I received a PhD from a top UK uni 2.5 years ago and have become self-employed since then, is it worth trying to apply?

Question

I joined a startup after graduation but it went bust after 6 months. After that I chose to be a retail future/option trader at home. At the time I had done quantatitive trading as a hobby for a while and was happy to do it as a full-time job.

Now I am considering to apply for a job in management consulting industry.

I wonder given my situation how likely I would pass the CV screening and get invited for test/interviews? Since the preparation would invole months of dedicated work, I might not start the prep at all if it is unlikely to happen.

Thank you in advance for your advices!

Answer 1

Short answer is of course "only way to know is to try".

Longer answer: PhDs are in high demand, since you've learned how to build a hypothesis and rigorously prove it + use logic & math in the process. Indeed, I often think PhDs and JDs have the perfect background for consulting, often much more so than MBAs.

You've also done a start up thing, which again is an appealing profile. You may have to work on the story telling a little bit ("trading stocks from my couch because I had no other job" is not what you want people to hear).

I suggest you reach out to friends / current consultants with a PhD, who may be able to guide you through the application and support the candidacy. Also, please understand the odds are always stacked against you (under 1% of candidates get an offer nowadays apparently), but it takes a lot of time and effort to be "ready": many of us studied well over 100 hours ahead of the interviews. A perfect profile will never be a guarantee you even get invited - but if you haven't started preparing by the time you apply, you will probably not be ready by the time you come in for the interviews. I highly suggest you start the prep today.

Answer 2

Hi,

Several points here:

It really depends on how you present your experience. Even being a self-employed options trader can have a lot of achievements
The likelihood really depends on your resume overall, so hard to assess without seeing it
Try getting a referral to increase your chances. More of the referral here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/what-is-a-referral-really-1103

Best

Answer 3

Similar situation here. Would be interested to get an opinion on that one.