Understanding the Work
Consultants usually work in a wide range of industries, fields, and departments. They are called in for the sole purpose of helping companies make important decisions about their business, including choosing the appropriate strategies to follow in terms of marketing, business, technology, and other areas. As such, they play a critical role in the success of the companies which hire them and are considered to be a very important part of the team.
In most cases, strategy consulting jobs are not full-time. About 21% of consultants happen to be freelancers who move from job to job. Occasionally, companies will develop strategy consulting jobs for full-time employees.
Depending on which area of consulting your work, you will face slightly different work environments and demands. However, if you are helping to develop a marketing strategy for the company, you might assist in putting together new products, creating campaigns, hiring advertising teams, tracking results, and making other types of recommendations to ensure the company can achieve their goals and maintain their level of success.
In terms of work environment, you should expect to work long hours and face plenty of stress. Generally, strategy consulting jobs require two extra hours, on average, per week over the national average. On top of that, most consultants are faced with major deadlines that have to be met and tough decisions which can have a major impact on the businesses they are involved in. They can put you under a lot of pressure to perform up to the requirements that need to be met. Sometimes you may also be asked to work in the evenings and on weekends in order to complete tasks.
Because of the nature of the work, strategy consulting jobs often require people to travel and to be away from their homes for extended times. It can be to work on a project for a company or do research for a project or even communicate with others involved in the project. Technology has reduced the amount of travel required because email, videoconferencing, and other technologies have made it possible for consultants to tele-commute to some extent. However, that means you must be able to harness these capabilities and work with clients who are interested in using these approaches.
Getting on the Strategy Consulting Track
The most important tool you have in securing strategy consulting jobs is experience. You will have a very difficult time finding employment in this area if you don’t have any previous background in the area in which you are trying to consult. Having a proven track record of success is also critical because those experiences are going to be the foundation of your resume when trying to land strategy consulting jobs.
Education is also important. About 75% of the people in the industry have a bachelor’s degree that helps prepare them for their work in the industry. For example, if you want to work as a marketing consultant, you should get a degree in marketing. It’s also important to work on your written and verbal communication skills because these will be essential tools both in securing a position and help conveying your ideas effectively.
To give yourself even more of an advantage, you may want to consider participating in leadership or management workshops, seminars, and courses that can give you some additional skills that will serve you well as a consultant.
Outlook & Pay for Executives
Strategy consulting jobs are some of the fastest growing positions in the United States. The growth rate is about 78% compared to the national average of 11% for other jobs. Part of the reason for the rapid growth is that consultants are considered a good investment. They cost businesses considerably less than hiring a full-time employee. The competitive nature of the market also means companies are looking for an advantage in any way they can find one. For that reason, strategy consulting jobs have been very valuable.
Consulting firms are also playing a major role because of the vast number of mergers and acquisitions. With these changes, the services of a consultant are useful because they can assist the companies in moving together and finding ways to blend the different environments effectively.
Of course, the problem is that despite all of this growth, the competition for the available positions is quite intense. These jobs are very desirable because they combine the best of freelancing flexibility with relatively high salaries and a feeling of importance, as well as the ability to make a tremendous difference in a company’s future. Having the most education and experience are going to be the key in obtaining one of these sought after positions.
The pay, by most standards, is fairly impressive. Even beginning consultants can earn more than $46,000 per year. In general, consultants average a salary of just under $60,000 to as much as $155,000 depending on the industry.
Conclusion
If you still feel confident that strategy consulting jobs are the right choice for your needs, then pursuing the field should be your top priority. That means you need to begin by finding the best ways of getting the experience you want for the most desirable positions. Also, you should work on obtaining as much education as possible. While a bachelor’s degree is the minimum you want, going through to a master’s and beyond can provide you with much greater advantages.
