From Telecommunications Engineering to strategy consulting: which first role should I target?

Question

Hi everyone,
I have recently completed an MSc in Telecommunications Engineering in Italy, and I am currently trying to make a well-informed first move into consulting.
My long-term interest is in strategy consulting, particularly at the intersection of technology, digital transformation, telecommunications, infrastructure and energy. I enjoy structured problem solving and quantitative analysis, but I am still trying to understand which entry route would give me the strongest foundation.
I am considering several types of opportunities:
•    Strategy internships / Business Analyst or Research Analyst roles at firms such as Arthur D. Little and other strategy consultancies;
•    Technology strategy, digital transformation or operations consulting roles at firms such as Deloitte, EY, Accenture or similar;
•    More technical engineering consulting roles in telecom/aerospace/defence, although I worry these could make a later move into strategy more difficult.
I am based in Italy and would ideally start in Rome, although I am evaluating opportunities more broadly. I have started preparing for case interviews, but I sometimes wonder whether I should focus first on securing a strong consulting-adjacent role and prepare for cases in parallel, rather than treating MBB/strategy recruiting as my only route.
I would really value the perspective of consultants who have seen non-business backgrounds enter the field:
1.    Given my background, would you prioritize a Strategy Intern / Business Analyst role at a boutique such as Arthur D. Little over a Technology Strategy or Digital Transformation role at a larger firm?
2.    Which first roles would keep the most doors open for a move into strategy consulting after 1–2 years?
3.    How much time would you invest in case preparation at this stage, before having secured interviews?
4.    Are there specific skills, experiences or signals I should build in the next few months to make my profile more credible for strategy consulting?
I would appreciate any honest advice, especially from people who entered consulting from an engineering rather than business background. Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi Samuele,

Answering your four questions.

Hard to say precisely without seeing your full CV, but if you have relevant work experience you could target MBB directly as a fresh grad. They do not only recruit from business schools, engineering profiles are well represented too (e.g. PoliMi, PoliTo). Alongside that, Tier 2 firms and boutiques like ADL with a strong TMT focus are a natural fit for your background. And if your goal is consulting in the medium term, I would make the move early so you experience the real job, keeping a corporate or technical role as a plan B.
If you do start outside consulting, the closer the role sits to strategy and commercial work, the easier the later move. A corporate strategy, business development or transformation role keeps doors open. Tech strategy or digital transformation is fine too, but be aware these can quickly become quite technical and make the later jump harder. The purely technical engineering roles are the ones I would try to avoid, since they are the hardest to pivot from, exactly as you suspect.
I would not treat cases as something to start only once interviews are booked. Practise as soon as you can, in parallel with applications, since the case is the real bottleneck for engineering profiles and the skill that takes time to build.
In terms of experiences, if you have no professional experience yet, I would try to add some, an internship or a project with real business exposure. In terms of skills, given your engineering background, I'd focus on commercial fluency (how businesses make money, reading a P&L, quick business maths,...) and top down communication (storylining, pyramid principle,...).

Hope it helps, and feel free to DM if you want to discuss your starting point more generally or the specifics of the Italian market.

Federico