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Hi ugrad, I can tell you a little bit about Crescendo. - Tier 1 firm according to a broad range of industry participants that I have spoken with - Crescendo is a consulting firm that does a lot of work in the private equity space - Crescendo has only 1 partner (Joseph Crepaldi). Crescendo's other partners were poached by Pacific Strategy Partners in early 2011 - Past consultants of Crescendo have gone on to top business schools Hope that helps a little. Cheers, Tom

Hi King, Consulting firms definitely hire PhD graduates. An interesting website you may want to check out is: http://www.phd2consulting.com/ Cheers, Tom

Geoffrey West's talk has important implications for macroeconomics, government policy making and strategic decision making for corporations. Key takeaway: corporate growth is not linear, nor is it exponential, it is sigmoidal. To see an example of a sigmoidal function, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmoid_function

Key quote: "What I learned is that burning out isn’t just about work load, it’s about work load being greater than the motivation to do work."

http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N18/dubai.html I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on this opinion piece.

Good question. The bicycle was built successfully and we tested it on one of our friends - he survived :-) Unfortunately we were never allowed to test it on any paraplegic person because we didn't have the necessary insurance.

Hi Joel, Yes, studied at Sydney Uni. I spent a year down in the engineering faculty building an electrically powered recumbent bicycle for paraplegics. Very interesting. All of them, wow! Let me know if you'd like to write a review of one of the books or write about one of the ideas that interested you.

Wow, please feel free to share said macros.

Hi Jason, I'd volunteer but, as you know, I'm currently in Hong Kong. I shared this forum post on Facebook and tweeted it, so hopefully you get one or two takers. Good luck with your prep. ~ Tom

Hi deksumo, Thanks for joining the Consulting Forum! Unfortunately I don't know that much about Paxton Partners. The website indicates that the two founding partners worked previously at a major international accounting and consulting firm. This probably means either KPMG, Deloitte, PwC or EY. In the consulting industry "prestige" seems to count for a lot, so the fact that the founding partners didn't work for MBB may be a perceived -ve for prospective employees and clients. Their decision not to put up mug-shots of the 2 founding directors on the website is also a strange choice. Have you obtained any further information on this firm?

Hi Joel, Thanks for joining the Consulting Forum! Aero Eng, is that in the PNR Building? Can't say that I love sour fruit, but card counting sounds very interesting. Does this pay your way through uni? Haha, glad you liked the current selection of books. Which ones did you get? Best, Tom

ojogor, Thanks for joining the Consulting Forum! BearingPoint are not really on my radar, although I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who has information about BearingPoint. You can read some interesting reviews here: http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/BearingPoint-Reviews-E11516.htm I will let you know if I find out any further information.

Squid, Thanks for joing the Consulting Forum. Here are some repsones to your questions: 1. The firms: The tiers are based on discussion with industry participants. I have taken no extensive surveys and I suggest you use this information to inform your views rather than shape them. Tier 1 firms are all very strong firms with strong brands. My feeling is that you can expect to attend a top business school if you have worked at any of these firms. 2. The pay: Since anyone can be a consultant the pay will vary considerably depending on where you work. If you work with a tier 1 firm in Australia you might expect a starting salary of ~$80K + super. To put this in perspective, graduate pay looks like this: law < consulting < investment banking. 3. I have been asking myself the same question. The big multidisciplinary firms like Deloitte seem to prefer the word "advisory" as I guess they provide not just management and strategy consulting but also a broad range of other advisory services. 4. Experience counts for a lot. Recruiters will tell you that you need to work with the top firms, but this is simply not true. Experience is very valuable even if the firm you work with has a weak brand. You should of course apply to the top firms, but take experience as you can get it. Approach any of the firms on this list: http://www.tomspencer.com.au/2008/07/27/strategy-consulting-and-business-consulting-firms-list-australia/ Let me know your thoughts.

Hi DL, If you already have a masters degree then you are most likely at the associate level. McKinsey provides a guide to roles and career paths that I think is quite helpful: click here. However, I have heard of people with experience who applied for the Business Analyst role. If successful interviewing for a BA role you can negotiate to start as an associate, or negotiate an accelerated promotion. It's all negotiable depending on how much they want you to come on board. Does that help?

Dark Lord, Thanks for joining the consulting forum! I understand that you are plan to do further study with the objective of obtaining a job as a strategy consultant, is that right? I would have assumed that a second masters degrees would not be needed to get an interview with a consulting firm. Can you apply for a strategy role without further study? To answer your question, the research will not count against you. Strategy consulting firms consider people from all backgrounds. Consulting firms normally look for certain qualities: leadership, achievement, initiative, etc. You can demonstrate these qualities in any way you like. Regards, Tom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLxGVGafY-0

Hi Ben, Welcome to the Consulting Forum! How are you enjoying your part time MBA? Are you finding it worthwhile? Do you find it easy to balance your study with work? Is there any time left for friends/family/eating/sleeping? Cheers, Tom

Bloomberg Article: Gupta Secretly Defied McKinsey Before SEC Tip Accusation Key words: Rajat Gupta, former McKinsey top exec, SEC scandal, McKinsey brand, damage control Just interested to hear whether people have any thoughts on this Gupta scandal and what (if any) effect it is likely to have on McKinsey.

Hi Ananya, Welcome to the Consulting Forum! Consulting is a very broad field. Would I be correct to assume that you are looking to work in strategy? You indicate that you are looking to join a small consulting firm to beef up your skills, which is a really good objective. I think smaller firms often offer more opportunities to pick up a broader range of consulting skills at an earlier stage. It is worth noting that even the well established strategy firms are quite small in terms of numbers. Pacific Strategy Partners (arguably Australia's biggest homegrown strategy consultancy) has only around 40 consultants. You may want to take a look at the list of strategy consulting firms in Australia which has been recently updated. Let me know if that helps. Cheers, Tom