From STEM to Consulting – Tips for a Successful Career Start!

When thinking of a management consultant, you probably think of a typical businessperson with a high collar who has studied at a top university or private business school. Although most management consultants do have a background in business studies, companies are increasingly attaching great importance to the diversity of their consultants' degrees. They now range from mathematicians and natural scientists, engineers, and doctors to graduates with a linguistic or cultural studies background. Graduates with a STEM background, in particular, are very welcome at top consulting firms.

In this article, we will show you why a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics may give you an advantage in getting a job at a management consultancy. Furthermore, we will give you six tips for your career start in management consulting and show you which entry options the industry has in store for you.

As a STEM-Graduate You Are in Demand!

In the current war for talents, companies have a special interest in bringing those talents into their team who constitute the bridge between technical and business know-how. This is why, management consultancies are particularly keen to attract young professionals who have completed a degree in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as additions to their teams. Especially due to the increasing digitalization, the associated exposure to big data, and other technical topics, consulting firms are forced to approach clever minds from these relevant "non-business" areas. They want to provide the increasing number of clients from technical backgrounds, with those consultants who can understand and speak their language.

As someone with a STEM background, your strengths include your ability to implement, your affinity for numbers, your analytical skills, and your ability to simplify complicated tasks. These are exactly the things you need in consulting: you receive a lot of information from different people and have to draw the essential conclusions from it to understand correlations. Furthermore, your basic studies are generally more difficult to complete, involve more work and the academic content is more complex. A good degree on your part indicates that you are willing to work hard to achieve your goals.

Why You Should Enter Consulting with a STEM Background

For graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the career path usually leads to the industry or research. Nevertheless, some students are already studying a STEM subject with the idea of entering consulting later on or decide to do so during their studies. After all, consulting is a professionally challenging, well-paid job that can open many doors in business and beyond.

Of course, you have to decide for yourself whether the job as a consultant is right for you, as it is a hard job with a high proportion of travel to a wide range of clients and demanding projects. In order to get some further insights, here is what our experts with "non-business" degrees say on how they got into consulting and what they particularly like about the job:

Your Career Entry Options as a STEM Graduate

If you decide to start your career in management consulting, you have a wide range of options to choose from. From international strategy consulting to in-house consulting and IT consulting. The possibilities are broad. We will briefly present the entry options to you here:

• International Strategy Consulting Firms – Companies like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG (MBB) are increasingly looking for STEM graduates as they are dealing with projects that are more and more analytical and quantitative, and therefore need your expertise. Joining MBB is a real career boost and can open many doors in the industry for you after only a few years on the job. Also, these consultancies are distinguished by large projects with well-known clients. However, you must also be aware of the high level of willingness to travel and long working hours.
  
• Inhouse Consulting – Inhouse consulting can be a good option for you if you are looking for a better work-life balance at a comparable salary. Companies with a technical background such as Volkswagen Consulting or TKMC are particularly suitable for consultants with a scientific background.
  
• Boutique Consultancies – Boutique consultancies are characterized by their flat hierarchies and the possibility of taking on more personal responsibility. This offers more variety in everyday work, compared to international strategy consultancies. Especially boutique consultancies which are specialized in technology-oriented industries are looking for profiles like yours. These include boutique consultancies such as Andersch or Moonroc.
  
• IT-Consulting – Companies such as Accenture or IBM Business Consulting offer IT solutions and consulting for customers. They are specialized in this area and thus supervise large projects in the industry. If you have an IT background, an entry into an IT consulting firm can also be an attractive career step, as you can find classic consulting services, but you also have the opportunity to focus on IT solutions.
  
• Internship in Consulting – Don't just think about it, do it! You could just start to gain your own experience and find out if consulting is the right thing for you. So why not try an internship and attend career events to get an idea of the working environment. Alternatively, you can also get involved in student-led consulting groups. Here, you have the opportunity to make contact with consulting companies and gain experience in real consulting projects that a pure STEM study program cannot offer on its own.

By now, you may have realized that consulting offers a valuable start to your professional life and provides many advantages in terms of personal and professional development. But is a STEM degree already an entry-ticket for McKinsey, BCG & Bain, or what do you actually need in order to be successful and get the job offer at a top consulting firm?

1. Tailor Your CV in order to increase your chances

The very first thing recruiters are going to be looking at is your resume. This is your first hurdle and should be well designed. Consultants usually pay attention to the following factors in applications:

• School/University reputation
• Degree
• Academic performance
• Professional experience
• Extracurricular activities
• Experience abroad
  ​

2. Get to Know the Consulting Industry

There are so many things you can do in order to become familiar with the consulting industry. You may join the consulting club of your university and start practicing cases. This will give you an insight into how consultants work. Further, you can try out the Project Simulations on PrepLounge. Here you can go through the interactive projects and get to know different industries and topics. Speaking of different industries and topics: Reading magazines and newspapers will be a particularly useful tool in order to acquire business acumen and learn about different industries. Lastly, we suggest that you make use of our Consulting Q&A to pose your questions to the community and consulting experts or read through questions that have already been asked, to get an idea of the consulting industry.

3. Build Your Network and Try to Get a Referral

Further, we recommend participating in recruiting fairs and networking events to expand your network and build up contacts in the industry.

One of our experts has several tips and insights at hand that will help you to successfully network during fairs and events and acquire referrals.

4. Work on Your Communication Skills

A management consultant needs to be a Master of Communication. In order to train this skill, it helps to practice as many mock interviews as possible – with other case partners or experienced MBB coaches. Always ask for feedback on this dimension (confidence, non-verbal, and verbal communication), as it will be an important factor not only during the interview but also on the job. You can also train your public speaking skills by giving extra presentations at your university or joining a debate club.

5. Prepare for Your Case Interview

If you want to succeed in consulting, you have to succeed in your interview first! For this, extensive case preparation is needed. You should do the following:

• Acquire the theoretical basics and work on your case-solving skills
• Practice online with other candidates
• Get support from coaches
• Improve your mental math skills

For more tips on your case prep, don’t forget to have a look at the following articles:

• Case Interview – The Ultimate Guide for Your Case Prep
• Case Interview Coaching: How to Make the Most out of Your Coaching Sessions in 6 Step

Did you submit your application? Next up is case interview prep. Remember: The more you practice with other candidates, the more confident you will become, and the sooner you will be able to secure a job at the consultancy of your choice.

6. Don’t Forget the Personal Fit Part

The personal fit part of an interview is often underestimated by candidates, even though it is just as important as the case interview part. You should have a meaningful answer to the questions you may be asked, for example why you want to go into consulting. You should always emphasize your skills in dealing with other people and your ability to work in a team. This should enable you to convince the recruiters of your potential! If you want to dig deeper, the following guide might be interesting for you: Integrated FIT Guide for MBB

So, where we at? Do you have what it takes to be a consultant? If so, start your case interview preparation now and move one step closer to your dream job in consulting!