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

Yale PhDs and Postdocs visit McKinsey and Bain New York Offices

On Thursday, January 26, OCS organized a job trek to New York City, where 35 PhD students and postdocs got the chance to visit the offices of McKinsey and Bain. The event provided an excellent opportunity for Yale students interested …

By Janani Baskaran
Janani Baskaran McDougal Career Fellow
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Carving a Career Path to Science & Health Policy: A Conversation with Shanta Whitaker PhD ’08, Senior Vice President at Venn Strategies

Our March event, as part of the STEM PhD Pathways Program and in collaboration with Yale Science Diplomats, will spotlight career paths in science and health policy. We are excited to welcome Dr. Shanta Whitaker (PhD ’08, Microbiology) who will …

By Janani Baskaran
Janani Baskaran McDougal Career Fellow
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Connect with McKinsey

The Connect with McKinsey program is available during the winter and spring months of the year and is designed to help students across North America in undergraduate and non-MBA master’s programs create early connections with McKinsey and learn more about …

By Elizabeth Keane
Elizabeth Keane Recruiting Coordinator
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CampusCT – Industry Sector Spotlight Series

UpperCampus is a career exploration tool that connects students directly with career information based on their likes & interests. Explore over 15,000 videos and posts about unique jobs and prospective employers.

Throughout the semester, CampusCT will highlight specific industry sectors, companies that operate …

By David Halek
David Halek Director of Employer Relations
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AI Resume Review and Mock Interviews: Big Interview

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) is a term you may have heard of, and if not, you will soon.

Through the Big Interview AI Resume Review, students can upload their draft resume and a job description and receive an ATS review, …

By Yale Office of Career Strategy
Yale Office of Career Strategy
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Career Resources

Forage (Virtual Work Experiences)

Forage offers virtual work experiences, which are online programs built and endorsed by leading companies. Each virtual work experience contains …

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Public Affairs/Public Service Fellowships

The following list includes a sample of post-graduate fellowships in Public Affairs/ Public Service. This is not intended to be …

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Explore Job Market InsightsIn partnership withLightcast logo

Search continually updated U.S. market trends to learn about job types (job functions), growth trends, and desired skills. The results will include general information about each job (functional area), employment trends from the past two years and projections for the next 10 years, employers that have that role, desired education level, skills for the position, and more!

TWO WAYS TO SEARCH:

  1. Find Career Data by Selecting Keywords: Enter keywords of various job titles and choose a state or search nationwide to learn more about that job.
  2. Filter by Industry and Occupation: Search by industry and choose among popular occupations/job titles within that industry.

First, choose an industry of interest, then filter for occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)

Type in a keyword to select a relevant occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)

Community Spotlights

Pianpian Guthrie (MPhil ’13, Sociology)

Masters, PhD, Postdoc, Social Sciences
  • CEO Amotions Inc.
Meet Pianpian >

Raveesha Gupta (MA ’17, International and Development Economics)

First Generation and/or Low Income Students, Humanities, Masters, Social Sciences, STEM
  • Research Analyst
Meet Raveesha >
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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 detailed reports.

Helpful Tips on using the Interactive Tool:

  • There is no Enter or Submit Button – Results will appear automatically with your selections
  • Choose ‘All Years’ or ‘All Majors’- For results across years and majors or check one for more granular results.
    • Default results will show the most recent Class Year.
    • Uncheck the selected major(s) to reset your search.
    • To ensure student confidentiality, results are only reported in the aggregate and more granular data is not available through this public tool.
    • The tool will return results with at least five responses. If you require additional information contact the Office of Career Strategy
    • First Destination Summaries are based on the knowledge rate of graduate outcomes six months after graduation under the guidelines set by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Most Recent Class Overview

Knowledge Rate Success Rate Mean Starting Salary Top Five Industries
86.8% of those graduating between July 1, 2020-June 30, 2021 96.9% employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation $76,359 among graduates employed 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.

CONTACT & LOCATION

Phone
(203) 432-0803
Email
careerstrategy@yale.edu
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http://ocs.yale.edu
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