DON'T JOIN CONSULTING if... | Reality of being a consultant

Consulting is a very hit or miss career choice due to its dynamic and volatile nature. As I went through my career journey as a consultant, I noticed there were parts of this job that I did not expect, which I wish I knew before I joined consulting.

In this video I will talk about the following questions/topics:
(Should I pursue a career in consulting? Will consulting be the right choice for me? What do I need to know before joining consulting? What to expect as a consultant at a big 4 consulting firm (Deloitte, EY, PwC, KPMG). Work life balance as a consultant. Consulting Work Hours. Reality of being a consultant. Skill sets needed to be successful as a consultant)

Let me know in the comment section if you have any questions or future videos you would like to see from me!

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📱LET'S CONNECT

🌊 Hi everyone! I'm Mika Kim and I'm currently a senior software engineer at a FAANG company! In my prior life I used to be a consultant at Deloitte. I created this youtube channel t share my experiences from the tech industry, and consulting. I used to and still use youtube a LOT to gain info on fields of interests and I hope these videos do the same for you too! 😊

Music: Morning (Prod. by Lukrembo)

#ManagementConsulting #CareerInConsulting #Big4Consulting #RealityOfBeingAConsultant

[NOCLUEinvalid]

don't join consulting if...
1. you do not enjoy working with others 1:06
2. you hate change and competition 2:48
3. you want a work life balance 4:19
4. you have a hard time saying no 7:03
5. you hate writing 9:08

[adamlasry]

For young people leaving University -> joining a Big-4 consultancy for 3 to 4 years WILL help you learn what would take 10 years in an organisation. My advice is join a consultancy and gather as much information (structures, methodologies, etc knowledge slides, process assurance, assessment check lists, etc) and leave after 3 years to work for an organisation. Of course, if you enjoy your work, you may decide remain put.

[kunnykuni]

Learning how to say "no" is a vital skill no matter what your job is and where you work.

[peonypink]

I got my first job at a Tier 1 engineering firm in environmental consulting. I was honestly shocked at the game-playing, manipulation, competition and aggressiveness of my colleagues. Me being someone who cares about others' wellbeing, didn't know what hit me. It is unbelievable how these organisations can promote such a toxic culture. I was efficient and others took credit for my work, stole my projects and more. Two years in I had severe burnout and it took me years to recover but I still feel the effects 10 years later and has severely impacted my career, finances and personal life. Nothing is worth working in such a toxic environment. Thanks for the video. Good luck to anyone wanting to pursue a career in consulting - my advice is to never climb over others in your journey to 'success'.

[FlipTheCatOfficial]

"Why do you want to join consulting?"
"For the exit opportunities."

[mwood]

Growing up my dad was a consultant. Although his career definitely provided us with a very nice life, all my childhood I watched how he was overworked, always traveling, and always taking calls and e-mails and meetings when we were supposed to be having “family” time.

When it came time for me to graduate college, he told me explicitly: choose any career path except consulting.

[Sebastian-lvdv]

Consulting. Get in, earn the bag $$, learn skillsets, network, and get out.

[lesjean]

The correct answer for the famous interview question ‘tell me about yourself’ is “I’d rather not”.

[anishray]

She is right. I really appreciate her coming out and presenting these realities.

[nickpearce]

I've been with a consulting firm for nearly 25 years. I'm a partner and on the leadership team. Mika is absolutely correct. I'm fortunate because I work for a relatively small company and we've created a family environment. The management and leadership are key to a great experience-that's critical to evaluate when considering joining a consulting firm. Work life balance is always something to monitor. However, being overworked isn't restricted to consulting. I think this a consistent theme in the majority of IT projects.

[nkiruanyika]

I’m so glad I didn’t get my consulting grad scheme, it was truly a blessing. I ended up working for start up and I’m so grateful I did. When things don’t work out it’s because something better is coming!

[smartwalnut]

Haha. Excellent summary. I also worked for one of the big four when I was young (in my time it was the big five). Most of the frustrations you have described are due to poor management skills and absolutely tragic communication between the senior levels, who deal with the senior leaders of the client, and the people on the ground who actually do the work. Consultancies are not the only sector that suffers from this. But hey, we were young and were surfing on all the adrenaline and cortisol this lifestyle brings :)

I personally enjoy the regular change, the working with a different client and a different team each six months, but I joined a smaller company later in life where I had more flexibility - and I learned that cherishing the lunch hour improves the team dynamics and work/life balance improves focus and productivity. The "you do this asap because I said so" it's just an ego ride which is actually bad for business in the long term.

[TheAUniversityStuden]

thanks mika for giving an honest view of consulting!
it's such a breath of fresh air to have someone just talk about the facts, without trying to sell us the dream
back when i was in uni, everybody would talk about how consulting was the dream job, and literally all my peers (and myself) tunnel visioned into getting into bain, mckinsey, big 4 etc.
but yeah, thanks for giving a straight & down to earth explanation of the consulting world

[rodolfozepeda]

In my own experience working as a consultant, the most mentally draining thing is the intense unfair competition between colleagues. In my opinion, this is due to the individual growth structure in the consulting career and not in growing the business practice as a work team.

[ChannelEllie]

Thank you Mika for creating this video, because I don't think I've ever seen anyone being this honest about the consulting job. I seriously would've never figured this out myself as a recent college graduate. Keep up the good work!(:

[temitopeolatinwo]

This is so true. I got in to one of the big four right after graduation and quit after a year for these reasons - I was literally burning out. I wish all new grads aspiring to go into consulting especially with the big four would actually listen to advice like this and assess if they can actually fit into this world before blindly delving into it.

[SonNguyen-hxfu]

My own experience: unhealthy competition among colleagues. They might not say/show it in front of you, but you will definitely get hit with something like this: “oh I heard this person was so this so that” from another manager.

Toxic environment.

[scottkelly]

I'm not yet in consulting, but I do have some life experience. I think this is good thought and I appreciate that you are leaving a lot of the anger out. I do feel that most of these five things will make you a better person. Namely learning to work with people, adapting to change, challenging yourself, learning to say no, and understanding that writing and reading are a way of life in the white collar world. I would say the only one that is personally detrimental or violates personal growth is #3 work life balance. I will certainly have to navigate and negotiate what I want and am willing to do on this front, but nevertheless I think everyone should be striving to self-actualize in the other four areas so I don't think overall the changes that consulting brings is a bad thing. Note: I realize this is not the point you are are trying the make. I'm just point out that this video may be a call up to those watching it, rather than a call out on the big 4.

[ecofriendlyify]

I started my career with a big four consultancy. And can 100% relate with your experience. Thanks for sharing.

[BoloBouncer]

One thing I learned pretty quickly is that if you feel like you're in an "ok" or "neutral" mood, then most people will interpret that you're in a bad mood or that you don't like them. And you will be weeded out (not just in consulting, but from any group) very quickly based on that alone.