Hi, I am a Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics graduate now wanting to move to consulting, with hope to specialize in Pharma consulting. Is PwC any good at this? And how is it compared to other major firms like Bain (have heard that it does a fair amount in that area)? And generally speaking is PwC a good firm to work for in terms of consulting? Many thanks!!

I can't comment on PWC's client base in pharma unfotunately but I can give you a bit of insight into the comparisons. It does not compare to Bain, even slightly. All the big 4, while great names to have on any graduate CV, don't compare to any of the strat houses such as Bain or BCG. In terms of consulting, my general opinion is that the standing is:1. Deloitte2. EY3. PWC4. KPMGI think most would agree with 1st and 4th however there could be some argument over the placing of EY and PWC. All in all, PWC is still a globally recognised brand and for a graduate a great company to work for, even though it has such a large audit focus.

Hi Shiny Shoes,Out of interest (as I am new from industry), where would you put the other consulting firms such as CapGemini, Capco etc?Are they more in the "top 10"?Rgds

try niche consultancies too like Simon Kucher, IMS, Advisory Board, Kurt Salmon Associates

I cant comment on Bain or PwCs profile in the pharma sector specifically, but I'd go with Bain for obvious reasons.In terms of graduate level consulting programmes, I'd more or less agree with Short Hair Shiney Shoes on the Big 4 Advisory progs. KPMG are a distant 4th in this space. PwC & EY interchangeable in 2nd/3rd depending on what area of consulting you want you want to get out of it. PwC's programme is bigger, EYs very intensive. Outside the big 4, ACN tend to produce good generic consultants from their programme, not sure about Cap or IBM. The strat houses and boutiques will have diddy intakes (possibly hire 30 grads between them) but good if you can get on them

Simon-Kucher (large pharma/life science division), IMS Health (name speaks for itself), ZS Associates (almost exclusively pharma)

go with the specialist listed above - with Big 4 in this space odds are you'll end up working for a pharma client but doing generic stuff like process tweaking the supply chain or implementing a billing system

nice to see a bit of discussion sparked up on this!I'd go with one of the suggestions above about going to a niche consultancy if that is the area you really want to focus on, a larger one may have pharma clients but there is a very real chance you won't get to touch these due to resourcing needs on other projects. At least until you have gained a bit of credibility and can start to request certain transfers (and get them approved!)Just to go back to some of the points comparing Cap, IBM, Big 4, Bain etc. I'd break it down as...1. Bain, BCG, BOOZ, OW 2. Deloitte, EY, PWC Accenture (although they are an Systems Integrator and not a real consultantcy ;) ! )3. KPMG, Cap, IBM et alThe problem when you move down towards IBM (in my opinion) is it's too heavily sales focused and tied to a single product removing the ability to offer unbiased client advice

Wow so I suppose there is practically no chance to get into the strat houses as a graduate with no previous relevant work experience in this area especially if their intake tends to be teeny-weeny?So realistically a good starting point would be in the second division e.g Big 4 then gradually move up and branch out?

wyy, it tends not to be just work experience from the strat houses that is required, but generally an oxbridge degree, they tend say they target the top universities, but those recruited do tend to be oxbridge