I have decided to get into Management Consulting as my career, for a few reasons. I currently work in the defense industry. My ambitions far surpass anyone else's that I have ever worked with, and people constantly tell me to slow down. I am performing the work at a much higher paygrade, but because I have not been with the company for 10+ years, I can not be paid as much as the other personnel doing that work. I believe one should get compensated for one's performance. Furthermore, the salary prospects in the defense industry are lackluster by my standards. The company is inundated with bureaucracy and there are levels upon levels of red tape for even a 3-5% raise. I wish to be challenged with work, and work with people who are intelligent, and are as self-motivated and as driven as myself. Lastly, it's about what I enjoy doing, and for me, the most satisfaction I get is when others ask me for advice. Having my opinion and input be valued is very important to me, so I figured why fight what you enjoy (and are good at) and decided to make a career out of it. So, on to my background. I have a BS in Electrical Engineering from University of Maryland (3.73 GPA). After graduation from school I started working for a major defense contractor, where I was hired as an Electrical Engineer (had approx. 2 years of prof. experience at graduation from college). Having decided that I was too bored with engineering, and was much too social to sit at a desk for 8+ hours a day, I chose a path into management. 4 months after joining the company, I was given Risk Manager and Project Lead responsibilities and was asked to pick a team and accomplish a customer driven requirement. Did so successfully and a few weeks back was made Program Lead for a multi million dollar project. Last year I started a Masters in Electrical Engineering at Johns Hopkins, in addition to full time work, and am about 40% done with it (4.0 GPA). To complement the technical training received in my Masters, I am currently preparing to take my Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. From reading the profiles of the consultants and leads at McKinsey, Bain and BCG, it seems the vast majority have received Masters degrees from Ivy League schools, mostly MBAs. I am interested in heading to one of those 3 companies down the line (after finishing Masters perhaps). My main questions are as follows:1. Is my "increasing responsibility" progression at a defense contractor sufficient to warrant an interview with the companies (or similar) I am interested in?2. Same question for my educational background - I plan to get an MBA from Wharton after this MSEE, but I'd like the firm to pay for it3. What steps can I take now to begin preparing for interviews (if I can even get those) - I have already ordered a book of case questions and have been reading sample solutions online. I see that a lot of them require knowledge of accounting and contracting, which I, with my background, do not possess at this time. There also seems to be a need to know of certain business frameworks - is there a good way to acquire that knowledge?Anyone who has made a similar transition and/or has any advice?Thank you all in advance.

An awful lot of words with limited content - consulting firms won't like that. Be concise.You come across as quite arrogant - consulting firms won't like that either. You may well not be, and maybe it is a cultural thing, but if I was to read some of your sentences in an email or cover letter, in particular "My ambitions far surpass anyone else's that I have ever worked with", it would put me right off.You leave out important information, such as how many years of work experience you have. You need to consider whether you fall into one of the typical consulting entry points. I suspect, but can't tell from your post, that you are a bit too old for entry-level but probably not competitive for post-MBA level. Your educational background is ok but probably under par, as you have alluded to yourself. An MBA would help but if your firm pays you will be going back there anywayIn summary, you might get some interviews, you might not. Difficult to say with the information given and I wouldn't be surprised either way.

My first question to myself would be if things are so stullified in your current firm, and pay rises are hard to get (even at 3 - 5%), why are you still there, if you are the over achiever you portray here. Also, I would look at your record of achievement in the context of your peers - I get the impression you are perhaps surrounded by competent but not particularly ambitious individuals. Defence does not tend to attract the most driven of people anyway. So you are overachieving in an environment where the bar is set relatively low anyway. And to claim your ambitions far surpass anyone else's that you have ever worked with doesnt strike me as arrogant so much as veiled evidence you are working with some very pedestrian colleagues. Easy to shine surrounded by dimmer lights. You want an Ivy League MBA - but hang on, the company you join should pay for it. So you are not as ambitious as all those who take the risk and fund their own MBA? Brings me back to my earlier points.I suspect you will not make it to MBB, in fact will struggle to get into MC unless with a defence practice of a small to mid cap consulting firm prepared to take a gamble on you in exchange for your networks. Ultimately, and I apologise for being so blunt snow-boarder, I think you will miss the boat with consulting and wind up contracting, telling yourself that you were always too ambitious, too driven, to be tied down to MC.

This forum gets blasted a lot because of the amount of negativity and put-downs that find their way on. Of course if someone comes on here looking for a great big 'yeah mate your great, you'll definitely be a partner in five years' that ain't gonna happen.What I am trying to say is that you cold read Mars excellent response negatively but in there he (or she, i have no idea) makes some great points. I am not going to question your ambition, but let me just say, many of the best MBA's I have hired (I think I have hired c200 MBA's in all) took the risk and self-funded. That gives them the freedom of choice and I have to say, they have a stronger bargaining chip. I would also say that an MBA from a GOOD school is enough. You don't have to do Ivy or LBS or INSEAD, they are absolute creme. You can go one notch below that.One thing I would say, I know some very ambitious consultants that have reached the very top, but they still have to work with very ordinary people (ie clients). You're going to have to make that work mate.I don't think your arrogant at all, just American and thats your writing style. Interestingly, there was a discussion (FRUSTRATED) on here recently about faux competitivness, you should read the chain, interesting discussion.

Thank you all for your responses. I apologize if I came off a bit negative/arrogant, just been somewhat frustrated with the non competetiveness of the work environment I am in. I'm working on transitioning to a better one.I would have no problem self funding the MBA, it would just be a bonus if a company could pay for it. By the time I will have finished my Masters in EE, I will have 5 years experience (a mix of management, project management as well as engineering).

Are you the same eejit Alex that is on the Frustrated thread? How many Alexes are there here? You have the same manner and writing style, but you already have an MBA on the other thread. Strange.Anyway, very very few firms will pay for full-time MBAs. Some of the top consulting firms will, and only a handful of industry companies that I am aware of. And they will require you to go back to them post-MBA for at least two years. Which kinds of derails your consulting plans.Seems to me your best bet is to pay to go to business school like most of the rest of the world, and then aim for consulting. The timing would be about right. And please do aim for the absolute best school you can get into. Based on your career aspirations this is essential - Shoe Polisher's 'good' schools are fine for many things, but not if your aspiration is the McKinseys and BCGs of the World.

No, not the same, sounds like a future version of me though heh.I was implying an Executive MBA rather than a full-time one, and I wouldn't mind going back to the company for a few years after (considering the huge cost, it only makes sense). I will begin preparing to admissions to Wharton, I'll go full time if I can't get a company to pay for the EMBA. Thanks for the responses btw.

hi Alex! Since opinions are like a$$holes (everyone has one - and thinks everyone else is full of s***), here's mine:I would counsel against an EMBA as a route into MBBB for the same reasons as the sponsored vs independently funded MBA argument: IF you're serious about breaking into the very best, you need to get some skin in the game and do your MBA fulltime. If you're really as good as you say you are, then get a little debt and do Ivy/LBS/INSEAD for a couple years: it will pay itself back several times over. If however you are just feeling all superior because you got a few breaks early in your career, then better to stay in your current sinecure - because that's as good as it's gonna get.