Which is better in pay,exposure,future opportunities,interesting work among BFSI, Pharm and Life sciences in strategy consulting? Also I want to know whether generalist positions now are gone case and which is best in specialisation apart from BFSI and Pharma!

Which is better in pay, exposure, future opportunities, and interesting work among BFSI, Pharma, and Life Sciences?

• BFSI tends to offer slightly higher pay and faster early promotions; Pharma/Life Sciences gives broader exposure and more innovative projects.
• Long-term, Pharma/Life Sciences often lead to more exciting industry exits, while BFSI is strong for stability and financial sector roles.

Are generalist positions gone?

• Generalist roles still exist, especially for entry-level candidates, but firms increasingly encourage specialization over time.
• By Project Leader or Manager level, specializing is often expected to strengthen your career progression.

Which specialization is best apart from BFSI and Pharma?

• Technology/Digital is currently the strongest specialization for pay, growth, and exit opportunities.
• Energy, Climate, and Sustainability consulting is also rapidly growing and highly in demand globally.

Pay may be better in banking.

Other than that... honestly this is not a question for us, it is a question YOU need to be asking yourself, where do you think the work is more interesting. Any answer from me will reflect my PERSONAL PREFERENCE, not an absolute truth about the industry.

Assuming that you've already read the answers below, checked ChatGPT and Perplexity, what I would do is to sit down and have a chat with people working in each of these industries in your target role. 

Get a genuine sense of how they see their job and how they're finding it. 

Nothing beats that.

Best,
Cristian

Hi,

I think you've received enough advice on the industries themselves but because firms DIFFER within the same industries, I would offer two thoughts:

• Reach out to people in the industries: Get to know their experiences, ask their pay, progression, their opportunities - first hand knowledge is best and will give you a real indication when you start applying to the firms (You are, after all, going to apply to firms, not industries)
• Understand yourself: what do you value the most? What are the top 3 things you want to solve for

hey Pranay, 

here's a short summary from my experience: 

1. BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance):
   • Pay: High, especially in financial services.
   • Exposure: Excellent, with global opportunities.
   • Future Opportunities: Strong growth, especially with digital transformation in finance.
   • Interesting Work: High complexity, but may become repetitive over time.
2. Pharma & Life Sciences:
   • Pay: Competitive, especially for pharma consulting.
   • Exposure: High in healthcare, regulatory, and R&D.
   • Future Opportunities: Huge growth, particularly with biotech and pharma innovation.
   • Interesting Work: Innovative, but can be niche and highly technical.
3. Generalist vs Specialization:
   • Generalist Roles: Still available, but specialized roles have become more common in strategy consulting.
   • Specializations (apart from BFSI & Pharma): Tech/Digital Transformation, Supply Chain, Energy/Utilities, Sustainability. These are in-demand and growing rapidly.

In summary, both BFSI and Pharma offer high pay and opportunities, but Tech/Digital and Sustainability are exciting emerging fields in strategy consulting.

Alessa