I have been working as a medical doctor (Gynaecologist) in the UK since 1998. I am seriously thinking about getting a management consultancy job inspite of having no experience at all in that field! I am also doing an IT course & will attain the MCAD within a year to become a programmer. My question is how easy is it (at the age of 39) to get a junior consultant job without any experience. do some firms hire inexperienced people & train them? and who are these firms? ThanksFarid

strangely i'm looking to move into gyneacology... I'll swap you!

Why not become a headhunter? If you have experience as a Gynaecologist you will have all the experience you need to spend all day working with ...

MC and IT Consulting are two very different things. Best bet would be to try and capitalise on your experience by working as a consultant in healthcare sector, say Health IT, or Health consulting related. Not sure that I'd recommend going in a new programmer, health MC would be a good option, I think hard to get into but not impossible, why not retrain as something else in healthcare?

There will be some niche healthcare consulting firms around (I'm sorry I don't know names, maybe others can help you out) that are keen to have doctors on board.

Or possibly some of the firms involved in the National Progamme for IT, but it's not an area i can speak about with any authority.

I am very impressed by the prompt response & the willingness to help from all of you guys! certainly I will have to explore my options further, any more comments are greatly appreciated.CheersFarid

Hi Farid,I'm also a doctor making the move to management consulting. I'd suggest the following as a helpful set of steps in thinking through your next move. Spend some time thinking about what you enjoy doing at work and what skills you currently have. Example skills include numerical analysis, people facing skills, presentation and facilitation and sales and negotiation. I suggest you also use a book such as "what colour is your parachute" to help you do this. You should end up with an idea of exactly what you would like to do and the skills you already have to do this. Next have a think about what is important to you in a job: work life balance, pay, security etc. The NHS is a massive institution and conditions within it are very different from the private sector. Next do some networking and talk to everyone you can who is in MC or other, similar careers. You may find MC is not your thing but something else is eg: medical education, working in pharmaceuticals etc. Finally, once you've worked out what you want to do write a skills based CV which is tailored to the roles you are interested in. You can easily find books on writing these CVs and I suggest you get one. I know there are some recruiters looking for MCs in healthcare at present so you may want to target them, they advertise on top consultant.Moving out of medicine is a huge step because doctors still experience a great deal of respect from others in society and quite a bit of career security (despite this year's MTAS disaster). The private sector is a very different world and it's worth thinking through any move in a strategic and logical way. Don't just send out your CV to any old recruiter because you will need to justify your move.Good Luck

Hi Farid,I’m a doctor who has worked for MBBB. I think it is important to do your research, as you are doing, after all when it comes to working as a management consultant there is a bit of a gulf between perception and reality. I agree with some of the above posters who suggest that you would be better off positioning yourself in a role where you can leverage your medical background. I suspect a junior consulting role would represent a substantial loss of autonomy and responsibility for you.

May be you should explore Mckinsey's Advanced Professional Degree program. It is for people with non-MBA graduate degrees (e.g. MD, PhD)

Thanks for all your replies, I actually have been doing research for some time now & came to the conclusion that MC is for me! I had my CV done professionally already, I just don't know where to start applying! MC in healthcare sounds good to me but who are these recruiters? Mckinsey's Advanced Professional Degree program also sounds very good but on their website they only do program for MBA graduates, unless I am missing something here, can you please clarify Dr. MBA (I like that name by the way, sounds very professional, LOL)?

Thanks for the compliment buddy, but on a serious note, the name reflects me, MD who is doing his MBA.Here is some info on APD:http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/is_mckinsey_right_for_me/backgrounds_like_yours/other_advanced_degrees.aspxThis is for non-mba's only. All the best!

I checked that link on APD but it is only for people living in the US! do you know Dr MBA if there is an equivalent one in the UK?Thanks

Mars a day, can u please clarify what u mean by being a headhunter here? I know broadly what headhunting means but - being a gynaecologist- how can it be done? sorry been in medicine for too long and after many years of practicing u almost lose touch with other professions and bright ideas!Thanks