Hello all, I have no business or finance background, I just recently completed my MPH at a top University. What business classes, technical skills should I gain now to break into and do well at MBB firms?

Hi, and welcome to the consulting prep world.

First, the reframe: an MPH is not a gap to apologise for. You can (and should) even use it as a differentiator. MBB actively recruits advanced-degree candidates from non-business fields (MDs, PhDs, lawyers, public-health folks), and healthcare and public sector are among their biggest practices. Your background is an asset. I made a similar transition myself: from engineering master’s at ETH Zurich to McKinsey.

The key thing to internalise: MBB interviews don’t test business knowledge. You won’t be quizzed on accounting or finance. They test how you think i.e., structured problem-solving, clean quantitative work, and clear communication. That’s why “which business classes” is the wrong first question; a semester of microeconomics won’t move the needle like getting genuinely good at the skills relevant for case interview will.

Here is how I‘d prioritize your time: first, case skills: structuring, driver-tree thinking, hypothesis-led reasoning etc. This is the real gatekeeper. Second, mental math: fast, confident arithmetic without a calculator. Coming from research you likely have the horsepower; the work is making it quick under pressure. Third, just enough business literacy to be conversant: how companies make money, profit as revenue minus cost, basic unit economics. You need the grammar of business, not an MBA. 

For someone with your background, the real gap is rarely the analysis; it’s translating quantitative instinct into the structured, answer-first language interviewers reward. That’s the exact thing I had to learn, and the exact thing I coach.

If useful, I offer a free 15-minute intro call. Happy to look at your starting point and map a realistic path from MPH to MBB. Either way, you’re starting from a stronger position than you think.

Kind regards,
Gianni

Hi,

Your situation is quite common and nothing to be worried about: you need no specific business nor technical skills to get a job in consulting. Here are my recos for each step of the process:

1. Application: (i) make sure that you have a CV/CL with a clear story, nail the content and format (ii) look for a referral at your target company to help you make it past the screening and (iii) consider positioning yourself as a specialist rather than a generalist to make your background an asset
2. Interview / Case: start with the theoretical foundation (e.g. Case in Point or similar), once you are half-way start casing with peers, and once you have done 10-15 cases add sessions with former/current real interviewers (doesn't necessarily need to be a coach, can also be senior people at your target companies with whom you are in touch). The key skills that you need here are (i) business sense (ii) structuring and problem solving and (iii) exec comm. You can train the 3 as you practice for cases.
3. Interview / Fit: here you need to prepare thoroughly on the classic questions like why consulting, why this company, why this office to show a genuine interest in the specific position and kind of job, and have 4-5 flexible stories ready to use for the behavioural part of the interview
    

Hope it helps and feel free to reach out if you want to discuss any of the above more in depth!

Best,

Federico

Hello,

I completely understand where you are coming from. I too came from a non-business/finance background. I studied History in college and still managed to break into consulting. Sharing some key perspectives:

Your non-traditional background does not count against you in the interview process

• Your background will not count against you at all in the interview
• Once you are in the interview process, you will be solely judged on your performance during the interview itself
• Of course, interviewers may choose to probe or test you on certain areas they feel you might be weaker in, but if you demonstrate sufficient ability it doesn't matter what background you are

How to think about the skills/knowledge needed?

• Coming from a non-traditional background typically means that you will have some weaker areas
• Normally, this is in terms of business knowledge (e.g. understanding basic business concepts needed for the interview), business sense, as well as quantitative reasoning/skills (typically for liberal arts / social science backgrounds)
• However I would strongly challenge (or urge you to reconsider) whether you are really lacking in the relevant analytical ability
  • All top academic programs have some form of rigour, including MPH

Based on my own experience studying history, I realized that during my preparation I was actually very familiar with hypothesis-based problem solving, qualitative analysis and argumentation, but I had zero familiarity with business knowledge/sense and quant. However these things are definitely possible to build up with the right preparation.

I feel that many non-traditional candidates have transferrable skills, but often struggle how to think about it. Happy to chat more - feel free to drop me a dm.

Lastly, you could check out my articles for more information: 

Breaking into consulting from a non-traditional background
5 Reasons Why Experienced Hires Fail the Interview

All the best!

hey there :)

You definitely don’t need to go back and get a business degree before applying to MBB. With an MPH, I’d focus much more on practical skills: basic financial literacy, market sizing, Excel, PowerPoint, and especially structured problem solving and case interviews. You should understand concepts like revenue, costs, margins, growth, market share, and basic business models, but you don’t need advanced finance.

Your MPH can actually be a strong differentiator, particularly for healthcare, pharma, public sector, and life sciences work. I’d spend most of your preparation time learning to solve cases and translating your healthcare knowledge into a business context rather than trying to learn everything about finance.

If you want, feel free to reach out and I can also suggest a very focused learning path for the next few weeks.

best,
Alessa :)

Hi there,

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

• First of all, you do not need any business classes to break into consulting. The interviews do not test accounting or finance knowledge, they test structured thinking, quantitative skills, and communication. Consulting firms hire many advanced degree candidates without a business background, and with an MPH you are actually an attractive profile for their healthcare and public sector practices, so please see your degree as an asset and not as a gap.
• Moreover, contrary to what other coaches have said, most applications are decided at the very beginning, the screening phase. Especially candidates with non-business backgrounds often times lack experiencee and/or understanding how to thoroughly prepare application files for success. Therefore, I would strongly advise you to work on this with an experienced coach like me.
• Lastly, I would stronlgy advise you to first secure an offer before thinking how to succeed when being part of a consulting firm. 

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare your application files, for your upcoming pre-interview assessments and/or interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Hi there,

You do not need to go back and get a business degree before applying. In general, you need to make sure you cover the following:

1) Background industry knowledge

2) Math

3) Chart and exhibit interpretation

4) Frameworking and structuring

5) Driving a case

6) Fit and behavioral

7) Market sizing

This might sound like odd advice, but I recommend you actually organically build up your business knowledge over time instead of trying to memorize from a list. How? Daily reading, listening to podcasts, and casing.

I would recommend my Industry Deep Dives and Case Preparation Plan course. Also listen to the Consulting Offer Blueprint podcast, particularly the healthcare, public sector, and other industry deep dives most relevant to the areas you want to target.