Consulting

Consultants provide expert advice to other professionals. Think of them as skilled problem solvers who can provide an objective perspective or specialized knowledge that is lacking inside a company. Organizations across all industries and sectors rely on consultants to provide expertise to help them maximize their profitability or effectiveness and keep them running smoothly.

Large management consulting firms such as McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group help organizations improve their structure, management, profitability, and assist in the development of strategies for short- and long-term growth. Immediately after graduation, undergraduate students that start with a large management consulting firm most often begin as a generalist and gain exposure to many fields. Graduate students with prior work experience or specific expertise may be able to specialize earlier at these firms. Undergraduate students interested in specializing earlier in their careers, should consider boutique consulting firms, which offer more specialized guidance for their clients in areas such as nonprofit, economic development, health care, government, environment, or engineering.

Consulting firms seek talent from diverse backgrounds including social sciences, humanities, and STEM fields. Read on to learn more about the various types of consulting firms, the breadth of roles that are available, and how to assess whether a consulting career is right for you.

Common Consulting Specialties

Among the popular consulting specialties are management/strategy, financial, information technology, human resources/staffing, public sector & non-profit, and healthcare. Large, one-stop firms offer advisory services in these and other specialties. Boutique consulting firms support their clients with highly specialized expertise and focus on a smaller number of industries (government, non-profit, energy, life sciences, technology), functions (mergers and acquisitions, economics, litigation), or methodologies. For more information about government and nonprofit consulting, visit the Public Sector & Non-Profit Consulting Community.

Business Women

Management/Strategy Consulting

Management/strategy consultants solve a multitude of organizational problems. All management/strategy consultants require knowledge of management science, strategy, operations, marketing, logistics, mergers and acquisitions, manufacturing, government relations, environmental issues (including compliance), materials management and physical distribution, finance and accounting, human resources/staffing, and electronic data processing and systems. Examples of typical management/strategy consulting projects include: -recommending a new strategic direction for a growing wireless company -determining how a Hollywood studio can reposition itself to maximize profits  from new markets -developing a strategy for a consumer products company to revive a 50-year-old brand and relaunch it worldwide

Financial Consulting

Financial consultants provide advice on handling issues from profit-and-loss reporting and risk management, to financial control and compliance with laws, to capital budgeting and corporate restructuring. Working on these problems—whether as a one-time staffing assignment as a generalist consulting firm or as an employee of a specialty financial strategy consulting practice—can be very rewarding for quantitatively focused people with skills in accounting or financial analysis. Common financial consulting projects include: -assisting clients with capital budgeting, financial statement preparation, and/or project valuation -identifying and analyzing potential financial risks and helping clients control their risk exposures and plan for disaster scenarios -helping an investment firm identify a strategy to reach a new target market

Information Technology Consulting

Information technology (IT) consultants utilize their in-depth knowledge of the IT industry, computer and telecommunications hardware and software, and the Internet (including social media and cloud computing) to help clients achieve their technology goals. Services provided by IT consultants include: -determining how a major “big-box” retailer can use technology to improve its distribution network -helping a major health care system make the transition to a digital record-keeping system -developing client-specific software programs for an insurance company to run in the cloud environment

Human Resources/Staffing Consulting

Approximately 60 percent of any company’s expenditures are tied to human capital, including recruiting, hiring, and training workers; managing human resources (HR) departments; overseeing compensation and benefits; developing and managing ongoing initiatives (e.g., to improve diversity and work/life balance); and maximizing the skills of employees to achieve the organization’s goals. Many companies have realized that investing in human capital and effectively managing HR programs pays off in the form of a more satisfied and dedicated workforce, lower recruiting and training costs (by holding onto productive workers), and improved company staffing flexibility. Human resources/staffing consultants work on the following types of projects: -Human resources policy research during the Coronavirus pandemic -How to navigate the future of work from talent acquisition to updating skills -Achieving gender equity in leadership roles

Connect with McKinsey Program

The Connect with McKinsey program is designed to help students in undergraduate and non-MBA master’s programs create early connections with our colleagues and learn more about our recruiting process for full-time and internship roles starting in 2027.

Being part of …

By Yale Office of Career Strategy
Yale Office of Career Strategy
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Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Spring Recruiting Process for Advanced Degree Candidates (ADCs)

Whether you’re exploring consulting for the first time or already considering your next career step, this season will offer multiple opportunities to learn more about BCG, meet the teams, and discover whether consulting is the right fit for you. Details, …

By Kelly McSergi
Kelly McSergi Director of Employer Relations
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Roland Berger Case for a Cause Competition

Roland Berger is a leading global strategy consulting firm with offices in over 34 countries. In the U.S. they are in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Houston. They are hosting their 10th annual charity consulting case competition to benefit Make-A-Wish® …

By Yale Office of Career Strategy
Yale Office of Career Strategy
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YC Career Outcomes

The Office of Career Strategy collects information about Yale College graduates. This tool allows users to search outcomes by year and major. Please visit Statistics & Reports for more information on our data collection.

  • First Destination summaries are based on the Knowledge Rate of graduate outcomes six months after graduation according to National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) guidelines.
  • Knowledge Rate, defined by NACE, includes direct survey responses and basic employment or graduate school information collected through other sources, such as faculty, academic advisors, or LinkedIn. Yale’s information below on Starting Salary and Time of Year Offer Received is based only on direct survey responses.

Helpful Tips for the Interactive Tool:

  • There is no Enter or Submit Button; results will appear automatically
  • The default is ‘All Years’ or ‘All Majors.’ Choose specific years or majors for more granular results. Uncheck the selected major(s) to reset your search.
  • The tool returns results with at least five responses. For small majors, choose ‘All Years’ to show results
  • To ensure confidentiality, results are reported in the aggregate
  • If you require additional information contact the Office of Career Strategy

Most Recent Class Overview: Class of 2024

Knowledge Rate Employed or in Graduate School Mean Starting Salary Top Five Industries
91.4% of those graduating between July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024.

  • Survey Responses: 1,227 (80.6%)
  • Confirmed through LinkedIn or other sources: 299 (19.4%)
 93.5% employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation $90,097 among graduates employed full-time in the United States Financial Services, Education, Technology, Consulting, and Healthcare

 

  • First Destination
  • Top Employers
  • Employment Industry and Function
  • Size of the Organization
  • Starting Salary
  • Time of Year Offer Received
  • Internships, Research, and Study Abroad Experiences
  • First Destination Locations
  • Top Universities
  • Advanced Degrees Pursued

First Destination

First Destination refers to the postgraduate plans of Yale College graduates six months after graduation. The pursuits of Yale graduates include employment, graduate school, independent research, military service, and more.

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