Jo Randall
Former McKinsey and Bain recruiter
Management consulting is a high-paying and prestigious career that thousands of people want to get into. But since it’s so competitive, you might wonder which college degrees will give you the best chance of landing a job at your dream consulting firm.
Whether you’re choosing your major soon, or you’ve already chosen but want to better understand how your major will be viewed by consulting firms – we’re here to give you the inside scoop.
In this article, we’ll discuss how different degrees prepare you for consulting, and what questions they’ll leave recruiters and interviewers wondering about . . . unless you demonstrate those skills in other ways.
Let’s get started!
#5 - Humanities Majors Show You’re a Strong Communicator
Okay, I’m going to be honest. Humanities did not make my list of the top majors for landing a consulting offer. A humanities major doesn’t show you have an interest in solving business problems or that you have strong quantitative skills.
But, that doesn’t mean you CAN’T get a job in consulting. It just means that you need to prove that you have the interest and skills it takes to succeed.
On the positive side, applicants with humanities majors typically have skills that can be lacking in finance, business, engineering, and science students. And consulting firms are looking for diversity of experience – you can expect to see a smattering of humanities folks in any given group of new consulting hires.
Studies in the humanities prepare applicants well for being able to think outside of the box and relate to people and their experiences. There’s also more of an emphasis on communication, written, and presentation skills in the curriculum.
In addition, humanities students are taught how to apply emotional intelligence to problems and how to adapt their approach in ambiguous situations.
Your humanities degree will show consulting recruiters and interviewers you have:
- The ability to think outside the box
- That you can relate to people and possess emotional intelligence
- Strong communication skills
The skills you may need to demonstrate outside of your studies include handling quantitative analysis, being able to apply critical thinking in a business context, and understanding how businesses operate from a more practical perspective.
Developing your business acumen through work experiences, taking extra classes in a more relevant field, or working with a team on a case competition may therefore be necessary. A particular focus on showing that you’re comfortable working with numbers and data would be ideal.
Your humanities degree will make consultants wonder:
- Whether you have a strong interest in business
- If you understand how businesses operate, can learn quickly, and can apply your critical thinking skills in a business environment.
- Whether you have an aptitude for quantitative analysis
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#4 - Science Majors Demonstrate Your Analytical Skills
Science majors may not seem like the go-to major for solving business problems, but several consulting firms have launched programs to help students in advanced science degree programs pivot to consulting. This speaks to how relevant the skills developed through a science major are. They include logical thinking, quantitative analysis, and being hypothesis-driven, as well as the ability to communicate complex concepts in simple terms.
Your science degree will show consulting recruiters and interviewers that you have:
- Strong logical thinking and data modeling skills
- Familiarity with taking a hypothesis-driven approach to problem-solving
- Good attention to detail
- The skill to communicate complex ideas in simple terms
To demonstrate your fit for a career in consulting, you may need to work on your understanding of how businesses operate, as recruiters may assume that your degree hasn’t given you the skills to apply your research and analysis to make “real-world” decisions, or be able to relate to the business implications of decisions.
Showing how you can embrace and handle ambiguity is also essential for consulting. Although scientists are hypothesis-driven, there’s a typical need to have all the necessary and accurate information to drive this hypothesis. Consultants are often faced with having to form hypotheses without all of their questions answered.
Science students also need to show that they have the softer skills required for consulting such as working in and leading teams, and being able to communicate with a diverse range of people.
Joining business-related societies or clubs will not only give you the chance to develop and demonstrate these skills, but will also show recruiters you have an interest in business. And if you can gain some real-world experience through internships or volunteering, this will really help to show your versatility.
If you’re an advanced degree student in the sciences, you can apply to the short-term programs that consulting companies run to help those recruits learn about the consulting industry. McKinsey Insight, Bridge to BCG, and Bain ADvantage can allow you to “try before you buy” and make an informed career choice.
Your science degree will make consultants will wonder:
- Whether you have a strong interest in business and can apply your data analysis skills to business situations
- If you understand how businesses operate or can learn quickly
- Whether you can embrace ambiguity and make decisions with limited data
- How strong your leadership, teamwork, and communication skills are
#3 - Computer Science Majors Show You Can Juggle Data
The number 3 major for landing a job in consulting is computer science. It’s another surprising one, but computer science majors have several skills that consulting firms are looking for, including data analysis, project management, communication – explaining a complex project in simple terms, and teamwork (bet you’re thinking differently about those team programming projects you suffered through now!)
Computer science majors also develop strong attention to detail.
Your science degree will show consulting recruiters and interviewers that you have:
- Strong data analytics skills
- Teamwork skills
- The ability to manage projects
- The skill to communicate complex projects in simple terms
But like science majors, students studying computer science will need to demonstrate they have other skills needed to be a successful consultant such as an understanding of business and how companies make money and leadership skills.
Computer Science majors who want to build a career in consulting should close the gaps in their skills by getting relevant internships early in their college careers such as working in the business unit of a tech company, joining a student pro-bono consulting project, or by leading or joining a club.
Maybe try launching that app you’ve been thinking about – even if you don’t scale a business from it, this will give you a great story to talk about and show you are keen on applying your skills in a business setting.
Your computer science degree will make consultants will wonder:
- Whether you have a strong interest in business and can apply your data analysis skills to business situations
- If you understand how businesses operate or can learn quickly
- How strong your leadership skills are
#2 - Engineering Degrees Show You’re a Natural Problem Solver
Engineering is another great degree to have if you’re interested in consulting. An engineering degree will give you the critical and innovative thinking, project management, and data modeling skills that are hugely desirable for consulting. And using these skills to solve complex problems will be second nature to you by the time you apply.
In addition, you may have gained knowledge or experience in some of the industries that are particularly cutting-edge right now, like technology and healthcare/biotech, or both, which will be useful for consulting firms.
Your engineering degree will show consulting recruiters and interviewers that you:
- Have strong critical thinking and data modeling skills
- Are experienced in project management
- Are detail-oriented
- Understand cutting-edge industries such as tech or healthcare/biotech
However, unless you can demonstrate through internships, volunteer roles, or other experiences that you’ve developed your business acumen and have the ability to apply your problem-solving skills to business situations, recruiters may assume this is something you are lacking.
Engineering is such a detail-oriented subject, it’s important to show that you can handle the kind of big-picture thinking that consultants are required to do to ensure both they and their clients stay resilient in ever-changing, sometimes adverse, circumstances.
It’s also worth boosting evidence of your people skills, including leadership, teamwork, and communication, because the technical nature of your degree could make that harder for recruiters to spot.
Taking a key role in a business society or club, and/or getting work or even entrepreneurial experience outside of engineering can help to expand your skills and develop perspectives across a range of business functions.
Your engineering degree will make consultants wonder:
- Whether you have a strong interest in business and can apply your problem-solving skills to business situations
- If you understand how businesses operate – or can learn quickly
- Whether you can step back from details to synthesize the big-picture
- How strong your leadership, teamwork, and communication skills are
#1 - Business, Economics, & Finance: Degrees that Pave Your Path Into Consulting
Ranking #1 for landing you a job in consulting is a major in one of 3 related fields, business, economics, and finance. This won’t surprise anyone. These majors show recruiters that you have an interest in business, understand how businesses operate, and have the most relevant skills for a career in consulting.
Understanding how to manage areas like finances and resources lends itself to being able to tackle many of the problems consulting clients face, such as choosing the best projects to fund with limited resources or identifying potential cost reductions to return a client to profitability.
Being able to review and analyze data, identify trends and patterns in the data, and draw insights to drive decisions is typical of the work you’ll do as a consultant.
As a business, economics, or finance major, consulting recruiters and interviewers will know that you:
- Have a strong interest in business
- Understand how businesses operate
- Can make tradeoffs due to limited resources
- Are comfortable analyzing quantitative data and looking for trends
The flip side of applying to consulting with a business, economics, or business degree is that, because of the relevance, they’re a popular choice for students embarking on this career. You’ll face a lot of competition from candidates with the same qualifications.
Achieving a high GPA to distinguish you academically will certainly help, but you’ll also need to find other ways of standing out from the crowd. Putting extra focus on the other core skills consulting firms look for, such as leadership, teamwork, and communication will be important. You can choose a minor that enables you to gain these additional skills. Alternatively (or in addition), you can take leadership roles in college clubs, pursue internships, or volunteer to develop them in a real-world business setting to show that you’ve got consulting potential.
As a business, economics, or finance major, consultants will wonder:
- Whether you can outperform other people with similar backgrounds
- How strong your leadership skills are
- If you’re a good communicator
The “Best” Degrees for Consulting Demonstrate More of the Key Consulting Skills
Any college degree will demonstrate that you have some of the skills top consulting firms are looking for covered. But they’ll also leave recruiters and interviewers puzzling about other areas of your background. So the bottom line is that while an undergrad degree in Finance from Wharton will give you a leg up, you can land that consulting offer with any degree. You just need to demonstrate the skills your degree doesn’t demonstrate in a different way and you need to be able to show that you are eager and able to learn fast.
The Best Major For Consulting: The One YOU Are Most Passionate About
Consulting firms like applicants to have a degree because of the common skills that college students can bring to the table, such as a hunger for intellectual stimulation, the ability to conduct research, a mindset for learning, time management and organization, self-motivation, and essay/report-writing.
The good news is that consulting firms recruit from a diverse range of degree programs because they want to ensure they can effectively serve their clients by having different skills and perspectives on their project teams. And they’ll be considering more than just the subject of your degree when deciding whether to invite you to interview.
Recruiters will also be using your GPA to assess your suitability for a career in consulting. If you want to know more about how important having a strong GPA is and how recruiters review degree subjects vs GPA scores, read our article on GPA cutoffs.
Choosing a major that you feel passionate about therefore makes a lot of sense because it’s more likely you’ll excel in that subject and earn a higher GPA.
But, whatever background you come from, you still need to have the core skills to be a consultant. And you need to show how you can apply the theories you’ve been taught to real-world business problems.
Demonstrating these clearly through your resume and cover letter is essential to land an interview. You’ll also need to demonstrate your motivations for wanting a career in consulting. If you’ve spent three years studying astronomy, it’s useful for the recruiters to understand why astronomy is no longer in the cards for you. They, like you, don’t want you to regret your decision to step away from your specialization. You can find out how to tackle this question in our Why Consulting? article.
You’ll also need to be able to showcase these same skills and motivation in your interviews, so it’s worth investing the time in closing the gap between the skills you will gain from your studies and those that consulting firms are looking for, so you can more easily demonstrate how qualified you are. To learn more about what skills are actually important for consulting, head to our article What is consulting and what do consultants do?
My Consulting Offer has had lots of success in helping clients with a diverse range of majors to land offers in consulting, including those above. We want to ensure you know how to successfully translate your skills and experience into the consulting role both through your applications and your interviews.
5 Tips for Landing an Offer if your Major Is NOT One of the Best Degrees for Consulting
- Show your motivation for working in consulting by ensuring all of the relevant skills (problem-solving, data analysis, teamwork, and communication) are represented on your resume. Use your cover letter to demonstrate your understanding of the role and your fit for it.
- Take on extracurricular roles, work experience, or volunteer roles to plug any gaps in your skillset.
- Choose a minor that allows you to develop skills in the areas that your major is lacking.
- Network with consultants with similar backgrounds to understand how they successfully transitioned into consulting.
- Consider applying for boutique consulting firms if you’re studying a subject that you’re very passionate about and would like to continue to focus on.
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In this article, we’ve covered:
- How a major in topics like business, economics or finance can prepare you for consulting
- How a major in engineering prepares you for consulting
- How a major in science prepares you for consulting
- How a major in computer science prepares you for consulting
- How a major in humanities subjects prepares you for consulting
- Our top 5 tips for landing a consulting offer, irrespective of what your major is
Still have questions?
If you have more questions about the best degrees for a career in consulting, leave them in the comments below. One of My Consulting Offer’s recruiters will answer them.
Other people preparing to apply to consulting firms found the following pages helpful:
Help with Your Consulting Application
Thanks for turning to My Consulting Offer for advice on the best majors for consulting. My Consulting Offer has helped almost 89.6% of the people we’ve worked with to get a job in management consulting. We want you to be successful in your consulting interviews too. For example, here is how David Lee was able to get his offer from Deloitte.
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