Is Consulting Suitable for New Engineering Graduates?

[StarSoup]

Consulting Career for New Grad??

Hello, I just graduated 2 months ago in Chemical engineering and I am trying to find a job. During my job search it appears that the overwhelming majority of engineering positions are with consulting firms. I have been pretty hesitant about applying to them because I am currently under the impression that consulting is no good for a new graduate with little experience. I feel like in consulting you would have to bring some good skills and experience to the table to be valuable for clients. I just imagine working for one as a new grad they would just give me simplistic work and paper pushing that no one wants to do. I'd rather work for a industrial or manufacturing company and get consistent exposure to something useful. I'm having trouble find these types of jobs though, its all consulting.

Can someone please give me some insights on consulting for new graduates? Are my assumptions valid?

Thank you.

 

[berkeman]

Hello, I just graduated 2 months ago in Chemical engineering and I am trying to find a job. During my job search it appears that the overwhelming majority of engineering positions are with consulting firms. I have been pretty hesitant about applying to them because I am currently under the impression that consulting is no good for a new graduate with little experience. I feel like in consulting you would have to bring some good skills and experience to the table to be valuable for clients. I just imagine working for one as a new grad they would just give me simplistic work and paper pushing that no one wants to do. I'd rather work for a industrial or manufacturing company and get consistent exposure to something useful. I'm having trouble find these types of jobs though, its all consulting.

Can someone please give me some insights on consulting for new graduates? Are my assumptions valid?

Thank you.

Do you mean consulting firms or contract engineer companies? I've worked as both a consultant and a contract engineer, and it's true that as a consultant you need to bring a lot to the table.

Have you applied to and interviewed with any of these consulting firms? It might be helpful to talk to them some to find out what the expectations are. And anyway, for your first job out of school, the main thing is to find a place where there is room to grow if you can show your skills. Even if you end up doing simpler things at first, if the firm or company is a good one, and you can show a lot of potential, doors should open up to you, IMO.

 

[Shaun_W]

Do these consulting firms have positions specifically for graduates? If they do then it stands to reason that they take on graduates and are willing to train them up.

 

[StarSoup]

Thx for replies. You're both right. I just need to get my foot in the door. I haven't applied to any consulting firms yet, but I'll begin to. I'll look for ones with graduate programs too.

 

[Devils]

Working as a 'Consulting Engineer' isn't the same as working for a management consulting firm like Bain or McKinsey.

- consulting engineer - work on engineering projects under direction
- management consulting - corporate restructuring, process improvement, corporate finance/tax accounting, legal advice, mergers/acquisitions, advising on projects (of any type)

I have worked for an Information Technology consulting firm with new graduates & they work on the client site under direction of the managers of the consulting firm.