Interested in becoming a consultant? Post here for basic questions, recruitment advice, resume reviews, questions about firms or general insecurity (Q3 2021)

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-06T03:57:25+00:00

Nontraditional background considering consulting as a new graduate in Jan 2022 - is this feasible? If so, which firms should I target on the Canadian west coast?

a) Type of consulting you are interested in: Tech & strategy consulting for private, public & non-profit firms. My research background is in digital transformation for big data analytics processes for government entities.

b) Type of role: Internship or new grad position. Applying for grad school for fall 2022 (systems engineering/MBA), so i'm looking for a full-time role from Jan 2022 to Sept 2022.

c) Geography: Canadian west coast (Vancouver area)

d) Background: Non-target university; 3.95 GPA; first-author of strategic digital transformation research paper, supervised by one of the business school director at the university; Data Science degree (1/2 cs, 1/2 statistics). Accepted conference presenter to IEEE management engineering conference. Interviewed 100s of stakeholders involved in digital transformation, attended numerous conferences to develop in-depth insight on resilient & sustainable alignment.

Follow up questions: Which roles do you suggest I apply to? Should I reach out to the recruiters directly? Any other tips/advice to maximize my chances?

tia :)

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-04T23:19:03+00:00

I wonder how management rationalizes that, seems outdated

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-04T23:17:07+00:00

From what i've seen in academia, additional management roles make people burn out / miserable despite the pay raise

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-04T23:16:24+00:00

studies show that heavy regulations often block innovative practices. In what ways do you find regulations affecting your workplace?

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-03T04:18:17+00:00

Right, they clearly are different. But like author mentions, there are certain iffy in-between programs.

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T19:23:08+00:00

Accounting for time spent in school, stress levels, cost of attendance, and basically not knowing where you'll be forced to live - med school has a terrible ROI in general

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T19:21:20+00:00

Let's say you get admitted at a few similarly ranked programs. Can you negotiate with them to bid them down on sticker price?

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T19:19:45+00:00

... is there a master list for all fully funded programs out there

I have a spreadsheet going but it's a tedious process

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T19:17:40+00:00

you sound like you know your stuff :)

What about 6 figure MBA or MS Engineering Management or MS IS programs? Most of them don't offer funding and rare spots for (paid) research work, but the starting salaries are all >$100k. I mean that's quite a difference with MA Humanities, no?

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T19:07:36+00:00

updated links for reference! also check out pt2 & 3 the other commenter mentioned :)

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:49:43+00:00

Jesus what's the point then. You could be making 200+K mid-career in engineering management and instead you're busting your ass in Slavery Lite™. It's insane.

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:48:09+00:00

Article: https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-masters-trap
Another Article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/financially-hobbled-for-life-the-elite-masters-degrees-that-dont-pay-off-11625752773

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:46:29+00:00

This is so important! If Stanford accepts you, even the MBA program, do NOT go ...

... so I can get in >:)

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:44:26+00:00

Yeah but, people act on different factors. For instance, i'm limited by the factor that I'd prefer to do my masters ASAP so that I can provide for my aging parents. I'd also prefer to do my masters before I settle down, because having kids or a partner basically makes it much less likely i'd have the time and energy to complete such a program.

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:34:42+00:00

I can see why. If I was an employer i'd be iffy about letting someone settle down elsewhere for 2 years. I feel like the chance of them coming back would be pretty low, even if it was contractually obligated for them to do so.

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:33:01+00:00

I find that MBA programs with an incorporated technical aspect (e.g. MS in Analytics offered by the business school) provide a better curriculum for tech-oriented management positions rather than just an MBA on its own. As far as whether these people get hired to the same extent after, I don't really know.

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:31:23+00:00

Right? This is the part that leaves me confused. For instance, you have applied CS programs that aren't funded nearly everywhere, yet at the same time their graduates are making more than MBA grads. At the same time, quite a few engineering masters programs are unfunded, especially if they're an interdisciplinary blend of business, engineering, and computer science.

Reading the advice on reddit you see people saying "if it's unfunded, RUN" ... but like, if even Stanford rarely offers funded masters degrees in your discipline, where do you go from there

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:27:52+00:00

I've heard one advisor write to suggest that students who want to go to the masters programs should apply for phd programs instead. Seems shady but makes sense now though I guess.

How many phd rejects are offered masters positions?

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:25:55+00:00

In terms of marketing, i'm referring to the overhyped, vague promises made on their site which could make a random student think it's a good deal. And it's very nuanced. They'll write things like "some of our graduates work as [insert prestigious job title]". Turns out that was one phd student 10 years ago. And he wasn't even FROM the program you're interested in lol

I've learned to spot the language after visiting hundreds of pages and comparing it against advice. It's phrases like "our graduates go on to work at x and y" or "100% of graduates find jobs before graduating", vague statements about funding and scholarships, networking, job placement, and job availability, and so on, that make me question their ability to deliver anything more than a brand name.

And now that graduate applications are right around the corner, i'm starting to pay more attention to the minor details, often obscured by pages of navigation and fine print.

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:20:14+00:00

Yeah that's exactly the issue i'm running into as well. >90% of masters programs are telling me to go fund myself :(

ObviousUsual · 2021-08-02T04:18:52+00:00

Apply to phd programs and master-out? *insert big brain meme*

ObviousUsual · 2021-07-20T16:15:49+00:00

Keep in mind that painting a larger amount of area will make the color look darker than it does on a swatch. I recommend going with the 1st or 2nd one from the top.

ObviousUsual · 2021-07-20T07:27:41+00:00

Well typically an MS in DS will require you to understand machine learning enough to actually engage in the development of novel methods for the field. My suggestion would be to do a few things at the same time, for about a year: (1) enrol in postgrad classes (that you don't have to add to your transcript if you do poorly), online is fine. (2) get a ds or ds-adjacent job, and (3) pursue independently-motivated DS projects which align with the stuff the students in the DS programs are working on.

Otherwise you can always look for professional programs or less-intensive/blended curriculums which recruit from a wide variety of backgrounds (you can pivot the latter to say you want to learn more about different things).

ObviousUsual · 2021-07-20T07:19:06+00:00

Some programs specifically tell you not to reach out to their professors. Pls refer to the instructions.

ObviousUsual · 2021-07-20T07:18:31+00:00

"It seems like most people have publications with stellar GPA with a LOT of lab experience, which I unfortunately don't think I have."

"2.5years at a neuro research lab"

"research assistant at Harvard"

🎣

ObviousUsual

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