Fellowship vs Consulting
As fellowship is increasingly diluted with talent and look-a-like programs, pharmacy graduates should begin exploring consulting as an achievable career launch point. The following highlights my thought process for why consulting was a better gig than a fellowship:
My internship and work experience had positioned me to be a full-time contributor after graduation, rather than a full-time learner
I had a strong interest in healthcare, life science, and medical technology marketplaces, coupled with a passion for business and an entrepreneurial spirit …rather than a strong interest in a specific functional area like marketing, clinical development, or medical affairs
My pharma network was already extensive – meaning that I could (and plan to) consult for 2-5 years and then pivot back into the industry
The application timeline for full-time consulting roles starts in the summer and ends in the fall. Thus, I could apply for consulting roles, and if I didn’t land a job, I’d be overprepared to apply and interview for fellowship positions (they call this “playing with house money” in the biz)
Perceptions of Consulting – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
The Good – Consulting is a Career Accelerator
The training and industry exposure brought on by working for a consulting firm trumps the training and exposure brought on by fellowship, 10 times out of 10. Side note: if you’re in it for the money, you’re so wrong. Although your gross + bonus pay is higher than most post-fellowship positions, on an hourly basis you’re worth sh*t. Consulting propels your career in the following ways beyond your paycheck:
The Bad – You’ll Rarely See a Project Through
In business, implementation work is the act of taking a model or plan and actually carrying out that process to yield some result. Consulting firms (besides occasionally the top firms) rarely engage in this type of work, which bothers those who like to bear the fruits of their labor. As a consultant you’ll be bound to the client engagement cycle of the firm: engage the client > do research > build models > make presentations > give recommendations > engage next client….so on, and so on. Your work ends abruptly after giving your recommendation and you may never know if/when/how the client will be using the recommendation you provided.
Compare this to a fellow’s work. A fellow is deeply entrenched within a team and most likely has a greater sense of personal impact from their everyday duties as they’ll see the tangible results of their efforts and recommendations. Fellows will develop more operational experience compared to the quick-study and problem-solving experience of a consultant. Different folks, different strokes.
The Ugly – Work-Life Balance Will Suffer (at least comparatively to fellowship)
Speaking specifically to management consulting, these firms operate similar to investment banks in the sense that they have a “reverse pyramid organization structure”. Lower-level associates (bottom of the pyramid) will work long hours and be placed into cultures where a certain number of people will become managers, principals, and partners, while another group of people will burn out and leave the firm.
There’s no secret about it, consulting is a grind, but so is anything else worth having. Let me provide some rationale into how I justified signing up for this:
The 40-hour workweek you dream about doesn’t exist for anyone with a PharmD who wants to get ahead. Residents work well beyond 40 hours weekly and get paid salaries that are borderline criminal. Fellows will work beyond 40 hours weekly during specific deadline periods and especially if they’re using the experience appropriately to take on additional project work. Why not put in your 50-70 hour workweek at a consulting firm and at least be compensated along the way of your early career grind?
The grind is absolutely worth it, depending on your long-term career goals. For me, consulting is a golden opportunity to explore career pathways that a fellow will never touch. These include corporate strategy, business development, equity research, private equity, venture capital, etc. If you’re passionate about a specific pharmaceutical functional area, then you’re right, the grind is not worth it, but your scale is much different than me. If you’re like me, and the business of biopharma and healthcare fascinates you, here’s your chance to be involved.
Steps to Get the Ball Rolling
1. STOP believing that your PharmD makes you unique
In the world of consulting no one cares about your degree, because everyone is qualified. Simply put, the PharmD is a framework for you to critically think in a systematic fashion. In fact, your pharmacotherapy knowledge is much less important compared to your understanding of domestic drug channels. Start reading FiercePharma and Drug Channels and get plugged into managed care initiatives at your respective school/hospital to begin grasping these concepts.
2. You DON’T need an MBA to be a Consultant
Many firms, both large and boutique (some are highlighted below), have specific hiring pathways for PhD level candidates – this is the bucket you’ll fall into as a PharmD. Although you don’t need an MBA, you most definitely need to be able to think about business critically. Start reading the Wall Street Journal and begin your days with the Morning Brew newsletter. Additionally, participating in case competitions and hack-a-thon type events will be essential to add to your resume on top of your work/internship experience.
3. No more CV – 1 Page Resume ONLY
Outside the world of academia, and especially for entry-level consultants, a 1-page resume is the only space you’ll have to showcase your experience. This resume should largely be comprised of three sections: academic experience, professional experience, and leadership & case competition experience. Remember that professionals outside the world pharmacy don’t know (and simply don’t care) what an APPE is or how hard you worked on your AMCP P&T competition submission. They want to know if you have experience showing initiative and solving problems, that’s it. Simplify the language in your resume to get past the HR screen. You’ll have plenty of time to show off your medical vocabulary during interviews.
Understand the Differences Between the Firms
Do a quick search of a few consulting firms. You’ll realize that every firm website essentially says and sells the same thing, which couldn’t be further from the truth. In order to work at one of these firms you have to fundamentally understand what exactly they do. Start to source this information in places like Vault and Fishbowl – both should be taken with a grain of salt, but they get you thinking in the right direction. Also, use filtered searches on LinkedIn to explore exit jobs from the firms you’re interested in. This, undoubtedly, is the final source of truth for the work a firm actually gets hired for. At a high level, below are some between firm differences:
Case Prep – Tackling the Consulting Interview
Consulting interviews are typically structured with a 5-15 minute block of behavioral questions followed by a 20-40 minute case. Case interviews involve a business problem that candidates are prompted to solve live and success in these situations comes only with practice. Resources for consulting interview prep are endless across the internet, but nothing can substitute the network and live practice opportunities that stem from being a part of a consulting club. Any half-decent business school will have one, and at my university, the PhD students had a consulting club specifically for those outside of the MBA program. Get plugged in early and realistically start practicing weekly around 6 months out from interviews (if MBB is your goal).
Also, if you’re an American public-school kid like myself, you’ll need to brush up (or teach yourself) mental math. Fractions, percentages, and multiplying and dividing with large numbers are the name of the game when it comes to solving a case.
PS: you’ll never have an opportunity to use a calculator.
Recruitment and Interview Prep Timelines
Starting early and having time on your side is the best practice for any candidate in any field. Most firms have recruiting webinars year-round to help candidates get to know the firm’s culture, expertise, and benefits, as well as help candidates prepare for their specific interview structure. Firms will also have summer internship opportunities, usually no more than a week in length, which presents a fantastic opportunity to get your foot in the door. My recruitment timeline was as follows:
September 2019 – joined a consulting club and started attending firm webinars
February 2020 – started case prepping weekly (completed 40-50 live cases)
March 2020 – applied to summer internship programs (rejected across the board)
June 2020 – applied for full-time positions (9 applications in total)
June/July 2020 – interviews for full-time positions (4 interview invitations – multiple rounds each)
July/August 2020 – received full-time job offers (received 2 offers)