Further study: MBAs, masters and postgraduate careers in management consulting

Consider the benefits

A postgraduate degree can give you technical or specialist knowledge to advance your consulting career. However, if you choose to take a course it’s important to weigh up all the factors. Recruiters value practical experience and work-based skills as much as academic excellence, so it’s important to find out what benefits a postgraduate degree will afford you over other candidates before making a final decision. Many firms have the same entry levels for postgraduates and undergraduates so it may be more beneficial to your career to pursue a postgraduate qualification a few years down the line. Some courses, such as the MBA, insist on a minimum of two years’ industry experience.

Consider the cost

Postgraduate study, and MBAs in particular, can be expensive. Some firms will cover the costs; however, even if you fund it yourself the financial rewards for doing postgraduate study can be appealing. Postgraduate study equips many consultants for promotion and an increase in salary usually follows: although many firms don’t differentiate salaries for postgraduates at entry level, they note that those with postgraduate qualifications tend to progress more quickly. Figures from business schools indicate salaries for consulting MBA alumni are in the range of £60,000 plus.

Types of postgraduate study

The traditional postgraduate route for many consultants is the master of business administration (MBA), as it prepares professionals for managerial positions through a combination of core and elective modules on functions such as strategy, marketing, consulting and finance. An MBA can give you more flexibility and control over your career: many consultants use it to further specialise in a chosen function; others to switch focus to another career sector all together. Many consulting firms actively recruit from MBA programmes for higher-level positions, while others will encourage promising associates to pursue one after three years to broaden their skills.

As consulting skills become increasingly important elements of corporate roles the range of consulting-based postgraduate courses has also expanded. Masters degrees with a strong consulting focus are now being offered in areas such as HR, IT and accountancy, and offer the chance to really get to grips with a particular function. Different masters are aimed at different levels: some are designed to introduce recent undergraduates to their sectors to give them an advantage when applying for entry positions, while some are marketed at current practitioners wanting to develop their skills set and/or specialised knowledge.

Reputation

Each programme and institution will advance your personal goals in different ways. An institution’s reputation counts with recruiters as it is seen as an indicator of quality so do factor this into consideration. Firms may even have preferred course providers so check with your HR department. It’s also worth remembering that postgraduate hiring is particularly vulnerable to cutbacks in the recruitment market.

To find out more about postgraduate study and to start comparing courses go to targetcourses.co.uk.