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Management Consultants (aka Management Analysts): Career Information

From Dawn Rosenberg McKay,
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Job Description of Management Consultants: A management consultant helps a company change its structure, increase profits, or improve efficiency. A company will hire a management consultant when it wants to become more competitive. Management consultants are also known as management analysts. Management consultants may be generalists or they may specialize in a particular industry.
Employment Facts for Management Consultants: Management consultants held about 605,000 jobs in 2004. Twenty-nine percent of those working in this field were self-employed. Most worked in large metropolitan areas.
Educational Requirements for Management Consultants: To work as a management consultant in private industry one must generally have a master's degree in business administration (MBA) or a related field. To work in a government agency a bachelor's degree will suffice. In private industry, it is also required that one has experience in the field in which he or she wants to consult.
Other Requirements for Management Consultants:

Management consultants should have the following skills:

  • self-motivation
  • discipline
  • analytical skills
  • the ability to get along with a wide range of people
  • strong oral and written communication skills
  • good judgment
  • time management skills
  • creativity
  • the ability to work in teams
Advancement for Management Consultants: As a management consultant becomes more experienced, he or she can look forward to getting more responsibility. The more experienced consultant will manage his or her own schedule and will eventually begin to supervise others. A management consultant with strong skills may be made a partner in his or her firm. As evidenced by the high percentage of management consultants who are self employed (29%), many in this field choose to go off on their own and start their own businesses.
Job Outlook for Management Consultants: The job outlook for management analysts is excellent, although there is heavy competition in the field. Employment of management consultant is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2014.*
Earnings of Management Consultants:

Median Annual Earnings in the Industries Employing the Largest Numbers of Management Analysts (U.S., 2004*)

  • Management, scientific, and technical consulting services: $72,480
  • Computer systems design and related services: $69,800
  • Federal Government: $72,440
  • Management of companies and enterprises: $59,420
  • State government: $48,070

Use the Salary Wizard at Salary.com to find out how much management consultants currently earn in your city.

A Day in a Management Consultant's Life: When working on an assignment, a management consultant or a management analyst will:
  • First define the nature of the problem and it's extent;
  • Analyze data such as revenue, expenditures, and employment;
  • Interview and observe managers and employees;
  • Based on the information he has gathered, the management analyst will develop solutions to the problem he or she was hired to fix;
  • As the management analyst develops recommendations he takes into account factors such as the organization's culture, it's relationship to other organizations in the industry, and it's nature;
  • Report findings and recommendations to the client

*This is the most recent year for which this information is available.

Information courtesy of Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Management Analyst, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos019.htm (visited February 21, 2007).
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