What does a Management Consultant actually do?

The short version

Management consultants advise organisations on their hardest problems — strategy, restructuring, operations — in short, intense engagements. It's the career that turns smart graduates into generalists very fast.

The pitch: genuine prestige, a vertical learning curve, and a springboard to almost any senior role afterwards. The catch: the hours are the deal (50–65 a week is normal), you're away on client site most of the week in the junior years, and the analyst-level work — research, benchmarking, decks — is exactly what AI is eating first.

Entry routes that actually work

• Graduate scheme — MBB, Big Four, boutiques; case-interview prep is the real gate.
• Industry lateral — 5+ years of real operating experience, in at manager level.
• MBA route — the postgrad reset into senior associate positions.