"A consultant is someone out of work but still carrying a brief case""Consultants are people who borrow your watch and tell you what time it is, and then walk off with the watch." - Robert Townsend. Do you disagree? It surprises me that freshers from uni with zero experience go into consulting. How can you solve a client's problem when you haven't got a clue?

Probably can' but I know how much I'm going to charge for the privilege...

Freshers do not solve client's problems.They conduct analysis that enables people with more experience and more of a clue to help a client solve his/her problems.

I believe it is better to get your hands dirty first in an industry before going into consulting. Ever listened to a lecturer who has never had work experience? They sound overly theoretical and suggest ideas that are simply utopian. Same with consultants! Yet, when practitioners want to get a consulting job, recruiters ask whether they have had a consulting experience. How ironical!