Hi there, 

You try it. Ideally you try it across several projects, at least three, in different setups. Sometimes you can also fall in love with a topic or an industry as you learn more about it. Or you discover a great group of people that you enjoy working with across several projects and then the industry itself matters little. Regardless, just it a shot and see where it takes you. You don't stand to lose much. 

Hi there,

1. Network. Go and speak to people in that sector and, in particular, people at your firm in that sector! Ask hard questions about the day-to-day!
2. Read. Start reading about the industry (Economist, BCG Insights etc.). Does the reading interest you? Good start :)
3. Try it. Nothing beats trying it. It's not the end of the world if you do it for 6-12 months and hate it. You can switch! I tried out property/retail consulting for a while and hated it - I left! That's life :)

Good luck!

Hi there,

Good question! A lot of people are fortunate enough to simply “know”, like myself (natural resources & energy all the way!).

If you don't know, just go with automotive for now and know that nobody is ever going to be truly stuck in an industry. That's because you will learn a lot of transferable skills from the different functions within the industry.

Let's take automotive for example: you may work on a lot of supply chain projects and learn a lot about supply chain for auto parts. Now forget about the auto parts and replace them with raw materials for building computer hardware. Same thing! 

What really matters is your understanding of supply chains. The same is true for R&D, corporate finance, strategy, operations, etc.

Hope this helps a bit! Best of luck!

Hello!

Congrats on the offer. 

For sure nothing would teach you more about it that trying it, although I understand that the opportunity cost is really high, too. 

I would try to find other people who have been generalists in the past, and done industry focus (pref. with that company) to hear their perspective. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara

There must be a mutual FIT i.e. your values, career aspirations, risk profile aligns with what the sector offers. If there is not FIT, you wont be happy.

If you dont have clarity, you may have to take a risk to explore. It may not work out but you will still learn a lot. Otherwise, spend some time networking, researching to understand whether this sector will allow you to give your best, be happy, not worry too much about outcomes and what others are doing.

Check out this article for some more guidance- https://www.preplounge.com/en/articles/how-do-i-know-which-career-is-right-for-me