Switching from Physiotherapy to Consulting. How Feasible?

That is a fantastic pivot, and I can tell you that firms—especially Bain, McKinsey, and specialized firms like LEK—are starving for deep domain expertise in their Life Sciences and Healthcare practices. This switch is absolutely feasible, but you need to understand that you are not entering through the standard campus recruiting funnel.

The reality is that your MSc and clinical experience are an asset, not a liability, but only if you position them correctly. Your biggest hurdle will be the initial screening, which is typically optimized for traditional business keywords (MBA, finance, engineering). To bypass this, you must treat yourself as an experienced hire specialist. You cannot apply as a generalist. Your core pitch needs to shift from "I am smart and can learn business" to "I deeply understand clinical operations, patient pathways, and provider pain points, and I can structure these problems in a way that generates significant value for our payer and provider clients."

Your immediate next step is to put the books down and focus on targeted networking. Identify the consultants in the Brussels or Amsterdam offices who specifically work in Healthcare, Pharma, or MedTech. Set up calls and don't ask about general consulting; ask about their work on operational efficiency for hospitals, market access strategy for a new device, or organizational redesign for a payer. This demonstrates you understand the specific value your background brings to the table, which is a powerful signal. You must secure a referral from within the target practice. That referral is your ticket past the initial automated filters.

You need to translate your clinical experience onto your resume using consulting language. Think about every operational efficiency you achieved, every budgetary constraint you worked within, and every time you had to manage stakeholders (doctors, patients, administrators). Did you reduce wait times? That’s process optimization. Did you manage a caseload? That’s project management and resource allocation. Use that vocabulary when you are crafting your narrative and when prepping for your cases—always anchor your structuring skills back to a real-world system you managed.

Hope it helps!

Hi there,

There are many non-business candidates who made it into consulting. Firms care more about academic pedigree, problem solving, structured thinking, and learning ability than having a pure business background. At the CV stage, the look for clear academic and professional excellence, so your resume needs a real wow factor to get your foot in the door. Focus on highlighting impact, analytical thinking, and leadership from your clinical and academic experience. Alongside the reading, prioritize live case practice and start networking with consultants to build visibility and referrals. 

hey Elise,

It is definitely exotic, but absolutely feasible. I know several people with medical and rehab backgrounds who made it, and I worked with them at McKinsey. Firms actually like candidates who bring real healthcare expertise, as long as you can show structured thinking and strong problem solving.

Your next steps are simply to get really solid on casing, sharpen a one-page CV with clear impact from your clinical work, and build a concise story on why you want consulting now. If you ever want to talk through the transition, I also did a massive career change myself, so feel free to reach out anytime :)

best, Alessa :)

Hi Elise!

Yes, it's possible. 

I've worked with lots of people with health-related occupations (doctors, healthcare administrators, dentists, etc.). The challenge is how to make your experience appear relevant to recruiters when they scan your CV. It's critical to show you have consulting-like skills. 

You might find this guide useful:

• Expert Guide: Build A Winning Application Strategy

I would recommend you start by scanning the market to see what opportunities would be relevant for you, and in parallel work on your CV. You might want to have it professionally reviewed to make sure you're going in the right direction. 

I would suggest you park those books for now. You will soon come to realise they are far off from what consulting interviews actually look like nowadays. 

Best,
Cristian