Sources:

Five types of consulting careers for business students

Firm types

The majority of consulting internships and graduate roles are in Management Consulting, and the role is similar to your role as part of one of the consulting groups at St Andrews (Playfair, Castlecliffe etc).

This is a popular career for students seeking constant intellectual challenges, exposure to top company executives, a collaborative work environment, and frequent travel opportunities. There are a few major sources of recruiting:

• 'MBB' strategy firms: McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) are strategy powerhouses, offering entry-level consultants immediate exposure to a wide variety of industries and functions.
• Other leading strategy consulting firms: e.g. Oliver Wyman, AT Kearney, OC&C, LEK Consulting. Smaller than MBB and very similar work.
• Big Four strategy arms: Monitor Deloitte, PwC's Strategy& and EY Parthenon (not one for KPMG). These strategy arms are similar to 'MBB' firms.
• Big Four accounting firms: Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC operate sizable management consulting practices in Strategy, Technology, Risk, and other business areas.
• Tech-focused firms: Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, Infosys, and Wipro draw from their deep digital expertise to help clients innovate and improve performance across a broad range of industries.
• Boutique consulting firms: These are small consulting firms that specialise in specific functional areas or operate in a local geographic region. Examples include Kin + Carta, Teneo and Plural Strategy.

MBB and Big Four strategy arms are considered particularly competitive, given their strict CV requirements and small intakes. Meanwhile, Big Four consulting divisions tend to focus more on implementation work than strategy. A lot of St Andrews alumni work in Big Four consulting divisions.

However, if you are interested in consulting, it's important to apply to as many firms as you can to practise case interviews.

The long hours, hard work and extensive travel typically associated with management consulting pay off in the form of generous compensation and lucrative exit opportunities.

Because management consulting values analytical ability over industry expertise, it’s an attractive career for students from a wide variety of backgrounds.

There are a few other types of consulting firms: