Consulting Firms MBAs Should Put On Their Radar

ZS (formerly ZS Associates) was founded in 1983 in Evanston, IL, by two professors at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. The company focuses on consulting services within the pharmaceutical industry, servicing 49 of the 50 largest drug-makers and 17 of the 20 largest medical device making companies.

 

Similarly to LEK Consulting, first year MBAs working at ZS reported much lower traveling times, at 24%. Compensation is competitive, too, with MBAs reporting a median salary of $140,000.

 

Cognizant is a multinational corporation with services in many fields, including business consulting, along with technology services.

The majority of Cognizant’s consultancy services revolve around helping companies and their digital organization. They also release guides for modern CIO’s, as well as other content which you can view here. Our MBAs report Cognizant’s compensation being slightly lower than some peer firms, at a median of $166k compared to $180k. This is offset by the company’s much more reasonable hours, with associates reporting working 45 hours/week (compared to the 53-hour industry-wide average) and traveling less (38% compared to the all-company average of 55%)

 

The Parthenon Group was acquired by EY in 2014, following a recent trend by big four firms to diversify their services and dive deeper into true strategy consulting. Today, operating under the leadership of director and Parthenon founder Bill Achtmeyer, the consultancy offers services in 10 sectors, including consumer products, education, and private equity.

MBAs working at the Parthenon Group as their first gig after graduation reported working 60 hours a week, on par with the average for first year MBA consultants. In their first year, MBAs pulled in a median total comp of $200k at the Parthenon Group, a substantial $20k higher than the average total comp.

 

Ranking just below the big three management consultancy firms in terms of size, Oliver Wyman operates with an emphasis on banking and financial services. The company employs 4,000 people worldwide across 27 countries, and pulled in $1.8 bn in revenue in 2016.

Although our MBAs reported working longer than average hours, at 70 hours a week, and more extensive traveling at 80% of the time, Oliver Wyman encourages employees taking time away from work for personal development. The firm allows consultants extended (and paid)  sabbaticals for personal projects, such as working at a non-profit, or working at another company through an “externship”.

 

Based in Munich, Roland Berger concentrates on the automobile industry along with capital goods. The company has three offices in the US: Boston, Detroit, and Chicago. Along with its consulting services, the company promotes education through the Roland Berger Foundation, which supports gifted children aged 6-18 from socially disadvantaged families.

One Roland Berger associate we spoke with had come from an engineering background, and loved the ability to immediately add value on projects: “As a chemical engineer who had worked in the industrial sector prior to business school, I could add significant value quickly and make a difference.”

Roland Berger maintains a blog on their website titled Insights which discusses the company’s thoughts on recent developments across a variety of industries, so if you’re looking to learn more about how the company approaches problems, this is a good start.

 

Based in Chicago, The Cambridge Group (TCG) inverts the classic “supply and demand” philosophy and argues that demand should be found before creating the supply. This methodology, which may seem strange, has landed major clients like Allstate and Best Buy.

The firm was acquired by The Nielsen Company in 2009, which provides TCG with vast resources to solves its clients’ most pressing problems. You can read more about TCG’s unique approach to problem solving and careers here.

Hauk Nelson is a marketing associate at TransparentCareer, a former e-sports entrepreneur, and drummer for his band. He is based in Chicago.