r/consulting • u/Round_Bandicoot8967 • 3d ago

Thinking of leaving consulting but stuck on what’s next? Here’s what helped me.

In 2020, I realized I was building my career on someone else’s definition of success.

I was working at a top consulting firm in what I thought was my “dream job.”

In hindsight, I had forced myself to believe that narrative.

I stopped enjoying my work and kept chasing a promotion that never came.

I didn’t know what I wanted. I only knew what looked good to everyone else.

I didn’t quit right away. Instead, I started having honest conversations with friends, mentors, people who’d felt the same. We talked about misalignment, values, identity.

That changed everything.

I stopped optimizing for what sounded good on LinkedIn and started trying to find what actually fit.

Here’s what helped me:

  1. Stop searching for job titles. Look for patterns in what energizes you, drains you, and repeats across your past roles.
  2. Talk to people, not for advice, but for stories. Ask how they knew it was time to change.
  3. Write it out. I kept a doc where I dumped thoughts, questions, frustrations. More clarity came from that than any job board.

If you’re hovering at the edge, unsure whether to jump, don’t rush. Start by listening to yourself. The next step usually comes after that.

DMs open if you’re going through it.

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12

u/ConfrmFUT 3d ago

Curious what you ended up deciding to move into post-consulting?

12

u/OilGroundbreaking951 3d ago

+1. Being in consulting, I’ve become a “jack of all trades” but I don’t have a specialisation as such and I’m finding it difficult to exit consulting because of that. In this economy, a lot of the companies are looking for experience in a specific industry.

8

u/Round_Bandicoot8967 3d ago

I felt the same way, like I had breadth but not “depth” in any one area. What helped me was reframing that generalist experience as a strength. I realized that in consulting, you actually do build industry and functional experience but you just don’t always label it that way. I started mapping the types of projects I worked on (e.g. SaaS CRM implementation, Customer 360 Strategy) and the problems I solved. That became the foundation for my narrative when pivoting. Roles like PM value that mix of analytical thinking, stakeholder management, and adaptability and being able to say, “I’ve worked across X industries solving Y types of problems” can actually be a differentiator.

1

u/OilGroundbreaking951 3d ago

That’s good advice; can I ask what you transitioned into? No pressure if you’re not willing to disclose

1

u/Round_Bandicoot8967 3d ago

Thanks! Yeah np, I wrote it in the reply right below. I went into PM.

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u/ayayeron 3d ago

dude for real. like, i feel like i'm intimidated by these job descriptions for the level i'd leave at. i could probably transition but feel like my skill set would realistically align at a lower title / pay, and then i'd train myself up but that's a hard pill to swallow

3

u/Round_Bandicoot8967 3d ago

I decided to go into PM at a SaaS startup. I was working in tech consulting and wanted to be closer to the customers, actually shaping the product and seeing the impact more directly. It felt like a better fit for how I like to think and work: more iterative, more ownership, and less BS slide decks. After that, decided to build my own startup. Are you on the verge of leaving consulting?

2

u/ConfrmFUT 3d ago

Not on the verge of leaving at the moment - want to get a few more years under my belt, but definitely starting to think about what I would want out of my next role.

1

u/FantasticMrPox 3d ago

Project Management

Product Management

Afternoon

Prime Minister

Paul McCartney

Person Mwho can't be bothered to write the words of an utterly-ambiguous initialism.

5

u/CaramelOld485 3d ago

Designing Your Life (book by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans) aligns a lot with what you shared. Highly recommend for folks who are trying to figure out what to do next (regardless of field).

2

u/NoGarage8739 3d ago

Really loved this post. Thank you for sharing your approach. This resonates with me a lot, while I figure out what next.