Career: Management Consulting Vs Corporate Jobs

I recently gave up a flourishing management consulting career and took up the challenge of working in a corporation. It wasn't the easiest of decisions but I studied a combination factors to finalize my decision.

1) Value chain - Every company can be looked at in terms of a value chain:

• Revenue Generator - Brings business/revenue for an organization. eg: business developers, key account leaders, etc.
• Revenue Manager - Either helps manage company revenues to maintain profitability or directly helps reduce organizational debt. eg: Marketing teams, economic advisers, etc.
• Cost Center - Neither helps increase revenue nor helps manage it - exists for smooth functioning of the organization. eg: Human Resources, Office Administration, training staff, etc.

Logical thought is that a company needs and equally values all 3 entities. However, a practical thought is that a company values the entities in the following order: revenue generator; revenue manager; cost center. A company can function without a cost center - it might become a little less structured but will not cease to exist. However, a company cannot function without a revenue generator.

The key is not only to identify your value chain status in the old/new organizations but also to climb up the value chain during the move.

2) Decision Tree -
Every job enables an individual to either directly make organizational decisions or indirectly influence them. The biggest difference between consulting jobs and corporations is that consultants are outsiders in the decision making process (no stake) whereas in a corporation you are supposed to make and support decisions.For example, if a consultant helps establish that investing $5M will benefit a company, the consultant will get paid only for the assistance. However, the consultant will not have a stake in either the profit or loss incurred based on that decision.

For me personally, being a part of the decision tree is important.

3) Span of control -
This refers of the role - individual contributor, team leader, vendor management, senior leadership, etc. The key of course if to widen the span of control.

• Consulting provides really quick and timely opportunities to grow. If you meet your goals and expectations, you get promoted. Role progression is built into company's growth and as the company grows, new roles are created to meet business requirements. 
• Corporations are very different. There is an organization structure which does not change often. So there are limited number of spots up for grabs as you grow higher. In general, role progression can be unpredictable and much slower as compared to consulting. 

Perhaps the biggest difference is that meritocracy doesn't always lead to role progression in a corporation. Maintaining a strong network is the key for widening the span of control. Consulting companies are generally meritocratic.

4) Location and Work Life Balance

• As a consultant, life can be pretty hectic. Work is circled around client delight and timelines are more often than not very tight. There are way too many last minute requests which have to be handled at priority. Also, consulting jobs usually require travel which can be taxing as well.
• Corporate jobs are pretty hectic too but they are known to offer better work life balance than consulting jobs. There is usually a fixed work location but travel can come up once in a while.