Do you trust that feedback? We have plenty of posters personally familiar with consulting at MBB, the Big 4, etc.
2 Likes
You have to careful with the term âconsultant â. Many firms outsource their HR function to consulting firms. This isnât the same type of consulting that is normally discussed on this website. L&D would be part of this outsourcing.
Thanks-We understands this. Fortunately, through networking, he did some mock interviewing and even got some mentoring over the summer after his internship with people from firms like Bain or Accenture. According to what we heard from several people in this industry, this type of major is becoming more attractive. I think it is because of the multi-discipline aspect that you can approach problem-solving from more angles.
I glanced at the degree requirements and I donât know why you are considering this an interdisciplinary program. It looks like a fairly standard Organizational Behavior program. The big difference is that many of them are in the B school (MBA or certificate) and this one is in education.
2 Likes
Thatâs a positive way to spin it. The negative way is that the âmulti-discipline aspectâ is simply an excuse to avoid hard quant courses. Many consulting firms, who are hugely focused on numeracy skills, will be skeptical for that reason.
S18 chose to do Public Affairs and it was filled with people who were desperate to avoid the quantitative rigor that would be needed for an economics major (which itself was viewed as less rigorous than the math-econ major that students with aspirations for a PhD are advised to take). Students even complained about (and gave bad reviews to) the professor who taught the one required quantitative analysis course because they claimed the watered down economics was âtoo hardâ and they didnât like the idea of a final exam.
S ended up supplementing the required classes with courses in advanced R, doing a thesis involving big data analysis, etc. in order to demonstrate his numerical skills.
His consulting job is all about Excel tools and PowerPoint presentations. Iâve also been a strategy consultant for 30 years and in my world, for all intents and purposes, âproblem solving skillsâ means Excel skills.
4 Likes
Thanks- Yes, I can see how this can be looked at as taking the easy way out. You donât have to believe me, but in the specific case of my son, this was not the reason for the switch. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the main reason for him switching was that he found the subject matter much more interesting, and he was advised that it would be better for his career outcome.
My son has done some advanced math at the college level and has always been good at math. So I donât think the prospect of the math required to complete an economics degree was a worry for him. I remember reading this article when we were right in the middle of our college search; it has always stuck with me.
If he wants to work in IT consulting for the fed govt through Accenture, he might be able to do that with a minor in compsci from NU. Otherwise, I agree with other posters that this major wonât get past the resume screen stage.
He will be competing with classmates with degrees in rigorous majors and proven quantitative skills.
3 Likes
One question I have - since you said "the main reason for him switching " - whereas in the first message you said - âOur son is considering switchingââŠ
is he seeking help from you - i.e. heâs considering and seeking your input? Or heâs decided and you have concern and you are seeking validation for you.
Reason I ask is - I know - a lot of what my kids think or do - I disagree with but in the end, theyâre going to do what theyâre going to do regardless.
I like that your son has done his research and that thereâs logic behind his decisions. Whether his decisions turn out right, none of us know - but at least heâs doing it with purpose and not with the easy way out mentality (thatâs my non quant kid and me when I was in school).
S18 also found public affairs much more interesting than PoliSci and Econ: he liked the applied orientation and he was able to concentrate on urban planning. But the career orientation of most students in the major (and the focus of most professors) was very different: they were mostly looking at public sector or non-profit jobs, with a few aspiring to law school and politics. One well known professor had told her students that she didnât believe in grades and would give everyone an A (she also conducted the graduation ceremony and refused to recognize any of the prize winners, simply saying âlots of people won prizes and you can read about them in the programâ).
Almost no attention was given to business or consulting and Sâs friend who went to a high powered FAANG job had to hide it from her classmates and professors (and pretend she was doing Teach for America) least she be criticized for working for a company that supposedly exploited poor people.
1 Like