this is a great route... if you can afford it and get in. It isn't an end all, be all, and there are MANY other ways to get into top 6 firms... I am going to list examples, from all representative of 5 people I know who did it these 5 ways:

1. Ernst and Young Consultant: from JO to EY through a Headhunter: Cameron Brooks

2. McKinsey Associate: From JO/ Nuke SWO: Studied cases hard, directly to McKinsey (Ie it is not impossible, albeit go in at slightly lower level)

3. Accenture/ Deloitte: Know 4-5 consultants who went directly from JO to consultant by studying cases and networking with fellow Vets at these firms.

4. Consulting Operations: Know one guy from EDO route who went straight to McKinsey Ops from EDO world, he had some major PM experience, though no PMP.

5. Kurt Salmon: friend of mine struck out at B School App's got an awesome job at Kurt Salmon, working out of San Diego as a CPG Consultant.

-IE in one year I have met > 5 people who made this work without an MBA---> coming from an MBA. Also, if you want more info, I am holding an MBA conference in SD in April, free of charge to transitioning Vets. Johnmodrak@gmail.com for more info, happy to discuss on phone.

27 January 2015 Helpful answer

Advisor

David Alhadeff Buffalo Grove, IL

Hi Tsu,
I worked for two of the Big 4 consulting firms over the years, and their websites do broadly reflect the wide range of business problems they are solving for their clients. So many of these services require the technical know-how and problem solving abilities that you have and have gained over the course of your career. If you can find ways to translate that experience into stories that will enable a hiring partner to recognize the role you could play on a large project team or a contributing member of a newly budding practicing in manufacturing or supply chain or sourcing or technology, then you will become an appealing hire and team member. It is important to recognize that the MBA provides many of the leadership and core business skills to ultimately run a practice, but you have gained real life leadership skills that you can discuss, and many of the business skills such as running a large project, pricing work, and marketing your services can be learned over time.

Best of luck to you, and thank you for your service.

Dave

Advisor

George Oestreich Fort Lauderdale, FL

Is there a reason you have not considered researching consulting opportunities in the engineering field. Consider researching regions with strong growth, south Florida, metro areas of Texas and other similar areas.
My business of condo management uses consulting engineers for various projects as the typical condo Boards seek professional opinions and over-sight of complex condo building issues. The hourly rates for consulting engineers seem to be very strong.
Best of success and thank you for your service to our great country.

Advisor

John Patram North Olmsted, OH

There are a number of variables that impact your potential career within the Consulting sector and the type of Consulting firm that you feel would be a good match.

1. What is your undergraduate field of engineering in .... electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, chemical, industrial, systems, Supply Chain etc.
2. What type of Consulting and area of specialty are you seeking .... a domestic vs. global Consulting firm; education, manufacturing, supply chain etc. area of Consulting specialty
3. Flexibility to be able to travel > 75% of the year or the infamous 'road warrior'

Most entry level personnel within the medium to large global Consulting firms possess an MBA with focus upon Finance and/or Accounting that totally compliments a technical undergraduate engineering degree. Strong exposure to project management prinicples and the ability to understand rapidly the scope and expected deliverables of the client customer.

The undergraduate degree brings a value-add level of subject matter expertise (SME) to both the Consulting firm and the ultimate client customer.

The last bit of advice centers upon the ability to work in a fast paced, open communication team based environment in which you most likely will be the 'rookie' assigned to do a few of the less than challenging tasks, but this is all part of paying your dues as you move-up the Consulting organization chart.

Good luck

Advisor

Heather Gillbanks Houston, TX

One thing to add: companies who hire consultants like to see that the person is an Expert in some aspect of their field. If that is not true for you, it may be impacting your chances of getting hired.

Also, many/ most consultants do have advanced degrees (if you are a P Eng this counts!)

Advisor

Mark Hannah Incline Village, NV

I agree with Neil's viewpoint on Entrepreneuralism. Not sure what engineering you are, let's assume it's IT. If you're risk adverse (scared) follow the herd and overpay for an MBA then beg at the front door of an incestuous big four consulting firm like everyone else. As a Marine E6, I left after 12yrs active duty, earned my undergrad then went straight into consulting on my own with mentorship from my professors and some tips from Big Four consultants too scared to go solo. Tsu if you've the skill and experience (can provide a portfolio of your work) there is no reason you can't incorporate yourself then go to Dice or Indeed.com per se and perform contracts where with your military leadership experience and technical know-how will "consult" the check in the box MBAs along with advise big four consultants. It's idiocy to believe solely an MBA or big four consultancy are the path to success. Maybe outside the innovation capital of SF Bay Area and Silicon Valley these "framed good ol boy" checks in the box are required to get I. The club but as evidence this outdated thinking has proven inefficient and not the most lucrative.

Veteran

Nicholas Grimaldi Aldie, VA

Great article in HBR last month... scroll down to the part that discusses CEOs who are engineers.

https://hbr.org/2014/11/the-best-performing-ceos-in-the-world

Advisor

Andrew Breen Charlotte, NC

Try to get an entry level spot with an engineering consulting firm. Good luck.

Advisor

Andrew Breen Charlotte, NC

Try to get an entry level spot with an engineering consulting firm. Good luck.

Advisor

John DeNoy Ridgewood, NJ

Tsu, thank you for your service. Your background has you extremely well suited to go and work for any of the top 15 A&D contractors because the majority of the programs they support would leverage your military experience. Firms like Exelis offer Executive Training Programs to veterans. https://www.exelisactioncorps.com/

Good luck,
JD

Veteran

Joe Floyd Norfolk, VA

Tsu,

As an Air Force veteran, thank you or your service.

As a business owner we used consultants in the small business arena which we all know small business is is basically 90 percent family owned and operated. There are potential for consultants especially with the way government and industry regulations are being implemented. I would think an MBA is a good choice, however you need real world experience. I would suggest working with a business owner, one of your own choosing and combine that with working on your MBA at the same time will allow you to see how you can handle business situations and really become successful doing your own thing. Most consultants operate as lone wolves. This is however the time for business services and the demand gets larger because small business owners, and employers would rather farm these services out to consultants than have a paid staff employee perform them. Objectivity being the operative word for a consultant. One thing to remember is a paid consultant is paid for his expertise which may or may not be accepted. This is one of the pitfalls.

Good Luck and good hunting.

Joe Floyd

Veteran

Anthony Armelino Cicero, NY

Great question. I recommend applying to Deloitte's CORE leadership program. The next class is April. I attended the November 2014 class and I worked along side several Deloitte consultants and met with many of their recruiters or "talent managers". Great program and people. And it's fully funded by Deloitte.

Veteran

Dennis Santare Garden City, NY

If you are sure you want to be a management consultant:
1) Get an MBA
2) Cast a slightly wider net than just the "big 4"

Suggest exploring both at the same time. One really compelling aspect of the MBA for you is network expansion. As an engineer, you have a good chance of meeting the types of people that will make the next big thing, and you might be the technical partner on that thing. Plus you may find something you like better than consulting.

Veteran

Jeffrey Aquila Cibolo, TX

Hello Tsu, I work for Deloitte and at the level you would probably go in (which would be manager/specialist master) I do not think the MBA is necessary. Your military background along with your educational background should be good enough to get in the door for an interview. Also, networking is even more important than the MBA at this point. The MBA comes into play more so if you are eventually going for a Director Level or Partner Level path.

Send me your resume, my email is jaquila@deloitte.com. I will take a look at it and give you some input. I also can probably contact some internal resources and find the best way to network a Junior Military officer in the firm.

Thanks

Jeff

Advisor

Christian Grant Raleigh, NC

Tsu,

Thanks for your service. I have been in management consulting for a while now. Traditional recruiting routes through top schools are most comfortable for firms - the schools know how to present the candidates and the firms have processes in place to interview them. Getting into that pipeline is the key. For example, I used my undergraduate career center to help me after I graduated to exposure to the top consulting companies which led to a job.

Engineers are in demand because they know how to structure problems. The challenge with engineers can be that they are too rigid with their process and struggle with unstructured problems. So demonstrate how in the military you were put in situations where you had a mission, incomplete information and how you achieved the mission. Focus on how you structured your approach, communicated it and followed it through to achievement.

Last, netwotk, network, network. If you send me your resume I will be happy to review and send to one of our recruiters here at Deloitte.

RLTW,
Christian

Veteran

Tsu Kong Lue Santa Maria, CA

I have an electrical engineering background (BS & MS) and my technical experience has been in radar digital signal processing and data mining/machine learning (artificial intelligence). I have worked in US research labs before going to a Netherlands research lab as the AF Research Liaison. Currently I am in a more managerial role within the space launch arena where I have been a flight commander and I'm now the Quality Assurance Lead for 2 squadrons. Hopefully that's enough background info.

Advisor

Alan J. Zell Portland, OR

Tsu, the problem you face is that both terms -- consulting and engineering -- is that they are general terms. The question becomes of what type of engineering training and experience fits the type(s) of businesses that may become your prospective clients.

As a consultant myself, the biggest obstacle I had is the same one I faced when I was business in that the consultants who came in our door knew nothing about the idiosyncrasies about what we did, how we did it, and what we sold.

I came out of the retail jewelry and giftware industry but the openings for consulting in that industry were small if at all. The questions from those in other industries constantly asked me, "You were in retailing, what do you know about our business?" Well, for me it meant getting the trade magazines from my prospective clients so I could learn their nomenclature. In trade magazines the articles and most ads were trying to address problems most of their readers faced. I soon found out that the problems were very much alike. However, they saw their problems as being different from others in their industry. In my 30+ years as a consultant, the common problem was figuring out how to sell (which is what my business is based upon).

So, going back to your experience in engineering, how can you ADAPT according to what your prospective clients do? The task is wording it in different ways for each type of business to show them you know more than just being an engineering consultant. In the world of marketing, this is called niching. A good example of this is Goldratths' book on the theory of constraint, "The Goal" which he used to show how his project management can be used in many different ways. I have had versions of his theory with clients' paperwork flow, warehousing, etc. as these were areas that were deterring sales but they did not see it that way.

Do you need an MBA? If have a BA or MA in engineering, it may help to sell/convince prospective clients who "think" this is important. Sure, understanding the general tenets of business is important but maybe an MBA may not be the key. I've seen consultants with MBAs cause more harm than good because they knew theory but not the practical details of how the business and industry worked.

You have a choice of two tracks. One is to be a specialist in a particular type(s) or business or their industry, the other is to be adept at adapting what you do to fit what your clients do. It would be hard to be both.

Veteran

Colin O'Donnell Long Island City, NY

Most veterans hired as consultants at the Big 4 right as they transition don't have an MBA. To echo many of the comments here, consulting is a vague term and the field in which you wish to consult can have very different qualifications/expectations.

Advisor

FRANCIS TEPEDINO, ESQ. San Diego, CA

Yes, an MBA is fine. Lots of competition. Far too many MBA's.

However, if you want to be the BIG DOG in the room get a JD. I always enjoyed telling the other MBAs in the meeting that if they did what they propose, they would all go to jail.

Some universities: eg University of San Diego, in San Diego offers a combination MBA/JD. With this you will easily blow away all the competition. If you are interested, I am on the Board for the USD Law School and can give you some guidance.

Advisor

STEVE SWENERTON Boulder, CO

The responses above are really excellent. I totally support them. Looking to enter the consulting field, you need an MBA to complement your engineering background. And I would do some research to see what area of MBA concentration would be of the highest value to potential employers. It would help us in advising you to understand what area of engineering your background is in. With the technological aspect of so many start up companies, an engineering background could be very helpful. Do you also have language skills other than English? if so, that could be a very big help. Trying to integrate the traditional Asian ways of education and conducting business with the ways of Western business can be very challenging, and a Mandarin speaker who was raised in the West could be invaluable. So, I encourage you to look at the assets that you have vs the needs of the business world together with your career interests and fill in the gaps. Good luck!

Veteran

Michael Del Vecchio Killingworth, CT

Hi Tsu,

I worked for Price Waterhouse (management consulting firm) for a number of years. They hired me with two engineering degrees and lots of management experience, no MBA - I was basically the adult in the room for technical projects. I had teams of MBA's working for me at one point, my sense is that if you want an entry level job - which I think is a mistake for you - an MBA may help get you in the door. My guess is that one option for you is a firm that has a governmental practice that focuses on technical areas - maybe Booz Allen as one choice, possibly IBM.

I did several strategy projects at PW, did have prior experience as an executive in industry. My sense is that in order to break into the strategy area you need deep industry experience, not an MBA. Send me a message if you want to have a specific discussion. Take care

Advisor

C R Los Angeles, CA

I completely agree with Seth Lynch. An MBA from a top 5 school and a consulting internship in the summer in between the two years of school are by far the best way to go work for a top tier strategy consulting firm. It's largely a self-perpetuating cycle. These firms' consultants go back to their own business schools to recruit for new hires.

Advisor

Neil Serafin Easthampton, MA

Hello Tsu. The Fortune 500 companies are wary of consultants they do not know. They instruct their Directors to run with who got them where they are now, the big consulting firms. You as a one-man shop consulting firm, have an option. Run with the 2nd and 3rd tier companies in the industry you want to consult in. These size companies do not have the paid staff to solve their ongoing problems.

Contact the companies you are going to target and ask them what problems need to be solved now. Present yourself as a problem solver. Have the companies provide your road expenses and be on site as much as needed. Expect to travel to small town America. That is what I did as a consultant. I was the paid expert in a town where the most technically qualified person was the manager at Radio Shack.

Please feel free to contact me. My industry is Cable TV/Telecommunications.

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