Anyone in management/strategy consulting? Soon to be college grad that's interested in the industry

[Navy555]

Good afternoon everyone,

Yesterday I received my second TWE to USNA, and while heartbreaking, I understand that admissions simply can't accept everyone. I have met some pretty incredible people on this forum, some of which received appointments to the academy of their choice, and I am confident they will move on to do amazing things. As I will not be a 3-time reapplicant to USNA, I am looking to pursue a career in consulting following graduation, which is in December 2021. With that being said, I was wondering if there are any parents or academy alum on this forum that currently work in the industry? It would be great to connect to learn more about the career path, and possibly explore some of the full time opportunities available. This site was a lifesaver when it came to navigating the USNA application process, so I thought I'd make this post and see what happens .

Thank you!

 

[Capt MJ]

Good afternoon everyone,

Yesterday I received my second TWE to USNA, and while heartbreaking, I understand that admissions simply can't accept everyone. I have met some pretty incredible people on this forum, some of which received appointments to the academy of their choice, and I am confident they will move on to do amazing things. As I will not be a 3-time reapplicant to USNA, I am looking to pursue a career in consulting following graduation, which is in December 2021. With that being said, I was wondering if there are any parents or academy alum on this forum that currently work in the industry? It would be great to connect to learn more about the career path, and possibly explore some of the full time opportunities available. This site was a lifesaver when it came to navigating the USNA application process, so I thought I'd make this post and see what happens .

Thank you!

No criticism implied or intended here, but you no longer have a desire to serve as an officer, gaining a commission via other paths? No USNA, so fresh start on another path?

The best consultants I have met have actually worked in an industry or profession, done well, and found they have a knack and a liking for using business analytics to dive deep into an area of concern or interest to a company, who know how to collaborate with and coach solutions out of leadership, whether in solving HR/organizational management problems, finding new markets, adapting to technology, developing metrics to measure performance, creating a vision and the strategic plan for a new direction or a dozen other areas. It is both a broad and deep field. A sound foundation in business analytics, risk and change management analyses, CRM/Salesforce and other quantitative skill sets will always prove useful, as long as they are kept current. There are many military officers and senior enlisted who go into this field, bringing their expansive toolkits with them, perhaps with a GI Bill-funded degree or certificate to complement their leadership and management experience.

Of course, many consultants are flat-out useless. A company throws money at them, they get some short-term bandaids that address symptoms but not a root cause, and they are no better off two years later.

Your college career center might be useful. Do the reading in business publications to identify the business leaders in the field, see if they have internship programs or entry level recent college grad programs for analysts. You learn by being placed on a project or program, and watching the PM direct the team in scoping proposals, data collection and analysts, solution and recommendation development.

McKinsey has a decent reputation, not a fly-by-night.

Students

Search for your school to learn about our on-campus events, recruiting contacts, and important deadlines.

www.mckinsey.com

Good luck!

 

[OldRetSWO]

I was an internal consultant and part of the Strategy Team at a couple of companies. This was after a number of years working as
a Program Manager, then as a Business Developer and then as a Proposal Manager across many lines of business. Finally, I was
tasked to start up a new functional group in the competitive intelligence arena and as part of that was a consultant for a number
of business units and areas across this Fortune 50 corporation. Later, I did similar stuff at a different corporation.

I do have an MBA that I earned during my first job as a Program Manager and that combined with my industry experience is
how I got those jobs.

 

[Don't Give Up the Ship]

I spent 34 years at at Fortune 3 Oil Company. One of my last jobs was manager of an internal consulting group. We provided marine consulting to 80 affiliated companies around the globe. We had experts in marine terminals, tankers, ship docking pilots, naval architects, marine engineers, marine commercial SMEs....and more. Most of us that were "senior" consultants had a minimum of 20 years experience...lots of degrees and had seen lots of successes and failures. I never understood how a young person out of college could consult in much-still don't. Sorry. The best consultants tend to have a lot of experience in one field...years. We would hire from the best colleges...train those folks in all sorts of disciplines. What ever you do, focus on: critical thinking skills, listening, analytics, writing and verbal communications. Take on any challenge...you will be successful.

 

[Impulsive]

Good afternoon everyone,

Yesterday I received my second TWE to USNA, and while heartbreaking, I understand that admissions simply can't accept everyone. I have met some pretty incredible people on this forum, some of which received appointments to the academy of their choice, and I am confident they will move on to do amazing things. As I will not be a 3-time reapplicant to USNA, I am looking to pursue a career in consulting following graduation, which is in December 2021. With that being said, I was wondering if there are any parents or academy alum on this forum that currently work in the industry? It would be great to connect to learn more about the career path, and possibly explore some of the full time opportunities available. This site was a lifesaver when it came to navigating the USNA application process, so I thought I'd make this post and see what happens .

Thank you!

Even if you don't want to re-apply to USNA, I think you can graduate with your Bachelors Degree then apply to OCS. Almost everyone above is correct, to successfully "consult' you really need some "in the field" experience. You can it in the service, or working in the field (not as a consultant) to gain that needed experience. There are also programs for enlisted to officer, or direct commission officer (I don't know your major). One of the BIG things USN looks for every year are STEM Majors with high GPA's.

 

[Navy555]

No criticism implied or intended here, but you no longer have a desire to serve as an officer, gaining a commission via other paths? No USNA, so fresh start on another path?

The best consultants I have met have actually worked in an industry or profession, done well, and found they have a knack and a liking for using business analytics to dive deep into an area of concern or interest to a company, who know how to collaborate with and coach solutions out of leadership, whether in solving HR/organizational management problems, finding new markets, adapting to technology, developing metrics to measure performance, creating a vision and the strategic plan for a new direction or a dozen other areas. It is both a broad and deep field. A sound foundation in business analytics, risk and change management analyses, CRM/Salesforce and other quantitative skill sets will always prove useful, as long as they are kept current. There are many military officers and senior enlisted who go into this field, bringing their expansive toolkits with them, perhaps with a GI Bill-funded degree or certificate to complement their leadership and management experience.

Of course, many consultants are flat-out useless. A company throws money at them, they get some short-term bandaids that address symptoms but not a root cause, and they are no better off two years later.

Your college career center might be useful. Do the reading in business publications to identify the business leaders in the field, see if they have internship programs or entry level recent college grad programs for analysts. You learn by being placed on a project or program, and watching the PM direct the team in scoping proposals, data collection and analysts, solution and recommendation development.

McKinsey has a decent reputation, not a fly-by-night.

Students

Search for your school to learn about our on-campus events, recruiting contacts, and important deadlines.

www.mckinsey.com

Good luck!

Thank you for the information! I have been networking with recruiters and university alum to prepare for the consulting recruiting cycle, which typically starts in September. I was looking into McKinsey but unfortunately I don't attend one of their target schools, which is why my eyes are more set on working at one of the Big 4. To answer your first question, I'm definitely interested in commissioning through OCS, but I want to spend a few years working in the private sector so I can pay off my student loans at a faster rate.

 

[Capt MJ]

I’m on my third career now, having retired from the Navy, retired from a corporation and now do both pro bono consulting and paid consulting. My Navy leadership skills and other management experience allowed me to transition to the private sector, where I learned corporate marketing, brand engagement strategies and corporate sponsorship/partnership/affiliation deal-making. It was only after I had all that plus sophisticated analytics and project management collaborative software skills under my belt, that I felt confident someone would pay me to help them create a strategic marketing plan or partnership plan and lay out tactical steps to get it up and running. It’s a lot of fun at this point, because I work on projects I enjoy, and don’t need to rely on the income stream to live. I have zero craft skills (making lanyards at summer camp was a disaster), though I am adept in the kitchen, so I use my business experience to help others as my “retirement hobby.” As with many boomers, I cannot imagine not contributing in a workplace of some kind and still using my brain. In the next few years, my consulting will be 100% pro bono, as I work with more veteran/military non-profits and do Board work. Servant leadership. Can’t and won’t shake the habit. (Can’t wait to start traveling again for leisure, though.)

The point is, as others have made, you gain experience by actually working in the industry or profession, then serving as an internal or external consultant, or you get in with a consulting firm and learn the skills from the ground up - doing the slog work collecting and crunching data, creating presentations, developing the graphic data visuals, essentially serving as an apprentice, moving up with experience and years.

 

[Navy555]

I spent 34 years at at Fortune 3 Oil Company. One of my last jobs was manager of an internal consulting group. We provided marine consulting to 80 affiliated companies around the globe. We had experts in marine terminals, tankers, ship docking pilots, naval architects, marine engineers, marine commercial SMEs....and more. Most of us that were "senior" consultants had a minimum of 20 years experience...lots of degrees and had seen lots of successes and failures. I never understood how a young person out of college could consult in much-still don't. Sorry. The best consultants tend to have a lot of experience in one field...years. We would hire from the best colleges...train those folks in all sorts of disciplines. What ever you do, focus on: critical thinking skills, listening, analytics, writing and verbal communications. Take on any challenge...you will be successful.

Thank you for the response! I definitely agree, as a new college graduate I don't have nearly enough experience to add a whole lot of value to the client. As a result I'm shooting for entry level analyst/associate positions. I will also focus on developing the important skill sets you provided, really want to stand out in the job market.

 

[Jamesfromthecountry]

I currently attend the University of Chicago (ranked top 10 in the nation, but way too expensive in my opinion). At least for UChicago, it's a major target school for consulting firms (including McKinsey, BCG, and Bain) in the Chicago area. Consulting firms regularly recruit from here, and there's usually a handful of graduating seniors that get Associate Consultant positions at one of those 3 firms above. Not sure of your background, but all the upperclassmen I've met that are going into consulting have had consulting internships prior to graduating. Also not sure if its a coincidence, but most of the seniors are also engineering majors who have had extensive research + engineering internships throughout their undergrad years.
Keep in mind, I'm leaving UChicago to head to West Point as a reapplicant, so my input may not be as valuable as some of the other posts above.
Thanks, and good luck.

 

[Navy555]

Even if you don't want to re-apply to USNA, I think you can graduate with your Bachelors Degree then apply to OCS. Almost everyone above is correct, to successfully "consult' you really need some "in the field" experience. You can it in the service, or working in the field (not as a consultant) to gain that needed experience. There are also programs for enlisted to officer, or direct commission officer (I don't know your major). One of the BIG things USN looks for every year are STEM Majors with high GPA's.

Thank you for your response, I am looking to apply for entry level analyst/associate roles to break into the industry. While I am definitely interested in OCS, my biggest concern is that they won't really consider me since I don't have a STEM degree (Finance and Econ major here).

 

[Navy555]

I currently attend the University of Chicago (ranked top 10 in the nation, but way too expensive in my option). At least for UChicago, it's a major target school for consulting firms (including McKinsey, BCG, and Bain) in the Chicago area. Consulting firms regularly recruit from here, and there's usually a handful of graduating seniors that get Associate Consultant positions at one of those 3 firms above. Not sure of your background, but all the upperclassmen I've met that are going into consulting have had consulting internships prior to graduating. Also not sure if its a coincidence, but most of the seniors are also engineering majors who have had extensive research + engineering internships throughout their undergrad years.
Keep in mind, I'm leaving UChicago to head to West Point as a reapplicant, so my input may not be as valuable as some of the other posts above.
Thanks, and good luck.

I appreciate the feedback, and congrats on being accepted to West Point! I go to a state school, so realistically speaking the MBB firms aren't an option for me. I'll have 2 internships prior to graduation, although they aren't consulting related which is disappointing.

 

[Capt MJ]

You may also want to research the Navy Supply Corps Officer path, which is a staff corps. Supply Corps officers (“chops,” for “pork chops”), are essentially the business managers of the Navy. Logistics and supply chain management, pay and finance, food management, parts and acquisition, etc. Huge jobs in the Navy, can’t do anything without them. Shore and sea duty billets, but mostly ashore in more senior roles, except for massive jobs like SuppO on an aircraft carrier. At certain career points, the Navy will send them for MBAs at big name schools. Those officers never have a problem getting hired in corporate America. The path is via OCS.

There will be an officer recruiter (not the fine enlisted recruiters in the shopping center office) who works out of a regional Navy recruiting hq. That’s who you talk to. Might be the perfect fit for you.

U.S. Navy Supply Corps Officer Careers | Navy.com

From sonar parts to essential medicines, Navy Supply Corps Officers make the right supplies show up at the right time. Learn about opportunities in this role.

www.navy.com

 

[Navy555]

You may also want to research the Navy Supply Corps Officer path, which is a staff corps. Supply Corps officers (“chops,” for “pork chops”), are essentially the business managers of the Navy. Logistics and supply chain management, pay and finance, food management, parts and acquisition, etc. Huge jobs in the Navy, can’t do anything without them. Shore and sea duty billets, but mostly ashore in more senior roles, except for massive jobs like SuppO on an aircraft carrier. At certain career points, the Navy will send them for MBAs at big name schools. Those officers never have a problem getting hired in corporate America. The path is via OCS.

There will be an officer recruiter (not the fine enlisted recruiters in the shopping center office) who works out of a regional Navy recruiting hq. That’s who you talk to. Might be the perfect fit for you.

U.S. Navy Supply Corps Officer Careers | Navy.com

From sonar parts to essential medicines, Navy Supply Corps Officers make the right supplies show up at the right time. Learn about opportunities in this role.

www.navy.com

Thank you for posting this! My business background seems like I could be a great fit for this position. On a side note, does not having a STEM degree make it more difficult to commission through OCS? I understand the Navy would want an engineering degree for someone working on a nuclear sub, but I feel like their STEM-degree preference shouldn't have much weight for a position like this.

 

[Capt MJ]

Thank you for posting this! My business background seems like I could be a great fit for this position. On a side note, does not having a STEM degree make it more difficult to commission through OCS? I understand the Navy would want an engineering degree for someone working on a nuclear sub, but I feel like it that STEM preference shouldn't have as much weight for a position like this.

OCS folks know which community they are going into before they report in to OCS. Supply Corps will have X slots in the class, and the officer recruiters will be shopping for business majors, finance majors, etc. They know you’re not going to be an engineer; they want strong performance in your core courses and overall.

I am a fan of contacting an officer recruiter early and expressing interest, so you are already known to them.

Bonus gift, because I am eating Turkey Hill chocolate peanut butter ice cream right now and feeling benevolent - the officer recruiters who recruit for OCS work out of regional centers, recently re-named NTAGs. Here’s the geographical list. Get your thoughts together, call (exercise your comm skills), introduce yourself as someone interested in the Supply Corps officer path, and ask for an officer recruiter to talk to.

Navy Talent Acquisition Group Addresses

Navy Talent Acquisition Group, formerly known as Navy Recruiting District, address, Unit Identification Code and Web site listing.

www.navycs.com

Or:
Use this link, put in your zip, select “Officer.”

Find Your Local U.S. Navy Recruiter Office | Navy.com

Want to join the Navy? Find a local U.S. Navy recruiting office here, and speak to a Navy recruiter to get all your questions answered.

www.navy.com

 

[WT Door]

@Navy555, @Capt MJ has provided some great gouge on the Supply Corps. She is most benevolent. During my stint in Officer Programs Recruiting, we sent a few Officer Candidates to Newport specifically for Supply. You mentioned that you want to work in the private sector after graduation. With your interest in OCS, bear in mind that you have to be commissioned by a certain age. I believe it is 26. Confirm this with the Officer Recruiter. If you still want to serve, keep a side eye on the years as they pass quickly. Good Luck to you.

A Supply Officer on my ship once kidded: “If you can’t Fly, Go Supply!”

 

[Capt MJ]

My final thought of the night - read the fine print on school loan contracts. Active military duty may allow you to defer loan repayment. In which case, a path to OCS and active duty, with regular salary, untaxed housing allowance, fully covered free medical and dental, etc., would allow you to start repaying the loan in amounts you could afford, if there is no penalty for early payoff, and live within your means, and get the loan paid off.

 

[Navy555]

@Navy555, @Capt MJ has provided some great gouge on the Supply Corps. She is most benevolent. During my stint in Officer Programs Recruiting, we sent a few Officer Candidates to Newport specifically for Supply. You mentioned that you want to work in the private sector after graduation. With your interest in OCS, bear in mind that you have to be commissioned by a certain age. I believe it is 26. Confirm this with the Officer Recruiter. If you still want to serve, keep a side eye on the years as they pass quickly. Good Luck to you.

A Supply Officer on my ship once kidded: “If you can’t Fly, Go Supply!”

I was looking at the age requirements and I see conflicting information online, some places say 26, others say 29. I will reach out to a recruiter for more information, thank you so much! As I don't have a technical major, will this disqualify me from serving as a pilot, even if I have flights hours or a PPL?

 

[Mr2020]

I was looking at the age requirements and I see conflicting information online, some places say 26, others say 29. I will reach out to a recruiter for more information, thank you so much! As I don't have a technical major, will this disqualify me from serving as a pilot, even if I have flights hours or a PPL?

You're kind of overthinking this. Find an officer recruiter and tell him/her that you want to be in the navy because of x,y,z and your preference would be 1) pilot 2) supply etc, etc. Whatever your particular order would be. I would think being on the finance side of the navy would be easier to transfer skills to consulting. Then just work with the recruiter.

 

[time2]

Of course, many consultants are flat-out useless. A company throws money at them, they get some short-term bandaids that address symptoms but not a root cause, and they are no better off two years later.

That has been my experience as well. I work in the private sector at a large company and over the years they have hired a number of different consulting companies for various projects with little to show for it. Either they have some cookie-cutter approach to whatever they were asked to look into or they interview the employees and ask them what they think should be done differently. Then they package that up into a slick presentation to management as though these were their ideas. Rarely did I see any consultants who brought specific knowledge/expertise of our business to the table. Or they produced pie in the sky documents that ended up collecting dust on our shelves once they departed. It is easy to generate ideas, typically the hard part is the actual implementation. That is what requires real skills and specific business knowledge. Dropping in a piece of what might have been a good idea that works well at some other company won't necessarily work if all of the other supporting systems and practices are not the same. Writing elegant sounding business plans or vision/mission statements rarely helps the business to run better. Some consulting companies also seem to try to make the project as LARGE as possible to generate more revenue for themselves. It almost seemed like they were coached to do this due to the way some of them operated.

Cost savings ideas usually tried to take a few samples and extrapolate that to all of our business. Typically, they overstated the savings and understated the cost/complexity/time to implement. I also agree that useful consulting positions are generally those with 20+ years of experience in a specific field where you can effectively apply that knowledge to other companies. Working with consultants can involve extensive travel if you work at a specific company on a certain project and at the conclusion of that project you move to the next client located somewhere else. Many of those I spoke with tended to get burned out from all of the travel and constantly working at a different location. It is something you have to want to do and enjoy that type of job.

Not exactly sure what entry level jobs consulting might include, but apparently the OP has some interest in whatever he/she has previously experienced to know this is an avenue to pursue. If planning to graduate this year, then you must already be pursuing a specific degree in something.

 

[Capt MJ]

That has been my experience as well. I work in the private sector at a large company and over the years they have hired a number of different consulting companies for various projects with little to show for it. Either they have some cookie-cutter approach to whatever they were asked to look into or they interview the employees and ask them what they think should be done differently. Then they package that up into a slick presentation to management as though these were their ideas. Rarely did I see any consultants who brought specific knowledge/expertise of our business to the table. Or they produced pie in the sky documents that ended up collecting dust on our shelves once they departed. It is easy to generate ideas, typically the hard part is the actual implementation. That is what requires real skills and specific business knowledge. Dropping in a piece of what might have been a good idea that works well at some other company won't necessarily work if all of the other supporting systems and practices are not the same. Writing elegant sounding business plans or vision/mission statements rarely helps the business to run better. Some consulting companies also seem to try to make the project as LARGE as possible to generate more revenue for themselves. It almost seemed like they were coached to do this due to the way some of them operated.

Cost savings ideas usually tried to take a few samples and extrapolate that to all of our business. Typically, they overstated the savings and understated the cost/complexity/time to implement. I also agree that useful consulting positions are generally those with 20+ years of experience in a specific field where you can effectively apply that knowledge to other companies. Working with consultants can involve extensive travel if you work at a specific company on a certain project and at the conclusion of that project you move to the next client located somewhere else. Many of those I spoke with tended to get burned out from all of the travel and constantly working at a different location. It is something you have to want to do and enjoy that type of job.

Not exactly sure what entry level jobs consulting might include, but apparently the OP has some interest in whatever he/she has previously experienced to know this is an avenue to pursue. If planning to graduate this year, then you must already be pursuing a specific degree in something.

Good points all.
I took an internal consulting job, 50% travel rate, enjoyed accumulating the travel rewards and being part of a company again, but a few years later, they decided to combine the marketing consulting with a sales personnel recruiting role (eliminating the recruiting consultant role and setting up an internal competition between teammates to land the new role) and up the travel to 75%. I cheerfully tendered my resignation, figuring that was the sign to shift into being my own boss.