Can anyone share experience over career transition from Software Engineer to Management Consultant as entry level Associate/ Analyst, without MBA degree ? How is the process involved, how to go about seeking a break into Consulting after securing 7+ years of work experience in IT / Semiconductors ?

Depends on how you define Management Consultant really. If like many on here you mean strategy consultant then I cant help you.However if you want to do IT consulting for a MC, then the way I did it was to join a vendor and in particular their professional services team. That way I was exposed to a vareity of clients and learned "softer" skills such as stakeholder management and workshop facilitation. From there I joined one of the "big 4" within their BI practice. However be aware that even moving from vendor consulting to a MC is a big jump with a steep learning curve. No longer will you be surrounded by "techies" but with very business savy individuals who you need to communicate with on their level.Good luck

Thanks BoroConsultant for your reply. Well, could you please suggest the best possible ways to make an entry into Consulting firms such as PRTM, Accenture etc which focusses on IT markets in particular ? Since I dont possess MBA degree, I wish to work for such firms after going through Seven plus years of Embedded Systems Semiconductor Development experience. At this point of my career, I intend to transform my purely technical work areas into business / commercial aspects at a higher level. What are the best possible ways that I could make an entry here ? .... Thanks for your inputs in advance

I think things are slightly more different than when I joined MC 2 years ago due to the downturn but I originally left school at 16 with a few GCSEs (in UK), no Alevels, no degree, no MBA, etc. I went into computer operations in the old days when you had to lug paper about and change tapes on tape drives. I eventually worked my way through to sysadmins, team leading, design work, strategy, etc.I then took the leap across to tech. consulting with one of the big 4. It can be done but as I say the market is differnt 2 yrs ago to now and there's probably not so much availability for work, esp. as a lot of MCs are laying off staff. Coming in from a long time in the real world it a shock to begin with... however the pay makes up for it...good luckss

oops.. to finishI should say my background before joining MC was architecting IT solutions within a large organisation but have never joined any vendor PS...

Hello Supersoul, Thanks for your inputs and sharing ur experience. Well, I realise that there has been wide gap between the MCs way of selecting candidates and decision-making criteria over the past five years. In this economic downturn, its making them more choosy to select prominent candidates. To All - Can anyone withwith IT experience ( Non-MBA degree holders ) share resume format specifically made for MCs, because I believe that resume / cover letter are the first stepping stone towards MC's attention. Thanks

Just to be clear: PRTM is not an IT consultancy. It does have a considerable pedigree in the high tech world, as in others, but its work is primarily in operational strategy, product innovation and supply chain innovation.As with all firms, you need to understand the space that they operate in and tweak your background/experience accordingly. Before you do so, though, ask the question: what do I have to offer that can help them do what they do? If you can't come up with a good answer, then don't waste your and their time!