For many ambitious university students, management consulting can seem like the ideal industry to start a successful and fulfilling career. But what happens when you realize it’s not the perfect fit for you? After completing several internships in strategy consulting and receiving multiple attractive offers, I became increasingly skeptical whether the job would match my values, my priorities, and my idea of life in my 20s. Luckily, I found the perfect alternative.
The benefits of consulting are obvious: you get to work on fast-paced projects in different industries, collaborate with smart people, and benefit from a steep learning curve as well as a great reputation, which can ultimately open up exciting career opportunities. However, I discovered 5 reasons why consulting jobs are not as glamorous as advertised:
- A poor work-life-balance, with little time for hobbies and social activities
- The inconvenience of travelling, without the excitement of a trip
- Little personal responsibility in entry-level positions
- Unwritten limitations to the range of projects you can actually work on
- Difficulties finding the perfect exit opportunity in an attractive industry
Despite my misgivings, I was close to signing one of my full-time offers because I couldn’t find any equally interesting and prestigious alternatives as a business major. I had looked at the tech industry before because many firms have reputations as good employers with exemplary HR practices, but was put off since almost all entry-level business roles were related to sales. Only after I heard from a friend working as a pre-sales consultant at a major software company, I realized that working in technology sales is much more exciting than I presumed.
When thinking about sales jobs, most people imagine shady company representatives knocking on doors and trying to trick people into buying washing machines. Reality in the technology industry looks different: technology solutions are usually complex and customers are spending many thousands, if not millions on them every year. The sales cycle can last months or even years and includes the establishment of long-lasting business relationships. Hence, salespeople in this industry are selling strategic investments and act as consultants for a specific area. Google and Facebook consult their customers on digital marketing, while software providers like Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, or Hubspot consult their customers on business processes. A new CRM tool, for instance, can completely change the way a business interacts with its customers. Countless management consultants teach their clients about customer centricity – selling a software solution and educating the customer about it is just a different way of solving the same problem.
Moreover, technology solutions are almost always bespoke. As a salesperson, you cannot win a deal without truly understanding the customer’s business, which means you have to learn about their industry, their structures and processes, their vision and strategic goals, and the people involved. This is similar to analyzing a company as a strategy consultant.
In fact, technology sales shares many of the advantages of consulting: you are usually working on multiple deals with potential customers in different industries, which means you can learn a lot about how various businesses are run. Since technologies and customer requirements are constantly changing, the tech industry is also an extremely fast-paced environment that teaches adaptability and creates a steep learning curve. You can surround yourself with incredibly smart people and advance your career much faster than in traditional corporates, since hierarchies are generally flatter and new roles and opportunities emerge frequently.
Simultaneously, the downsides of consulting are less present in most tech roles. Although the work is intense, the hours will generally allow you to continue your hobbies and see your friends and family every day, if you like. Both physical and mental health are taken very seriously by HR departments and managers alike, creating more sustainable work practices. Lots of benefits, such as subsidies for fitness classes and massages along with flexible policies when it comes to working remotely and taking time off for childcare or volunteering, help you prioritize your wellbeing. While some sales representatives also have to travel for work, they will rarely spend 4 days a week away from home. Additionally, even entry-level roles come with a lot of responsibility: when you are working with your own portfolio of clients and are evaluated by specific KPIs, you have a lot of freedom, but are fully responsible for the success or failure of your deals and projects. Last but not least, exit options are generally less of a problem, since you are already working in an exciting industry that is significantly shaping our world.
Depending on your preferences, you can find many different roles within the sales world, from business development over account management to solution engineering (pre-sales consulting). You can focus on building customer relationships, negotiating deals, or on becoming a technical expert. But at the end of the day, your job is about creating and conveying business value.
Based on these factors, I concluded that working in technology sales combines the most attractive parts of a consulting job with a more suitable working environment. After half a year on the job, I am even more confident that I made the right choice. Of course, finding the right work environment depends on individual preferences and there are pros and cons for both careers. Ultimately, you have be honest with yourself about your priorities when it comes to work. Keep an open mindset and discover the countless opportunities out there. Talk to people in different areas and you may very well find a job that is perfect for you.
Martin Keller works as a pre-sales consultant at a leading international technology company. He holds a Master’s degree in Management and completed several successful internships at top tier strategy consulting firms across Europe.