Risk Consulting at Big 4 to Management/Strategy Consulting at Big 3

Question

Hey everyone, hope you all are in good health and shape!

I have just accepted a job offer from KPMG as a Risk Analyst. I am an undergraduate business student from a target college here in India. Although what worries me is that if I do join this role, I may not be able to move to Management Consulting as this is Risk Consulting which is very finance-oriented.

I wanted to know if there are cases where people shift from the risk consulting practice at Big 4 to Management Consulting practice at Big 3? Is it possible and how difficult would that be given that there will be many more MBAs with a strategy background applying for such a role. Would it make more sense to join a Tier 2 strategy firm like Accenture or Strategy& (PwC) and then go for an MBA in 3 to 4 years of time?

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you!

Answer 1

A lot of people on this site seem obsessed by MBB. Try and truly understand why it is your goal to work for one of these firms. Understand your drivers for wanting this position. Do you really want to make big life decisons based on your belief that it is the ambition of your 20's to work at MBB? I would suggest to have a relaly deep think.

Answer 2

Hi there,

I do agree with Anonymous B here - be careful not to make MBB the end-all-be-all and forget what you have! (Which is a great offer from a great company). You risk spending life always aiming for the next thing.

That being said, yes, you absolutely can transition. What's required is that you demonstrate strong career progression in your, build up relevant skills (client management, project work, project leadership etc.) AND network effectively beforehand.

Answer 3

Hi,

It would help if you could specify what kind of risk consulting you are into since the field is pretty wide. But having said that, any consulting experience will come handy later for MMB transition provided you know how to showcase the same on CV.

I can give one example. When we do a classic PMO, there is an element of risk register where-in we categorize risk, its probability and impact . So somebody with prior work experience in risk would definitely find application of his/her experience here. Just giving one small example of how every piece of experience can be put to use.

I think you should go for it and try to learn as much as possible before you plan for that transition.

Thanks