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

If your long term goal is C suite in biotech or pharma, strategy consulting is a good path, but not the only one. And not all “life sciences consulting” is equally helpful for that outcome.

Your current situation
You did not miss the train. You are 22, working, and already exposed to pharma clients. That is a good base. However, agency style boutiques (medical comms, value evidence, excellence) are closer to execution and support than to core strategy. They build domain depth, but limited general management muscle.

What matters for your goal
C suite roles in pharma usually come from three backgrounds:

• Top tier strategy consulting with strong pharma exposure
• Internal strategy or commercial roles at large pharma companies
• High performers who moved early into P and L owning roles

Your next steps should optimize for optionality, not comfort.

What I would do in your position

Short term (next 18 to 24 months)
Stay in your current role, but be intentional.

• Get staffed as close as possible to strategy adjacent work (portfolio strategy, launch strategy, market entry, pricing)
• Avoid getting pigeonholed into pure medical writing or PMO type work
• Build a clear story of impact, not just tasks

At the same time, reapply to top tier firms.

• MBB and strong T2 do take candidates from boutiques, but only if the story is sharp
• Your value proposition must be “life sciences + structured problem solving”, not “agency experience”

On the master’s degree
Only do it if it materially upgrades your brand.

• A part time master’s from a top school in bio business, management, or economics can help
• A generic or low signal master’s will not move the needle
• Do not do a master’s as a way to delay decisions

Alternative path you should seriously consider
Move in house earlier than you think.

• Strategy, commercial excellence, or corporate development roles at big pharma
• From there, you can still jump to consulting later, or stay and climb
• Many pharma execs never did consulting at all

What I would not do

• Stay too long in agency work hoping it magically turns into strategy
• Accumulate degrees without a clear repositioning effect
• Jump randomly to unrelated roles

ping me if you would like to:

• Pressure test your profile against MBB life sciences hiring criteria
• Craft a clean reapplication narrative
• Map a concrete consulting vs in house decision tree for the next five years

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

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.

hey there :)

This is a solid starting point so I would stay put for now, build real client impact and a strong story, then reapply to top tier firms in one to two cycles, a part time masters only makes sense if it clearly boosts brand or skills otherwise experience matters more at this stage, you are very early and not off track at all, happy to chat more if you want.

best,
Alessa :)

Hi there,

It's common for people to try for MBB/Tier 2 consulting several times. I'd prioritize trying for that again while gaining experience, and if the 2nd time you don't make it, then you can consider pursuing a part-time masters or full-time because full time masters tend to carry more prestige, and MBB would more likely give a look at your CV. 

I don't see why you should consider moving to another industry now because you said you're interested life sciences/pharma.

Congrats on landing the role. Starting at a boutique life sciences consultancy is a solid first step. Don't underestimate it.

Here's my take on your options:

Option 1: Stay and reapply to top-tier firms

This works. You now have real experience in life sciences. When you reapply, you won't be a fresh graduate. You'll be someone with industry knowledge and client exposure. That makes your profile stronger.

But just staying isn't enough. Work on your case skills. Build fit stories from your current projects. Network with people at firms you want to join. Give yourself 12 to 18 months, then reapply.

Option 2: Part-time master's degree

This can help, but only if it's the right degree. A part-time MBA from a strong school opens doors. A specialized master's in healthcare or life sciences can also work. But don't do a master's just to have one. It costs time and money. Make sure it's worth it.

If you go this route, pick a program where you'll meet people already in biotech and pharma leadership. The network matters as much as the degree.

Option 3: Explore different opportunities

If you're thinking about moving directly into pharma, it's possible. But getting a strategy or leadership role without more experience or an MBA is tough.

If you're thinking about switching industries entirely, I'd pause. You have a clear goal: C-suite in biotech or pharma. Don't lose focus.

My advice:

Stay in your current role. Learn everything you can. Build strong impact stories. Prepare seriously for MBB and Tier 2 interviews. Network with consultants and pharma people.

Reapply in 12 to 18 months. If that doesn't work, consider a part-time MBA from a strong school. That gives you another shot at MBB and opens direct paths into pharma leadership.

You're 22. You have time. Build your foundation now and the C-suite goal becomes realistic later.