Consulting careers - 11 insights on why people leave consulting & what they leave for

Every fortnight or so I run a poll on my LinkedIn. Given my area of expertise, the polls explore consulting careers (in and after consulting) - why people start, why they leave and what they leave for. Typically 600-1,200 people join in (a pretty decent sample size) and overall, these polls have been viewed by over 500,000 people with more than 15,000 participants.

Why do I do these polls about post consulting careers?

Well, unlike many more linear careers, most consulting careers involve leaving consulting. So for a consultant, plotting a career is a bit of a minefield. And if you're trying to hire consulting-trained professionals, how best to attract them can be equally mind-boggling. So, I find the results of these polls particularly enlightening. Why?

• For employers (HR and hiring managers inside and outside of consulting firms), they unlock the secret sauce in retaining or attracting consulting-trained professionals (into roles like strategy, transformation, project management, commercial development, chief of staff etc) by shining a light on how most people think about their consulting careers.
• For consultants, they shed light on how others in the consulting industry feel and behave and accordingly, give you clear references for plotting your consulting career - either in or away from consulting itself.

In this article, I've collated 11 recent polls into 3 topics:

1. Firstly: "Starting a consulting career - why?"
2. Secondly: "Leaving consulting - why?"
3. And finally: "Leaving consulting - what for?"

So, let's get into the data...

Starting a consulting career - why?

Summary: simply put, the majority of people who start a consulting career...

• Don't regret the time spent in consulting (83%);
• Didn't join intending for a lifelong consulting career (88%) / did join as a means to an end (skills, network);
• Don't regret leaving consulting (93%) and;
• Would have been more likely to stay / would return if pay, progression and, especially, working hours improved (80%).

Consultants & former consultants - do you regret the time you spent / are spending in consulting?

Results: (link to data)

When you joined a consulting firm, was it as a "means to an end", or did you envisage a whole career in a consulting firm?

Results below (link to original data)

Do you regret leaving consulting?

Results below (link to original data)

What's the main reason you'd consider switching consulting firms / moving back to consulting?

Results below (link to original data)

Leaving consulting - why?

Summary: simply put, the majority of people leave a consulting career (i.e, leave a permanent role in a consulting firm) in order to...

• Improve their work-life balance / working hours which has..,.
• Deteriorated further during / thanks to covid

What's the main reason you left / would consider leaving consulting?

Results below (link to original data)

Leaving consulting - was work-life balance the main reason (or would it be, if you were to leave in the future)?

Results below (link to original data)

Consultants - how has your work-life balance changed through covid? I'm working..

Results below (link to original data)

Leaving consulting - what for?

Summary: simply put, consultants transition their careers out of consulting along the following lines...

• Scale-ups are the most sought-after company type, but the full range of organisations is appealing (the consulting skill set is extremely transferable so most options are open)
• Most consultants want their career to end up in a P&L or operational leadership role (CEO/COO track) - the most successful companies at hiring ex-consulting talent can show a path to these (typically using strategy / transformation teams as a stepping stone / leadership talent pipeline)
• Freelance consulting is becoming increasingly popular
• Current & former consultants want more data when it comes to choosing post-consulting careers, especially regarding compensation and work-life balance. We're on a mission to provide that - check it out here.

Consultants - what company type do you find most appealing (as a post consulting home)?

Results below (link to original data)

Current & former consultants - what job type would you most like your career to lead to (or for more senior folk, which has it lead to)?

Results below (link to original data)

Freelancing - Are you more of less likely than 12 months ago to consider doing some freelance work?

Results below (link to original data)

Would it be helpful to know which post-consulting careers have the best pay, working hours & job satisfaction?

Results below (link to original data)

Popular Resources

If you're trying to assess your options for a post-consulting career, here are some popular resources:

• Private equity - 29 questions to ask
• What is a Chief of Staff and why do they get hired?
• How to be successful as a freelance consultant
• 30 interviews with industry leaders (who used to be consultants)