Andrea holds a first class Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Surrey. He has seven years of consulting experience across Europe, Australia, and South-East Asia and currently holds the position of Associate Principal at Right Lane Consulting. Previously, he worked for global procurement specialists including Bain & Company and Efficio. In this interview, he shares his journey into consulting and insights on why engineers are well-placed to forge a successful career in management consulting.
What led you to study Chemical Engineering?
I really enjoyed chemistry at school, and I found it fascinating! I knew an engineering background was the way to go in terms of the skill set that you develop for example: quantitative skills and problem solving. So, the combination of chemistry plus engineering led me to chemical engineering.
You went into Management Consulting straight out of university, what piqued your interest in a career path that isn’t conventional for Engineers?
Management Consulting was brought to my attention by my father during my high school years. He had casually asked which career I wanted to pursue and at that point, I was yet to decide on what I wanted to do. He suggested management consulting and portrayed it as a career path that could offer exposure to many industries, whilst working on wide-ranging projects that allow you to experience the breadth of what businesses do and how they operate.
He added that there were two main routes: the traditional business route and engineering. Favouring the latter, he posited that it offered a better chance of developing your analytical skills and ability to break down complicated problems methodologically. You do give up the business knowledge and the inner workings of a company, but these are things that can be picked up easily and the inverse isn’t necessarily as straightforward.
I then went on to study Chemical Engineering and during my studies, I completed summer internships in management consulting firms which I thoroughly enjoyed. Compared to my chemical engineering experience where you’re looking at, say problems within a section of a process plant, which I feel is quite “zoomed-in”, in management consulting you typically work on the bigger issues for that business, for example: where to invest, where to grow, where to cut costs, which plants to maintain or shut-down, etc.
It’s important to note that engineers are not a rarity in management consulting, in fact, you come across many engineers - as our skills are well-suited for this field. In my previous company, I came across several chemical engineers, typically in senior management roles. What I found common amongst them was that they started their careers in traditional engineering industries e.g. oil & gas, manufacturing and then they made a switch to management consulting.
To what extent do you apply your chemical engineering knowledge?
Some of the examples are around analytical skills; being able to take large sets of data and write formulas to analyse that data, then completing spot checks, and making tangible deductions. I find it very easy to move from data to insights, so drawing charts and things that depict messages is something that I learned through studying chemical engineering.
Were there any competencies you lagged in and what did you do to fill any gaps?
Yes! One area was technical business knowledge, which isn’t conventionally learnt-through a degree in engineering. But this is something that can be overcome on the job as you work through things, you’ll start to fill in those gaps and you will have colleagues who will be more than willing to support.
I would say the bigger area that engineering doesn't focus on is soft skills. For example, seemingly straightforward skills such as communicating with key stakeholders, writing concise emails and delivering presentations go a long way in this field. But you’ll find that many management consulting companies take on fresh grads with an awareness that such skills need to be sharpened and they’ll have the training programmes in place to equip you with such.
This is also an environment where feedback is encouraged therefore, you’ll most likely find your colleagues giving you regular feedback - which is a gift that you can choose what to do with.
Compared to my chemical engineering experience where you’re looking at, say problems within a section of a process plant, which I feel is quite “zoomed-in”, in management consulting you typically work on the bigger issues for that business, for example: where to invest, where to grow, where to cut costs, which plants to maintain or shut-down, etc.
Which aspects of your work do you particularly enjoy?
I enjoy the variety of problems in which you get involved. You move from project to project, which can last anywhere from two weeks to a year. Working on complicated problems that the clients are unable to solve themselves is also something I find interesting and stimulating.
I also enjoy the travel, although it’s a bit like a double-edged sword. I enjoy being able to get on a plane on a Monday morning to visit a client’s site and fly back home on Thursday. This structure allows me to dedicate that time to fully working without any distractions. It’s also much easier to work face-to-face but the flip side is that it can be very demanding. You can often find yourself working till late, so having the right support within and outside of work is helpful.
Having not worked in core engineering roles, have you found your consulting experience fulfilling?
Absolutely! What it takes to change the world is a synergy of multiple roles. For example, you’ll typically find engineering contributing towards technical innovation but then that innovation needs to be taken to the marketplace and sold to customers, that is where management consulting plays more of a prominent role.
Personally, much of the work I’ve done has been in procurement. This has often been focused on cost out (so helping companies reduce third party spend on their P&L) which makes the company richer. Whilst I was pleased about the opportunity to make such impact, I didn’t find the utmost fulfilment in it; hence the reason for recently joining Right lane Consulting. Right Lane has a social purpose and wants to make good companies (e.g. charities, NGOs and government agencies) become more effective.
Currently, I am working on a project for a law firm that specialises in personal injury claims against big corporate firms when they’re not doing the right thing, creating more access to justice for the people of Australia.
What’s career progression like in Management Consulting?
You progress very quickly I’d say! If you’re good, you will get promoted every year to year and half.
The usual progression route (names of roles may vary from company to company) is from Business Analyst to Senior Analyst to Associate to Manager to Principal and finally Partner. As a Business Analyst or Senior Analyst, your role is mainly focused around crunching numbers and presenting your findings to stakeholders. The Associate role will see you leading a work stream which may require the support of some analysts, but you are the owner of the work stream end-to-end. In the role of a Manager, you oversee multiple work streams or teams of work, and this is a level that you could attain within five years of completing your degree if you’re on the ball. The next steps of Principal and Partner (most senior level) are more sales orientated as you are generating more business for the company, selling projects or identifying problems for clients. As a partner you have equity in the firm.
I enjoy the variety of problems in which you get involved. You move from project to project, which can last anywhere from two weeks to a year. Working on complicated problems that the clients are unable to solve themselves is also something I find interesting and stimulating.
How can prospective graduates or anyone who wants to transition position themselves?
There are a couple of different routes. I would recommend doing an internship if you're still at university. This way, you acquire some experience that can go into your CV and give you an edge when applying for graduate roles.
If you're already working, there are two entry paths possible. The easier one is to stop and do an MBA for a year (or two) and that becomes a clean point at which you can switch your career. Many management consulting firms hire at the post MBA level. The other way - which may prove more challenging, is to jump straight into management consulting from your current role in engineering. It’s more challenging because, unless you’re a specialist or a need arises for which the company needs to hire new people, the opportunities tend to be few and far between.
It’s also important to build your network – as your role shifts from being someone who delivers projects to someone who sells a project, you’ll need to know people.
Andrea is more than willing to answer any further questions, so if you have any, please feel free to reach out to him on LinkedIn or e-mail info@instemblog.com
Stay tuned for more interviews!
Comments