Consulting career levels explained
Consulting titles vary widely by firm, but similar core expectations exist at each stage. In this blog we’ll give you an overview of typical consulting ranks and what responsibilities to expect at each level.
Consulting Analyst/Associate
This is the most junior level in a consulting firm. These are typically people who’ve joined the firm straight out of university.
At this level in consulting you can expect to focus on task execution and learning core consulting methodologies. But don’t be disheartened, this is the level where you learn the foundations for your consulting career to come.
Consultant
At this level you’ll start to evolve from being a ‘doer’ to being a ‘thinker’. You’ll be expected to start exercising more of your problem solving skills alongside efficient task execution.
Features of a consultant:
2+ years experience
Increased problem-solving, less task-focused
Starts managing small teams and getting client exposure
Senior Consultant/Associate Manager/Assistant Manager
Senior Consultant level is effectively a training ground for Manager level.
Here’s what you can expect as a Senior Consultant:
Have 3-5 years experience
Leads workstreams under a Manager's guidance
Starts to builds independent client relationships
Start to become involved in sales/business development activities
Manager
This is where you start really stepping up in your consulting career. At this stage you’ll have strong consulting firm commercial awareness as well as excellent client delivery.
As a Manager you can expect to:
Have 5-8 years experience
Lead your own engagements and teams independently
Responsible for client relationships and actively involved in business development work
Senior Manager/Principal
At this stage, relationships are everything and the emphasis moves from client delivery (because that’s a given) to being a representative of your consulting firm’s brand in all respects.
Features of a Senior Manager:
8-12 years experience
Owns multiple complex engagements and large teams
Significant business development expectations
Creates original thought leadership pieces for the firm
Partner/Managing Director
When you get to MD or Partner in a consulting firm, you’ve made it. That’s it, you’re at the top. There are actually ‘Senior Partners’ but that’s a nuance too detailed for this blog.
Responsibilities for Partners/Managing Directors:
12+ years experience
Account ownership and overall quality assurance
Represents firm vision and brand, faces market
Leads a Practice or Division with the firm
The Takeaway
It’s impossible to neatly summarise consulting levels because the terms used vary so much between firms. However, regardless of the terminology, every sequential level in a consulting firm has similar expectations so you can use this as a rough guide of what each consulting level is and what to expect at that level.
Progressing up each level requires patience, consistency and ideally great mentorship.
While titles vary, accountabilities broaden and complexity increases with each level. Mentors help chart realistic promotion timelines. Patience and consistency drive advancement.
