Seeking Career Guidance: Life Sciences Consulting and Long-Term Strategy

Question

Hi
I'm looking for some perspective and advice regarding my career. I'm 22 years old with a BSc in Life Sciences. My aspiration is to reach the C-suite in biotech/pharma, and consulting seemed like the perfect place to learn about the industry and eventually transition out. Additionally, coming from a low-income background I needed the career acceleration that consulting offers.

I applied to many firms but was rejected from MBB and Tier 2 consultancies. However, I have started at a boutique life sciences consultancy that specializes in agency work (medical communications, value & evidence, excellence, etc.) for pharmaceutical clients.

I'm unsure what my next steps should be. Should I:

Stay in my current role and reapply to top-tier firms in the next intake cycle?
Pursue a part-time master's degree (as I can't afford to stop working)?
Explore completely different opportunities?
I would appreciate any advice on what my next step should be

Answer 1

Hi there,

First, starting at a boutique life sciences consultancy is not a failure or a dead end — it’s a legitimate entry point into the ecosystem you ultimately care about. You’re already working with pharma clients, learning how decisions get made, and building domain credibility early. That matters a lot for someone with C-suite ambitions in biotech/pharma.

A few thoughts on your options:

Staying and reapplying:
This is a very sensible path. Many people don’t get into MBB or Tier 2 on their first attempt, especially coming straight out of undergrad. If you can use your current role to build clear impact stories, client exposure, and more strategic responsibility (even within agency-type work), you’ll be a much stronger reapplicant in 12–18 months. What will matter is how you position the work — focus on problem solving, influence, and business impact, not just execution.

Part-time master’s:
A part-time or employer-supported master’s can make sense, but only if it clearly strengthens your trajectory (e.g., health economics, management, data, or strategy). It shouldn’t be a reflex move driven by rejection. Given your financial constraints, I’d only pursue this if it adds a clear signal or unlocks recruiting channels you otherwise wouldn’t have.

Exploring alternatives:
You don’t need to pivot away entirely right now. You’re 22 and very early in the journey. The bigger risk would be jumping around without a coherent story. Right now, your path can still be very linear: life sciences exposure → stronger strategic role → optional pivot into top-tier consulting or industry strategy later.

One important reframing: reaching the C-suite in biotech/pharma rarely requires MBB specifically. Many senior leaders come from industry strategy, corporate development, commercial excellence, or medical affairs paths. Consulting is a tool, not the only route.

Given your background and constraints, the highest-ROI next step is likely:

stay where you are for now
deliberately build strategic, client-facing impact
reapply to stronger consulting roles once your profile is more mature
keep industry strategy roles in pharma as a parallel long-term path

Best,
Evelina

Answer 2

This is a great strategic question, and it’s commendable that you are planning your path to the C-suite so early while navigating real financial constraints. You are correct that consulting accelerates careers, and the immediate need is to ensure your current path is feeding into your long-term goal, not diverting from it.

Here’s the reality of how the lateral recruiting filter will view your experience: The distinction between "strategy consulting" and "agency/medical communications consulting" is often a rigid filter at MBB and Tier 2 firms. Your current firm is excellent for learning the operational specifics of commercialization, but recruiters often struggle to equate med comms or value and evidence work with core commercial due diligence, market entry strategy, or portfolio optimization—which are the experiences they seek in lateral hires. Staying for 1-2 years and reapplying without a significant pivot in project type will likely result in the same outcome.

Given your age and long-term goal, your best move is the Strategic Reset, and that almost always involves education. A part-time Master's will not provide the brand equity, network access, or recruiting cycle reset you need. If you cannot afford to stop working right now, your strategy must be to maximize your earnings for the next 18–24 months while preparing to apply for a highly selective, full-time Master’s program (e.g., a top-tier MBA, MHA, or specialized MSc). Securing admission and funding to a true target school is the most reliable way to get back into the MBB recruiting pipeline, allowing you to bypass the initial screen where your boutique agency experience might be undervalued.

If you must stay in your role while saving, focus relentlessly on internal projects that are labeled “strategy,” even if they are only tangentially related—look for opportunities to lead pricing, organizational restructuring, or competitive analysis work for your clients. This gives you the specific language needed to pass the lateral screening hurdle later on, though the educational reset remains the stronger, cleaner path to the C-suite trajectory you desire.

Hope this helps frame your options clearly. All the best.