Training · CO-1 · Lesson 01 of 06
The consulting industry
The rule
Firms sell judgement into a client's hardest decisions. Work is billed in weeks, sold in engagements, and staffed from a rotating pool.
Segments of consulting
Strategy firms focus on top-level questions for executives. Large generalists combine strategy with implementation. Big Four advisory arms cover operations, technology, transactions and risk. Boutiques specialise in sectors or functions such as pricing or healthcare.
Types of work
Projects vary widely.
- ·Growth strategy and market entry.
- ·Mergers, due diligence and integration.
- ·Operations and cost reduction.
- ·Organisation and transformation.
- ·Digital and technology strategy.
- ·Public sector and social impact.
How firms make money
Consulting is sold by project or retainer, priced on team size and duration. Profitability depends on utilisation (time billed) and leverage (juniors per partner).
- Team: 1 partner, 1 manager, 3 consultants
- —
- Duration
- 10 weeks
- Weekly fee
- $250,000
- Total fee
- $2.5m
- Team cost (incl. overhead)
- ≈ $1.2m
Lifestyle
Consulting involves travel, client-site work and long hours, though typically more predictable than banking. Projects change every few months, giving breadth quickly but less depth in a single industry early on.
Exit opportunities
Consultants move into corporate strategy, operating roles, private equity (often portfolio operations), start-ups and the public sector. The general problem-solving training transfers widely, which is part of the appeal.
Hold onto this
- ·The product is time and expertise, so utilisation and leverage drive the economics.
- ·Engagements run 6 to 16 weeks with a partner selling and a manager running.
- ·Practice areas and industries are the two ways work gets routed to you.
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Education, not financial advice. Figures may be simplified for illustration.