As a volunteer graduate school advisor, I often get asked if acquiring an additional graduate degree in addition to an MBA as a dual degree student improves consulting recruiting opportunities. As a dual degree myself (MBA and MPP) who has encountered numerous MBA dual degrees in consulting of all types, I thought it would be helpful to provide some perspective on this question.
Seeking a dual degree is most helpful when you have a more focused interest. The two special interest circumstances I have seen are:
1. Targeting certain focus areas within consulting
Without a doubt, having an MBA plus a degree that builds credibility within a certain industry or function immediately sets a consulting candidate apart from their peers. I have seen this most powerfully when a consulting candidate has an excellent background in life sciences (generally understood as pharmaceuticals and medical products) or healthcare. Someone who is pursuing a combined Doctor of Medicine and MBA degree would naturally have a strong argument to be well qualified to consult in that space, at least from a technical perspective.
Other areas in which a dual degree is clearly advantageous are technology intensive consulting spaces. I once met someone who was getting an MBA, JD (law degree in the US), and Master’s in Computer Science concurrently. As you can imagine, she was highly sought after for digital technology-oriented consulting roles.
2. Compensating for a comparable lack of professional experience (generally less than 2 years)
Generally speaking, consulting firms prefer to hire people from graduate school who have some professional experience. However, one way to get around a lack of professional experience is to pursue a dual degree. That usually provides some level of credibility to compensate for a relative lack of professional experience.
Beyond these two situations, adding on an additional degree may provide a wow factor on your application, but it really doesn’t do much beyond that. My MPP degree was something interesting to mention, but as I recruited for more private sector-oriented consulting opportunities, it really didn’t add much more to my attractiveness as a consulting candidate. Recruiters and interviewers were more interested to talk to me about my internship opportunities, research projects, and prior professional experiences.
With this perspective in mind, I want to highlight the pains of getting a dual degree in the first place.
- Staying in graduate school longer comes with a relatively high opportunity cost in terms of time, additional school fees, and lost income
- It is additional work to manage the logistics of academic and extracurricular activities from two separate programs, even if they are relatively well synchronized.
- It results in lots of missed opportunities. For example, I wasn’t able to go to any elective MBA trips because my MPP academic requirements and different academic calendar configuration prevented me from doing so.
- It makes developing social bonds in graduate school more difficult as a dual degree person has to decide between two rather compartmentalized groups of friends.
I further want to highlight that no matter how many graduate degrees a person has, a consulting firm may still not extend an interview opportunity if the other recruiting basics are not covered, such as:
- Networking
- History of outstanding academic and professional performance (however long or short the history might be)
Conclusion
No one should undertake a graduate dual degree purely with the aim of getting an additional boost during the consulting recruitment process, even in those instances whereby there would be a more defined benefit. Given the troubles involved in acquiring a dual degree, the prerequisite for pursuing such a course of action should be a sincere passion for the academic opportunity. Otherwise the experience may be unpleasant and end up being a lower than expected return on investment.
Hall Wang is a dual degree MBA and Master of Public Policy graduate from Georgetown University who has recently matriculated into a major management consulting firm. He has worked at America’s most innovative companies including Blue Origin and Facebook, as well as having done two combat deployments as a US Army Officer.
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