If you’re new to the world of consulting, things may seem foggy and unclear. There’s so much scope in this field, including diverse industries and diverse roles, that people can get genuinely confused about the role and whether it’ll work for them. Luckily, there are plenty of perks of being a consultant!
As the leading career accelerator, HiCounselor likes to help our readers choose fields in which they can truly shine. To help you decide whether consulting would be the right fit for you, we’ve listed some of the benefits of being a consultant. If you need more help with your career path, contact us to find out our range of services.
1. Great Exposure
If you’d like a job that helps you gain a big amount of exposure rather quickly, you might enjoy being a consultant. You’ll get to work on a number of different projects that have different requirements. You’ll work with big and small firms. You’ll work with long-established companies and recent start-ups. This is a fun and fast way to pick up a lot of skills and learn while you earn.
2. Merit-Based Growth
At most workplaces, office politics plays a huge role in promotions and perks. This can often mean that those who are skilled but aren’t into politicking can be ignored. Consulting firms are generally really clear about what it’ll take to advance and what they want from their employees. That means growth is generally up to your work performance and not politics.
3. Good Pay Packages
The base salary at any decent consulting firm is around US$85,000 to US$100,000. This easily places consulting jobs in the high-earning bracket. Not only are these good starting salaries, you can also get higher wages quicker if your work is good. Other fields might give similar or higher starting wages, but their pay package growth is usually slower after that.
4. Not Your Typical 9 to 5
Since a consulting job has different requirements for different projects, the role goes beyond a humdrum daily routine. You will not only work with different clients, you might also find yourself sometimes working solo or working with different teams. This helps avoid the monotony of office life where everything is already set and you end up feeling like another cog in the wheel.
5. Travel
Going to clients’ locations will be part of your consulting job. This means you’ll probably travel a lot. If you enjoy being a go-getter rather than a pencil-pusher, you’ll like being a consultant. Sometimes you might be asked to handle clients in one region, while other times you might find yourself traveling all over the country. Apart from that, some consulting firms also allow ‘alt travel’ or ‘flex travel’, which is traveling for personal reasons but paid for by the company.
6. Plenty of Exit Opportunities
One of the biggest perks of being a consultant is that it opens up a wide array of options for you. You will build a network of contacts that have seen you put your skills to use. You will also gain expertise and vast experience in your field. So, when you feel like doing something else, you will have options. Many consultants launch start-ups while others dive into venture capital or private equity. Project managers and other tech roles are also popular.
7. Prestige
A consulting job is seen as a pretty prestigious role because people know that it takes a lot of skills to deliver worthwhile results. As a consultant, you’ll have to look at the big picture and the small details, check methodology, think outside the box and keep up with all the latest developments in your field. Having to work in diverse fields and still deliver optimal results is something the corporate world values and appreciates.
8. Impactful Work
Another big perk of being a consultant is seeing your work create powerful and positive changes in the corporate world. All the top business leaders (and even politicians) take the advice of consultants for any important decision. That means your word can shape things for their corporations and all the employees that work for them. At the end of a project, you can measure success according to the great impact you have had on a field.
Hopefully, this article will help you make up your mind about whether the perks of a consulting job are the right ones for you. If you need more help in setting on your career path, contact HiCounselor and one of our experts will gladly work with you!
HiCounselor has forged technical advances to transform the hiring landscape for job seekers and recruiters alike. Our career accelerator program provides job seekers with coaching and mentorship from industry leaders employed at FAANG companies while recruiters ally with HiCounselor to empower their hiring strategy and hone in on the best candidates. Learn more about HiCounselor here and reach out to us on LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.
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