Scanning the market

An introduction to the types of consulting firms, why the market values consultants, and key considerations for finding the best fit for you

The best consulting firms

The global consulting market was valued at US$510 billion in 2023, and it is expected to grow to US$900 billion by 2034. This shows the impressive scale of the industry.

Consulting firms are deeply embedded in our daily lives, even if we don´t directly interact with them. They are often unseen architects of the modern consumer experience, the economy, or the public sector. When a major company—be it a telecom provider, a healthcare system, a retail giant —decides to launch a new product, enter a new market, or cut costs, a consulting firm is often hired to design the strategy. This means the layout of your grocery store, the efficiency of your bank's app, or the process for your hospital visit have likely been shaped by the recommendations of external consultants. Also, governments hire consulting firms to define country strategies or large projects.

There are thousands of firms around the world. One way of beginning your search is classifying them by expertise (i.e. industry or function) and their level of prestige.

Most often, people in the business world refer to consulting when they mean management consulting specifically.

Management Consulting / Strategy consulting (MBB)

Focus: Efficient operations / Strategic decisions

Note that management & strategy are not the same thing, although the ranking of top firms does not change much.

Top: McKinsey & Co, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) or Bain & Co (together known as MBB). These are the most difficult to get into, but also the most respected. They demand a lot from you, but in general all consulting firms do that - so better to do it for the best.

Alternatives:

• Tier 2: Reputable medium-sized such as Accenture, Booz Allen Hamilton, Oliver Wyman, among others

• The Big Four, so named because they are the largest: Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG). Here you can read more about them

Pricing

Focus: Pricing strategies

Top: Simon-Kucher, Kearney, Grant Thornton

Note that in many cases, the same firms come up as top for many different topics. This is because they are large-scale enough to specialize in many different disciplines, and these are often applicable to many industries.

Technology

Focus: Use of technology to grow

Top: McKinsey & Co, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) or Bain & Co, Accenture, IBM Global Business Services, Booz Allen Hamilton 

Public sector

Focus: Improve performance of public institutions

Top: Dalberg, McKinsey & Co, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) or Bain & Co, Booz Allen Hamilton

This area also includes non-profit organizations such as Development Banks (Inter-American, Africa, Asian Development Banks), U.S Agencies (divided by themes such as child, labor, etc.) or state agencies (for example, DAI in the USA) which also employ consultants to carry out projects focused on improving the lives of vulnerable people in emerging markets.

You can find a ranking here. Please, take it as a reference, not a source of truth.

What firm to target?

Since getting into consulting takes time and a lot of effort, it is better to aim for the best and most renowned companies - for whatever discipline you choose. If you don't make it, that's okay - the others are not bad options and will give you the consulting toolkit as well.

If you are starting your career and you aren´t specialized in or very excited about a specific topic (e.g. technology or marketing), it is better to consider a more agnostic option such as management consulting. Why?

(1) Wide spectrum of topics and industries. Discussing strategy means touching many disciplines such as finance, operations and marketing. While many consulting types offer management skills, management consulting is the most complete consulting type because it covers more topics (more general, though). This gives you an opportunity to figure out what you enjoy the most or what you don't like before specializing.

(2) Transferable leadership skills. Management consulting is about forcing CEOs to be strategic and efficient in their operations. You can imagine how learning those skills will help you down the road if your plan is to lead a company. McKinsey & Co has produced more CEOs than any other company, with some sources stating that over 7% of former McKinsey employees became CEOs.

These are some questions to guide you throughout the process of choosing which sort of consulting firm you want to apply to:

1. Am I interested in learning about many disciplines or a specific one?

2. In which business functions and industries does the firm specialize?

3. What is the firm most known for? (e.g. management, technology)

4. What is the culture of the firm?

5. What type of projects does the firm work on? Who are their clients?

6. What are the compensation and benefits?

7. What are the opportunities for growth?

   
   

   The top management consulting firms (McKinsey, BCG and Bain or "MBB") usually apply an "up-or-out" policy. In every six-month performance assessment, they either consider you can grow and be promoted fast, or they invite you to leave the firm. Other firms are less strict and more likely to keep you, but it takes more time to advance to the next level.

8. What do employees say about the firm? Check websites such as Indeed & Glassdoor to read about the good and bad.

   
   

There are hundreds of small consulting firms in every country. These are not bad options, especially if you are not attracted by big brands or multinational companies. If you are, then I recommend that you target the firms that appear at the top of the ranking since they are widely recognized and will be easier to leverage when you seek your next job with a well-known brand.

There is a lot of material about these companies. Here are some sites to investigate more:

• 15 Types of Consulting (And How To Choose Your Specialty)

• 15 Top Consulting Firms (2025)

• Best Consulting Firms to Work For | Most Prestigious

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