Do you want to work in strategy consulting? Well, strategy is a broad topic. But if we simplify it, strategy consulting is all about helping businesses make the best choices about their future direction, current challenges and opportunities, and how to achieve their long-term goals.
Consulting in general involves providing advice to help clients make better decisions. However, strategy consultants specifically help organizations with high-stakes choices that have long term consequences. If you want to work as a strategy consultant, read on to discover what these professionals do, top strategy consulting firms, qualifications and skills required, salary expectations, and preparation tips.
Strategy consultants help senior executives define the “what” and “why” of their organizations. So, they come in when businesses need help in making decisions that have to do with the company’s overall direction, long-term goals, plans for growth, market entry, M&A, or business transformation. Here are the general areas where strategy consulting applies:
Strategy consultants may have varying daily tasks depending on the specific project they are working on. However, there are primary tasks that almost every strategy consultant will do including:
When it comes to strategy consulting, McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company – known collectively as MBB – lead the field. These three firms are considered the most prestigious in the industry and offer unmatched exposure to high-level strategy work. They are the first choice for many aspiring consultants and are known for their demanding but rewarding work environments.
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company is one of the “Big Three” management consulting companies, alongside Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company. It’s well-known as a top firm and took the position of the most prestigious consulting firm in 2024.
In terms of strategy consulting, McKinsey is best known for corporate strategy. They help businesses define their overall vision, mission, and strategic direction. McKinsey also helps companies with portfolio strategy, capital allocation, and long-term planning.
Here you’ll find more insights on McKinsey:
👉 McKinsey Interview Guide
👉 McKinsey Personal Experience Interview
👉 McKinsey Problem Solving Game
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Try Boston Consulting Group if you want to work on business strategy projects. It ranked as the second best consulting firm to work for in North America in 2024. BCG’s strategy consulting includes corporate strategy, innovation strategy, organizational strategy, and people strategy. Their primary focus is to help clients define, execute, and accelerate their business strategies to outperform competitors and adapt to rapidly changing markets.
Here you’ll find more insights on BCG:
👉 BCG Interview Guide
👉 BCG Online Case
Bain & Company
Consultants working in the U.S. ranked Bain & Company as the best consulting firm to work for in North America in 2024. That’s not surprising since Bain consistently ranks among the world’s top consulting firms and is part of the prestigious “MBB” group (McKinsey, BCG, Bain).
Strategy consulting is one of areas they work on under their management consulting services. They focus on corporate strategy, business strategy, innovation strategy, and business transformation.
Here you’ll find more insights on Bain:
👉 Career at Bain
👉 Bain Interview Guide
Besides MBB, there are several other highly respected consulting firms that focus on strategy work. Companies like L.E.K., Oliver Wyman, Kearney, EY-Parthenon, and Roland Berger provide strong alternatives with exciting projects, competitive career paths, and unique industry specializations. If you’re looking to enter strategy consulting, it’s worth exploring these firms as well.
AlixPartners
The historical roots of AlixPartners is turnaround consulting and restructuring. This involves helping to rescue companies facing declining revenue, cash flow crisis, or operational inefficiencies before bankruptcy becomes unavoidable.
However, the firm has expanded its strategic consulting capabilities through acquisitions and organic growth. AlixPartners now provides strategy consulting services, particularly through its Corporate Strategy & Transformation practice. It focuses on long-term growth planning, market entry, and operational strategy.
EY-Parthenon
EY-Parthenon is the global strategy consulting arm of Ernst & Young (EY), one of the world’s largest professional services organizations. It was formed through the 2014 merger of the boutique Parthenon Group (founded in 1991) with EY.
The firm’s strategy consulting team works on projects like strategy reassessment and realignment. They help businesses find new ways to collaborate, review and update portfolios, or even reinvent themselves for the future.
👉 Discover our employer profile to explore your career at EY-Parthenon.
Kearney
While historically strong in operations, Kearney’s strategic consulting services compete directly with other top-tier strategy firms. Its strategy services cover corporate finance, business unit strategy, and strategic foresight.
Kearney advises clients across sectors including retail, luxury goods, financial services, and technology. Some of its notable clients include LVMH, Chanel, and Pernod-Ricard.
You can find more information here:
👉 Career at Kearney
👉 Kearney Interview Guide
Another well-respected strategy consulting firm is L.E.K. Consulting (LEK). The firm’s focus areas are business unit strategy, corporate strategy and growth strategy.
They provide these services to businesses across various industries, including private equity, life sciences, healthcare, and more. As for the career opportunities, they have openings for interns, new graduates, MBA candidates, and mid-career professionals.
👉 You can find more information about your career at L.E.K. on our employer profile.
Oliver Wyman
Oliver Wyman’s strategy consulting services include corporate and portfolio strategy, brand management, and market entry strategy. They work with companies to design strategies that prioritize customer needs and use data-driven insights to identify future opportunities. The firm also helps clients tackle modern challenges like climate change and market shifts through strategic planning and execution.
Everything you need to know about this company can be found here:
👉 Career at Oliver Wyman
👉 Oliver Wyman Interview Guide
Roland Berger
Roland Berger is ranked among the top strategy consultancies globally, particularly strong in Europe. It’s headquartered in Munich, Germany and has over 50 offices worldwide.
The firm provides a comprehensive range of services covering all major areas of business and management functions. This includes strategy development, operations, technology, finance, marketing, organizational change, and more, across various industries.
Interested in this company? Then check this out:
👉 Career at Roland Berger
👉 Roland Berger Interview Guide
Strategy&
The PwC’s Strategy& (Strategy Consulting) team is organized around three core areas:
Within these major categories, they have even more specific teams providing solutions in technology strategy, corporate & business strategy, customer strategy, people & organization strategy, and operations strategy. New consultants are placed in any of these specialized teams based on their skills and academic backgrounds.
The educational and experience requirements for strategy consultants vary depending on the specific role. Some strategy consultant roles typically need a degree in business administration, economics, finance, or a related field. Others might welcome professionals from diverse fields like healthcare, technology, humanities, and life sciences. For instance, the requirements for a strategy consulting associate position in the technology sector might include experience in providing professional services within the Technology, Media, and/or Telecom industries.
Having work experience, for instance through internships in consulting or professional services in your industry is also helpful. Here more skills and qualifications needed for strategy consulting positions:
👉 You should highlight these skills strategically in your resume. Use our CV templates to make your application stand out right from the start.
Strategy consulting careers are hierarchical, with clearly defined levels of seniority and responsibility. However, titles vary by firm and are less standardized than in fields like investment banking. Below is a breakdown of the typical hierarchy for strategy consultants:
The analyst or associate consultant is the entry-level position for recent graduates (Bachelor's or Master's degrees). The tasks include research, data gathering and analysis, creating presentations, and supporting senior team members. After demonstrating strong analytical skills and project contributions, analysts are promoted to the consultant or senior analyst role. MBA graduates often enter at this level. They manage smaller workstreams, develop hypotheses, present findings, and contribute to recommendations.
With more experience, consultants take on greater responsibility for project delivery and client management. Titles at this level vary between firms including senior associate consultant, engagement manager, or project leader. At this point you can manage big parts of large projects, lead teams of junior consultants, manage client relationships, and contribute to business development activities.
The next two levels, manager and senior manager, are leadership roles with great responsibility for project outcomes, client relationships, and business development. They oversee multiple projects, mentor junior team members, develop new business opportunities, contribute to the firm's thought leadership, and manage senior client stakeholders.
Then the associate partner and partner positions are the senior leadership and ownership roles within the firm. Partners are responsible for the firm's overall strategy, business development, and client relationships at the highest levels. They may specialize in a particular industry or functional area.
Promotion cycles in strategy consulting typically occur every 2–3 years, with Partner roles requiring 8–15+ years. Exit opportunities for strategy consultants are often in corporate management, private equity, venture capital, policy and strategy roles in the public sector, and entrepreneurship.
👉 You’ll find even more information in our article “Consulting Career Path – Roles, Salary, Progression.”
Strategy consulting is one of the highest-paying entry-level career paths in the business field, and that trend continues at more senior levels. In addition to a fixed base salary, consultants typically receive performance-based bonuses, which can vary significantly depending on the role and the firm.
Here’s an overview of typical annual gross salaries, including bonuses:
| Intern | Average Base Salary | Bonus | Total Average Pay |
| Analyst or Associate consultant | $66K - $109K | $17K - $32K | $84K - $141K |
| Consultant or senior analyst | $74K - $139K | $35K - $66K | $109K - $204K |
| Senior associate consultant | - | - | - |
| Manager or principal | $134K - $210K | $124K - $231K | $258K - $442K |
| Senior Manager | - | - | - |
| Associate partner | $300K - $500K | $150k- $500k | $500K - 1M |
| Partner (senior) | $500k - $650k | $550k - $4.5m+ | $1M - 5M+ |
👉 You can find more information on how much you can earn as a consultant in our article on Consulting Salaries Worldwide.
Strategy consultants work long and unpredictable hours, usually between 50 to 70 hours per week. The workload can become overwhelming during critical project phases, tight deadlines, or client crises.
Since consultants sometimes work on-site at client locations, it’s possible to spend some weekdays away from home. This can disrupt personal routines and make it difficult to maintain personal commitments.
👉 You’ll find more insights on this topic in our article on work-life balance in consulting.
A career in strategy consulting offers many opportunities, but it also comes with its challenges. That’s why we’ve put together an honest overview of the most important pros and cons for you below.
| Pros of a Career in Strategy Consulting | Cons of a Career in Strategy Consulting |
| High compensation and benefits | Demanding work hours and challenging work-life balance |
| Exposure to various industries and business models | Frequent travel can mean time away from home |
| Strong networking opportunities | High-pressure environment and over performance culture |
| Excellent career progression and exit opportunities | ”Up” or “Out” culture at some firms |
| Travel and global exposure | Ethical dilemmas as recommendations like layoffs may conflict with personal values |
| Contributing to success of companies and in turn the overall economy | Imposter syndrome due to steep learning curves and exposure to experts |
If you’re still in university, the first step is to build a strong academic foundation. Good grades in a relevant field of study will help, but practical experience is just as important. Use your time at university to get involved in case competitions, consulting projects, or business clubs. This is a great way to practice solving real-world problems in a structured way, which is a core skill in consulting.
Internships at relevant firms are another key element. If you make a strong impression during an internship, there’s a good chance you’ll be offered a full-time position later on.
Whether you’re still studying or have recently graduated, focus on developing the skills you’ll need in strategy consulting. These include:
It’s also a good idea to start building a professional network early on. You can do this through industry events, LinkedIn, student initiatives, or by connecting with current consultants and recruiters. A mentor from the field can also offer valuable guidance and insider insights.
👉 Check out our article on Networking in Consulting for more tips!
Even before sending out applications, it’s important to start preparing for the demanding interview process. These three steps can help you get ready:
1. Prepare on your own.
Learn about the application process, company culture, and typical project types at the firm you’re applying to. Practice classic consulting interview questions – both case and personal fit – and stay up to date on market trends. It’s also helpful to familiarize yourself with key concepts, terminology, and frameworks so you can present yourself confidently.
👉 Browse our Case Library and practice with real examples.
👉 Use our Case Interview Basics to build the skills and knowledge you’ll need to succeed in your interviews.
2. Practice with peers.
Do mock interviews with classmates or other candidates. Make sure your practice sessions mirror real interviews as closely as possible, including structure, time pressure, and question types.
👉 Use our Meeting Board to connect with others and practice together!
3. Consider professional coaching.
If you want to fine-tune your performance, a session with an experienced coach can be extremely helpful. You’ll receive honest feedback and actionable tips in a setting that closely resembles a real interview.
👉 Sounds helpful? Have a look at our Coach Overview and find the right expert to support your preparation!
Strategy consultants tasks include conducting research and surveys, analyzing data, reviewing challenges and opportunities, and structuring solutions. They perform such tasks across various areas like corporate strategy, M&A, growth strategy, and competitive strategy. The goal is to help companies improve performance, solve problems, and achieve their long-term goals.
Generally, consulting work involves job-frequent travel, high client expectations, and a culture of overachievement. All these can make it challenging to maintain a healthy balance between professional and personal life.
