How Your Liberal Arts Degree Prepares You to Consult

With all the bowties and bullsh!t that continue to flow around campus, it’s clear that recruiting season isn’t ending anytime soon. If you’re a junior or senior still considering consulting as a career (or a freshman who is already attending OCS career sessions and prepping with cases), this time of year is inherently stressful. To simplify your introspection and facilitate your career exploration, Flyby has outlined the various skill sets that many of you already possess based on your academic concentrations at Harvard. This evidence-based (don’t ask for citations) report describes those skills which are seamlessly translatable to a job at any top management consulting firm. See if your concentration is below!

English: you’re really good at making meaning out of nonsense.

Economics: you’re good at Excel.

Statistics: you’re better at Excel.

Applied Mathematics: you’ve been training for this job since Day 1.

Chemistry: you know how to avoid toxic meltdowns in the workplace.

Astrophysics: you’re already comfortable managing out-of-this-world working hours.

Folklore and Mythology: you’re a Jedi master who will be able to convince your clients that the service you’re providing is totally worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars your employer is charging. Alternatively, you read Harry Potter in class so you understand how to use a Time Turner to ensure that you have enough hours in your day to complete all the work that will pile up on your desk.

Government: you’re experienced at making good friends in even better places. Now, you’re ready to take advantage of them.

Philosophy: you’ve already contemplated your existence and greater purpose in life, so why waste any more of it in a low-paying field?

Sometime down the road, your secondary field might help you make that crucial pivot into private equity (you know, the one you've had in the back of your mind since this grueling recruiting season began). Until then, onward with case prep!