So now that i have my CA i wanna take the plunge into management consultancy. I always knew that somewhere down the line i would wanna get into management consultancy. The question is how do i stack up against people armed with MBA’s?? And do such companies give preference to MBA’s and how do they view CA’s?? Iv also thought about doing an MBA so i could compete more directly with other candidates when it comes to things like promotions. But if im gonna be paying £20,000 to do an MBA then i have to get an equal amount in return in terms of climbing the career ladder and financially. Your thoughts people??
Re: Management consultancy as a career
Its easier if you did some advisory work during training. Pure audit/tax background would mean starting from the scratch.
Re: Management consultancy as a career
So now that i have my CA i wanna take the plunge into management consultancy. I always knew that somewhere down the line i would wanna get into management consultancy. The question is how do i stack up against people armed with MBA's?? And do such companies give preference to MBA's and how do they view CA's?? Iv also thought about doing an MBA so i could compete more directly with other candidates when it comes to things like promotions. But if im gonna be paying £20,000 to do an MBA then i have to get an equal amount in return in terms of climbing the career ladder and financially. Your thoughts people??
Midnight, I have no knowledge of CA applicants but from what I know some firms here do not really care about Masters or MBA's. The last place I worked most people barely had any sort of Uni degree and were much higher on the ladder than me and most seemed to do so based on contacts and actual experience. In UK especially experience is key and in my opinion a lot of places take it over degrees and whatnot. When I applied for my job places didn't really care where I had done my degree from or what grades I had or if I had done the postgrad or not all they wanted to know was if I had experience but then again its different for every field.
Re: Management consultancy as a career
Midnight, I have no knowledge of CA applicants but from what I know some firms here do not really care about Masters or MBA's. The last place I worked most people barely had any sort of Uni degree and were much higher on the ladder than me and most seemed to do so based on contacts and actual experience. In UK especially experience is key and in my opinion a lot of places take it over degrees and whatnot. When I applied for my job places didn't really care where I had done my degree from or what grades I had or if I had done the postgrad or not all they wanted to know was if I had experience but then again its different for every field.
I actually spoke to someone who is in the field and he told me that MBA's are not what they once were and said exactly what youre saying - that they look at experience of candidates first and foremost. And tbh it makes sense. For me personally, the "real world work place" is where i excel. I dont really feel like my time in the classroom was that productive.
Re: Management consultancy as a career
So now that i have my CA i wanna take the plunge into management consultancy. I always knew that somewhere down the line i would wanna get into management consultancy. The question is how do i stack up against people armed with MBA's?? And do such companies give preference to MBA's and how do they view CA's?? Iv also thought about doing an MBA so i could compete more directly with other candidates when it comes to things like promotions. But if im gonna be paying £20,000 to do an MBA then i have to get an equal amount in return in terms of climbing the career ladder and financially. Your thoughts people??
Hey,
One of my friends at KPMG worked in the audit dept. and switched to mgmt consultancy after CA. She did that because her long term goal was to work on the Finance/Operations side (as opposed to Financial reporting) in industry. She interviewed internally and based on her ratings/feedback from managers, she retained her salary but had to start at the bottom of course because she had had no prior consulting experience. I think roughly it took her about 1.5 years before she was promoted to senior.
That said, you don't need an MBA in this field. Work experience and contacts are all that you need. It is a promising career but the hours are brutal though. But I'm sure you've done your homework.
Hours can be brutal especially in early years. Importance of MBA varies by company and type of mgmt consulting you are going in.
Plenty of consultants with undergrad degrees at KPMG or Accenture too. Developers, supply chain, finance, accounting, etc. Then you see people with no advanced degrees but experience in some software packages in addition to basic functional knowledge.
If you are looking at strategy consulting and especially at McKinsey, BCG etc, then MBA from a good place is fairly important. Even for Accenture or PWCs/booze strategy it is rather important, not a must have, but having one helps quite a bit.
Lastly, moving up the ranks in the consulting's up or out approach depends on many things.. Ability being one, what your profile reads to prospective clients as, Internal connections another big one. How much clients like you, industry presence etc are others.
So, competing does not end when you get in. You can razzle dazzle in one area but fewer areas of weakness compared to the people you will be competing against is a sound approach.