UK Doctor Pivot to Consulting

Question

Hi

I’m a current F2 doctor in the UK (year 2 post graduation). I’ve been researching alternative careers to pivot into rather than continuing in the NHS. I feel like management consulting could be a good fit - a move from diagnosing and treating patient problems to diagnosing and treating business problems.

Has anyone got any guidance about whether it’s possible to get into MBB from a med school background if my medical degree isn’t from a top university like oxbridge? Does high performance in a less prestigious uni help make up for that? For context the uni is a lower ranked Russell Group uni, I graduated with honours in the Top 5% of my year group and earned several academic prizes during my time at uni

Answer 1

Hi!

Nice decision to enter management consulting! Happy to share my insights from Germany: I had a lot of colleagues with a medical background at McKinsey. From my point of view a “target medical school” does not exist for consulting (at least in Germany). Having done medical studies is a great entry point into consulting! Especially life sciences at McKinsey is always seeking for new colleagues with medical backgrounds!

Good Luck!

Alessa

Answer 2

Hi there,

Q: Any guidance about whether it’s possible to get into MBB from a med school background if my medical degree isn’t from a top university like oxbridge? Does high performance in a less prestigious uni help make up for that?

It's possible, but ideally you want to compensate for the non-target school with the rest of the application materials. I would recommend two main things to compensate for that:

Ensure the rest of the CV is solid (format and description of the experiences)
Get a referral

You can find more on referrals below:

▶ How to Get an MBB Invitation

You can also get an idea of the realistic chances from your school by looking if there are previous school alumni in MBB on LinkedIn.

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 3

Hi there,

Yes, this is possible. A know several colleagues at McKinsey who hold medical backgrounds.

On top, most of consulting firms have a healthcare practice these days. Your background is very valuable for a lot of clients in that industry.

Best,

Alberto

—

Check out my latest case based on a real MBB interview: Sierra Springs

Answer 4

Worked with several people who transferred successfully from consulting.

It's actually quite a common path within the lateral hires section of candidates.

Happy to chat on what are the specificities of the application process for doctors, but for now you can get started with this framework of how to put together an application strategy:

Expert Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy

Non-target uni is not a problem if you can build a stellar application package.

Best,
Cristian

Answer 5

Since you are on the Top 5% and it is a quite demanding degree, I believe you have a fair chance of making it to the interview round.

I would suggest that you invest some time in networking (and a bit of time studying some basic business courses) as that may help you in getting an interview (and also on gaining a bit more understanding on what a consultant really does).

Answer 6

Hi there, I have coached several doctors from the NHS (and also outside the UK) for consulting roles and also met qui... (read entire answer)

Hi there, I have coached several doctors from the NHS (and also outside the UK) for consulting roles and also met quite a few while at McKinsey. A couple of observations: 1. You... (read entire answer)

Answer 7

Hi, Glad you are deciding to break into consulting. It can indeed be a very rewarding and fulfilling career. If I br... (read entire answer)

Hi, Glad you are deciding to break into consulting. It can indeed be a very rewarding and fulfilling career. If I break it down, you probably want to think about 2 aspects abou... (read entire answer)

Answer 8

Hi there, I assume you have thought about that before: Some Consulting expertise. It helps trying to land offers at l... (read entire answer)

Hi there, I assume you have thought about that before: Some Consulting expertise. It helps trying to land offers at less selective firms to build experience in the industry befo... (read entire answer)