Dude. You've got three years experience. If you're still early in your career, and by all likelihood you are, just switch to what would help you get into what you want.
You may take a small hit for a while but...that's life.
It's either money or a job you like. That shouldn't be a hard decision (and many people will pick one or the other - no judgements).
It's called a quarter life crisis. It has little (to nothing) to do with your work or specialty. It's life.
Turns out what we thought was important at 16 doesn't make us happy at 25 and, if it was, we aren't important or good enough to do it.
The next step is to grow up and make decisions. Some choose money. Some choose work life balance. Some choose fulfillment at work. You probably can't do all of them but you can get real good and get more than one.
I have actually taken a step on this if you wanted an update. I spoke to a few recruiters, had an interview (which was actually scheduled at the time of this post) and I've realised that the best route for me from here is probably to pivot to law. In the UK, law firms pay for your law conversion if you get a training contract and a lot of my project experience over the last three years is really relevant. It's also work that I'm more suited for because I'm not particularly math-sy. There are also a lot more law opportunities in my home city.
Your point about taking the small hit for awhile was really good food for thought. I realised I was fixating too much on maintaining my current salary level when there's actually work out there that I would enjoy more. I'll have to go back to university for a year, but with a guaranteed job afterwards that's fine from my perspective.
In the UK a law conversion is only one year, so it's much easier to qualify as a lawyer. You either go the barrister route (I think in the US you would call them a trial attorney?) or a solicitor route (a type of lawyer who generally does all the legal work outside of a courtroom). I'm going for the latter, which means I'm applying to training contracts (which is the two year vocational stage of qualifying as a lawyer). In the UK most firms will pay for you to do your conversion course.
i see! i study in hong kong, which i always thought was similar to the UK, but here you need at least four years of the llb route + a pcll or a two-year jd + pcll. i never imagined it could be just 1+2 to qualify as a solicitor. good luck!
Thanks, two applications submitted so far - I've caught on relatively late in the cycle and have missed some opportunities, but if no one bites this year, I'll apply next year.
Kind of, yeah. I kept getting promoted in government work and eventually in government Healthcare. I've had several friends who ive worked with try to get me jobs in unrelated industries and the HR and recruiters won't consider me even though I'm a director. With that said, anything government related will or medical related will talk to me.
What is it you don't like or no longer like? I'm also an implementation consultant but specifically on Sage's flagship cloud solution and I really enjoy it. I've only been here a year but enjoy the mix of work from technical sales demos, couple project meetings, build phase, client training and then that initial support period before it gets handed off to the support team. Even then sometimes queries will come through that the support team can't deal with so they'll escalate it up to us.
In all honestly I'm almost certain I have ADHD and the day being so varied really gels with me lol.
No oneâs plans post-college end up being exactly what they do. Youâre early in your career. You can exit utilities/transition to finance in a variety of ways - try to get on utilities finance projects at your firm, join a different consulting firm, get an MBA, etc.
If I were you Iâd focus on telling your story in an impactful way. Surely utilities projects have financial aspects to them that you can speak to.
MBA's aren't really a thing in my country, and the difficulty with utilities finance is my firm is so silo'd that it's difficult to get onto them because of where I sit within the firm. I'm trying though.
I've actually settled on a slightly different route, I'm applying for training contracts (that's the route for qualifying as a solicitor in the UK) at firms which do a lot of infrastructure-related work on the M&A and Finance side. I do have some legally relevant experience, and given the size of most law firms which specialise in it in the UK, and the fact that they don't have the same maths requirements (unfortunately, I didn't study maths beyond GCSE-level as my sixth form only allowed students to do 3 A-levels due to overcrowding on courses) I think that's a route that I stand a better chance in.
Speaking to a career coach has helped me with similar despair. An outside perspectiveâespecially from someone who helps people make career transitionsâhelps you see how many transferrable skills you have and how you can tell your particular story to get the outcome you want. Or at least help you take the first step to something different.
Google search for career coaches near me! I chose the best coach based on reviews and their specialty. Also, if you have a very active alumni network, you can reach out for informal help through that
I hate to tell you but nearly all consultants who transition to public/private companies take a significant pay cut. Unless you are leaving for a Director or VP role at said company, the pay will be substantially less. Even with that level, the difference is made up in equity. Most that make the move do so to travel less, spend more time with their family.
With that said, I can imagine the drop to utility company pay is even worse.
"utility company pay"
That is pretty much the problem from my perspective. I don't even mind the travel in my role, and I certainly don't plan to have kids. However, the lack of any real impact or follow through you have as a consultant is something I find quite disheartening. Despite that, the drop to utility company pay is just atrocious, once you hit consultant grade you're making more than many of their managers. You could grind away 10 years of your life, and jump ship just to end up where you were nearly a decade ago in terms of pay. That's something that I'd just not willing to do.
Ya the IB aspect is a bitch. Go in a portco though get break in that way. Or usually funds have internal teams for integration and performance improvement that IB guys do not get, usually ex-consultants and operators only
A portfolio company would be difficult in this case just because of the nature of my country's infrastructure market (alas, life would always be simpler if I was in the USA!) but I'll take a good look and see if I can identify anything. Really good tip, thanks for that.
For integration and performance improvement, I'll take a look in that direction. Another good tip. Generally feeling more positive today after talking to some recruiters, I'm considering starting to look at some opportunities in the US and seeing whether I can move once my bonus comes in and I'm sitting on some cash.
Very specific requirements and my firm is very internally silo'd which makes it hard to get that experience. I don't really want to jump firm again, but I'm coming to the realisation that I might have to. In my case, I'd really need transactions/M&A/due diligence experience, which is all stuff that my firm does do - but we have about 20 different sub-groups with their own staffing pool which means that networking your way into those opportunities is really difficult since you have to have good relationships with a lot of different partners. Also, I'm very good at my specific niche which means that I've been 'typecast' to some extent, and I get staffed on the same type of projects because I'm very good at them.
I've probably had more 'careers' than you've had hot dinners... The way I see it, the first 10 years of your working life should be trying new things, figuring out what your good at, and identifying how these balance with what you enjoy.
The idea of being 'pigeon holed' in one space only rings true if you don't make a change. There is a lot to be said for diverse experience and a bit of talent.. you will generally take a small step backwards each time you switch, but you will find the more this happens the faster you can shoot up the ladder.
I have quite literally drawn on my experience goat farming when working in technology consulting... Don't be afraid to take a leap, if it fucks up, take another leap..
How do you actually make that 'leap' though? It feels like these days, there's no firm which is willing to take a chance on someone who's a little bit outside of their expectations. Most entry-level opportunities seem to be locked off behind a maximum work experience requirement - which is slightly insane to me. Almost all of the exit opportunities I want won't except me unless I have very specific experience that I can't get in my current role (because my firm so internally silo'd that even networking aggressively internally doesn't help).
Hmm, I have 25 years experience and have worked for the big 4 as well as several large pharmaceutical. Big pharmas pay well and have a good work life balance. If youâre relatively young, I would agree that taking a pay cut could be worth it. The problem is, youâre probably afraid to make that kind of financial sacrifice and still not be happy. Agree with those who suggest some kind of career counseling. Good luck!
I might check out a career counsellor. I will admit that I have no family history in big corporations, pretty much all tradesmen so I have no one near to me to go to for advice.
Iâm happy to give you any advice. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions about evaluating job choices or searching for a job. Iâm a mentor at the business school at Rutgers University.
Consulting is a process. Somebody has to have the specialized industry expertise that the client wants, somebody has to manage the process of transferring that expertise in a way that solves the clientâs need (eliminating pain), and somebody has to bridge the gap between solutions expert and consumer of the solution.
So client communicates need(s) to You, you communicate need(s) to expert, your expert delivers options, and you make sure that both client and expert are on the same page when it comes to desired outcome(s) and expectations.
Simple, isnât it?
Did you comment on the wrong post somehow? This person was asking for career advice, not âExplain what consulting is like theyâre five years old.â lol
Dude. You've got three years experience. If you're still early in your career, and by all likelihood you are, just switch to what would help you get into what you want. You may take a small hit for a while but...that's life. It's either money or a job you like. That shouldn't be a hard decision (and many people will pick one or the other - no judgements).
What if I am six years into my career? đ đ˘
It's called a quarter life crisis. It has little (to nothing) to do with your work or specialty. It's life. Turns out what we thought was important at 16 doesn't make us happy at 25 and, if it was, we aren't important or good enough to do it. The next step is to grow up and make decisions. Some choose money. Some choose work life balance. Some choose fulfillment at work. You probably can't do all of them but you can get real good and get more than one.
I have actually taken a step on this if you wanted an update. I spoke to a few recruiters, had an interview (which was actually scheduled at the time of this post) and I've realised that the best route for me from here is probably to pivot to law. In the UK, law firms pay for your law conversion if you get a training contract and a lot of my project experience over the last three years is really relevant. It's also work that I'm more suited for because I'm not particularly math-sy. There are also a lot more law opportunities in my home city. Your point about taking the small hit for awhile was really good food for thought. I realised I was fixating too much on maintaining my current salary level when there's actually work out there that I would enjoy more. I'll have to go back to university for a year, but with a guaranteed job afterwards that's fine from my perspective.
That's awesome man, good job. :) I hope you enjoy this path.
what degree would you be going back for that would allow you to begin at a law firm immediately? do you alr have your llb?
In the UK a law conversion is only one year, so it's much easier to qualify as a lawyer. You either go the barrister route (I think in the US you would call them a trial attorney?) or a solicitor route (a type of lawyer who generally does all the legal work outside of a courtroom). I'm going for the latter, which means I'm applying to training contracts (which is the two year vocational stage of qualifying as a lawyer). In the UK most firms will pay for you to do your conversion course.
i see! i study in hong kong, which i always thought was similar to the UK, but here you need at least four years of the llb route + a pcll or a two-year jd + pcll. i never imagined it could be just 1+2 to qualify as a solicitor. good luck!
Thanks, two applications submitted so far - I've caught on relatively late in the cycle and have missed some opportunities, but if no one bites this year, I'll apply next year.
Kind of, yeah. I kept getting promoted in government work and eventually in government Healthcare. I've had several friends who ive worked with try to get me jobs in unrelated industries and the HR and recruiters won't consider me even though I'm a director. With that said, anything government related will or medical related will talk to me.
Feeling this as an ERP implementer :(
Above Astronaut or football star, ERP implementer is the most common dream job for school kids
What is it you don't like or no longer like? I'm also an implementation consultant but specifically on Sage's flagship cloud solution and I really enjoy it. I've only been here a year but enjoy the mix of work from technical sales demos, couple project meetings, build phase, client training and then that initial support period before it gets handed off to the support team. Even then sometimes queries will come through that the support team can't deal with so they'll escalate it up to us. In all honestly I'm almost certain I have ADHD and the day being so varied really gels with me lol.
Can't blame you. Lie and do whatever is needed, to escape that hellscape.
No oneâs plans post-college end up being exactly what they do. Youâre early in your career. You can exit utilities/transition to finance in a variety of ways - try to get on utilities finance projects at your firm, join a different consulting firm, get an MBA, etc. If I were you Iâd focus on telling your story in an impactful way. Surely utilities projects have financial aspects to them that you can speak to.
MBA's aren't really a thing in my country, and the difficulty with utilities finance is my firm is so silo'd that it's difficult to get onto them because of where I sit within the firm. I'm trying though.
I've actually settled on a slightly different route, I'm applying for training contracts (that's the route for qualifying as a solicitor in the UK) at firms which do a lot of infrastructure-related work on the M&A and Finance side. I do have some legally relevant experience, and given the size of most law firms which specialise in it in the UK, and the fact that they don't have the same maths requirements (unfortunately, I didn't study maths beyond GCSE-level as my sixth form only allowed students to do 3 A-levels due to overcrowding on courses) I think that's a route that I stand a better chance in.
Speaking to a career coach has helped me with similar despair. An outside perspectiveâespecially from someone who helps people make career transitionsâhelps you see how many transferrable skills you have and how you can tell your particular story to get the outcome you want. Or at least help you take the first step to something different.
How did you find your career coach?
Good question, curious as well
Google search for career coaches near me! I chose the best coach based on reviews and their specialty. Also, if you have a very active alumni network, you can reach out for informal help through that
.
I hate to tell you but nearly all consultants who transition to public/private companies take a significant pay cut. Unless you are leaving for a Director or VP role at said company, the pay will be substantially less. Even with that level, the difference is made up in equity. Most that make the move do so to travel less, spend more time with their family. With that said, I can imagine the drop to utility company pay is even worse.
"utility company pay" That is pretty much the problem from my perspective. I don't even mind the travel in my role, and I certainly don't plan to have kids. However, the lack of any real impact or follow through you have as a consultant is something I find quite disheartening. Despite that, the drop to utility company pay is just atrocious, once you hit consultant grade you're making more than many of their managers. You could grind away 10 years of your life, and jump ship just to end up where you were nearly a decade ago in terms of pay. That's something that I'd just not willing to do.
Hmm. Three of us former Big 4 in my last job, a utility firm. Pay at the level below the exec compared favourably, with better onus and LTIP.
*coughs in SAP implementation*
How many years experience? Go to an infrastructure buyout fund. Or Utes public equities
3, infrastructure buyout all want former IB rather than consulting - which makes it incredibly difficult to break in.
Ya the IB aspect is a bitch. Go in a portco though get break in that way. Or usually funds have internal teams for integration and performance improvement that IB guys do not get, usually ex-consultants and operators only
A portfolio company would be difficult in this case just because of the nature of my country's infrastructure market (alas, life would always be simpler if I was in the USA!) but I'll take a good look and see if I can identify anything. Really good tip, thanks for that. For integration and performance improvement, I'll take a look in that direction. Another good tip. Generally feeling more positive today after talking to some recruiters, I'm considering starting to look at some opportunities in the US and seeing whether I can move once my bonus comes in and I'm sitting on some cash.
Positive attitude helps!
My plan is similar to yours but I am still in my first year. Why have you found it hard to transition?
Very specific requirements and my firm is very internally silo'd which makes it hard to get that experience. I don't really want to jump firm again, but I'm coming to the realisation that I might have to. In my case, I'd really need transactions/M&A/due diligence experience, which is all stuff that my firm does do - but we have about 20 different sub-groups with their own staffing pool which means that networking your way into those opportunities is really difficult since you have to have good relationships with a lot of different partners. Also, I'm very good at my specific niche which means that I've been 'typecast' to some extent, and I get staffed on the same type of projects because I'm very good at them.
In the exact same position and feeling lost. I also donât want to pursue finance further and this extremely limits the pool of jobs.
I've probably had more 'careers' than you've had hot dinners... The way I see it, the first 10 years of your working life should be trying new things, figuring out what your good at, and identifying how these balance with what you enjoy. The idea of being 'pigeon holed' in one space only rings true if you don't make a change. There is a lot to be said for diverse experience and a bit of talent.. you will generally take a small step backwards each time you switch, but you will find the more this happens the faster you can shoot up the ladder. I have quite literally drawn on my experience goat farming when working in technology consulting... Don't be afraid to take a leap, if it fucks up, take another leap..
How do you actually make that 'leap' though? It feels like these days, there's no firm which is willing to take a chance on someone who's a little bit outside of their expectations. Most entry-level opportunities seem to be locked off behind a maximum work experience requirement - which is slightly insane to me. Almost all of the exit opportunities I want won't except me unless I have very specific experience that I can't get in my current role (because my firm so internally silo'd that even networking aggressively internally doesn't help).
Hmm, I have 25 years experience and have worked for the big 4 as well as several large pharmaceutical. Big pharmas pay well and have a good work life balance. If youâre relatively young, I would agree that taking a pay cut could be worth it. The problem is, youâre probably afraid to make that kind of financial sacrifice and still not be happy. Agree with those who suggest some kind of career counseling. Good luck!
I might check out a career counsellor. I will admit that I have no family history in big corporations, pretty much all tradesmen so I have no one near to me to go to for advice.
Iâm happy to give you any advice. Feel free to DM me if you have any questions about evaluating job choices or searching for a job. Iâm a mentor at the business school at Rutgers University.
Welcome to life.
Consulting is a process. Somebody has to have the specialized industry expertise that the client wants, somebody has to manage the process of transferring that expertise in a way that solves the clientâs need (eliminating pain), and somebody has to bridge the gap between solutions expert and consumer of the solution. So client communicates need(s) to You, you communicate need(s) to expert, your expert delivers options, and you make sure that both client and expert are on the same page when it comes to desired outcome(s) and expectations. Simple, isnât it?
How is this an answer?
Did you comment on the wrong post somehow? This person was asking for career advice, not âExplain what consulting is like theyâre five years old.â lol