Dane Sequeira was an advanced professional degree consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. In 2019 he earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, studying under Dr. Brian Mann. In the field of nonlinear dynamics, Dane studied ocean energy harvesting buoys. He worked at the Los Angeles office of BCG, performing due diligence with private equity clients and assisting management teams with firm acquisitions. He is now employed at SpaceX as a Starlink Market Analysis Lead.
What got you interested in the path to consulting?
I really liked the type of work I was doing in my Ph.D., solving complex, ill-defined problems that no one knows the answer to. I like the independence and autonomy of how a researcher goes about solving a problem. But I also found that I did not want to apply my skills to just a small field. I really did not know what the other opportunities were for Ph.D.’s in the corporate world. Consulting provided a good opportunity for me to apply my skills in research and development, but simultaneously get exposure to other industries and positions out there in the business world.
When you are interviewing with consulting firms, what made you look at Boston Consulting Group compared to some other big firms or specialty firms?
It is hard to get a semblance of the companies until you go through the recruiting process, meet people, and actually talk about what work they are doing. Over time I was gradually gravitating towards those at BCG, I felt more comfortable talking with the consultants and their work excited me. Overall, it was a better cultural fit for me. Look for those differences during the recruitment process to see where your best fit might be.
How did you interact with your coworkers with different degrees? What did you bring to the table as a Ph.D.?
The distinction between the different degrees tends to disappear within the first few months. One way that I really feel like I was able to leverage my doctoral experience was to handle very ambiguous problems. As a Ph.D., that is one hundred percent what we do. We never know the answer, and sometimes we do not even know what the question is. This is very similar when you are with a client and they are asking very ambiguous questions. It is up to the consultant to ask the most appropriate questions to find out what the client needs to know. Ph.D.’s also tend to be good at navigating jargon-heavy statements and questions and can get down to the root of the problem.
Now that you have been through the process, what is BCG’s specific culture?
BCG feels like a comfortable home for a Ph.D. student. If you had to pick something about BCG that is a differentiator from other firms, they have a very academic approach to problem solving. While all consulting firms are hypothesis driven, it really felt like BCG was the “nerdy” group of all of the big 3 firms. During my first year here, I saw this, giving me comfort and familiarity with what I was doing.
What is one thing that you learned while at Duke that you did not think at the time would pay off until now, or what is one thing you wished you had taken advantage of at Duke that would have greatly benefited you?
One thing that was really helpful during my time between graduating and starting my position at BCG was subscribing to business newsletters and articles. It helped me get used to the jargon that was being thrown around. Not having the industry jargon can slow you down, BCG expects this, but it allows you to listen to conversations early and help you understand topics very quickly. It lessens the step behind that Ph.D.’s often start with, not having had business classes. This was the right amount of time to spend preparing for consulting, for it still allowed me to relax towards the end of the Ph.D. journey before starting a full-time role.
Obviously 2021 is very different than years past, but can you describe what a typical day looks like at BCG?
Some consultants participate on longer term projects, engaging with one or two clients early on; on the other hand, during my first year I worked on seven different projects with seven different clients. So, I really have seven different day-to-day’s. One might be drastically different than the next one. Structurally, they all still involve travel Monday through Thursday, office on Friday, however the work style and type of tasks will change each time.
How does BCG put in barriers to prevent burnout?
It is very tiring to put in eighteen-hour workday, which I have done in the past. However, what is tiring is planning your day on the fly all the time. Getting good at planning your day and your tasks can help you stay focused. Short term projects will have a lot less predictability, long term projects are more predictable. Talking with your coworkers so you know what your current manager’s work ethic is like will help you make appropriate plans; you will often take on the work-life balance of your project manager so knowing it ahead of time will help. Ultimately you are in charge of your work-life balance.
How much do you get to decide the projects you are assigned to work on?
BCG has a choose you own adventure kind of feel when it comes to staffing. You learn how to navigate it more as you work on different projects. If you are willing to put yourself out there and network, you will get free reign on the projects you work on.
Finally, any tips on the recruiting and interviewing process? What is your best piece of advice for this process?
The biggest thing that was helpful for me was comfort and humility. This is probably different from what most people would tell you. In both my first round and final round, I made mathematical errors. But when they were pointed out, I laughed, acknowledged it, and adapted to fix my process. Both interviewers listed this as a strength for me. Having some humility, taking a mistake you made and moving on from it is essential to the job itself. Use a mistake to show off a strength instead.
So how did you get to SpaceX?
I used my background as a strategy consultant with strong foundations in market analysis, tech development, and medical devices. Then I demonstrated success leveraging my combined consulting and engineering Ph.D. experiences to synthesize complex information. Using my communication skills, I now present solutions to senior executives.
Ricky Hollenbach is a third year Ph.D. student at Duke University in Mechanical Engineering, studying unsteady aerodynamics and mechanical vibrations in jet engines and turbomachinery. He aspires to become a management consultant in the aerospace and defense fields.
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