Survey calls consulting good career choice

This year's crop of seniors are beginning to realize they must decide on a plan for their future, and for many, consulting is a popular choice.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' salary survey, 9.3 percent of technical jobs and 7.6 percent of non-technical jobs offered to graduating seniors this year have been in the consulting field.

Consulting companies, who supply advice and information to the business world, have experienced steady growth during the past decade. But salaries jumped drastically this year, due in part to the strength of the economy.

"In the past year," said Camille Lukenbaugh, employment information manager for NACE, "we have seen a 5 to 8 percent increase in salaries for consulting jobs."

The average starting salary for a computer science major who chooses consulting is $41,949, an increase of 12.7 percent from last September, according to the NACE survey. A petroleum engineering major who signs on as a consultant will average $49,926 a year, up 14.9 percent, the survey reports.

Student with non-technical majors who go into consulting also have seen a dramatic increase in salaries during the past year. Consultants who concentrated in English are earning 10.4 percent more than they did a year ago. Starting salaries for accounting majors are up 8.9 percent.

"These increases have a lot to do with the economy right now," Lukenbaugh said. "The early '90s were a really rough time, but in the past few years, employers have been swarming campuses."

Career consultants on campus said the economy has helped create job opportunities for more students.

"It comes down to supply and demand. Unemployment is lower, and there have been more job opportunities in recent years," said Terri Lamarco, associate director of the University's Career Planning and Placement Center.

The number of University students interested in consulting is also unusually high, Lamarco said.

LSA senior Denny Powell said he believes that students are attracted to the high pay and travel opportunities consulting offers. Powell, a communications studies major, is scheduled to interview with a number of consulting companies in October. "I know a couple of people in the consulting business right now, and they definitely enjoy it," he said.

Because so many students are interested in the field, competition for the top jobs is stiff. Many consulting firms have minimum GPA guidelines, which can be as high as 3.5.

"We are always going after the top students," said Teresa Prentiss, recruiting coordinator for the Boston Consulting group, which has recruited at the University for four years. "We started recruiting at Michigan because the BBA program is so highly rated."

Some students wonder what qualifies an undergraduate with no work experience to advise Fortune 500 companies on their business practices.

"I might want to be a consultant, but not right out of college. You have to get respect in your industry first," LSA first-year student Nick Halaris said.

Prentiss said undergraduates are good at building hypotheses and solving problems - skills Prentiss said make up for lack of business experience.

But because undergraduates have not proven themselves in a business environment, it often takes more than academic achievement to land a consulting job.

"We look for students with strong leadership skills," Prentiss said. "That means campus involvement; not just being a member of an organization, but being a leader in that organization."

Work experience is also highly valued in the interviewing process.

"There is a real difference between college life and the working world," Lukenbaugh said. "And employers want to know that they can count on someone in a work environment."

Certain skills are especially valued in the field of consulting.

"Math classes really help," Lamarco said. "Students who go into consulting have to have good quantitative skills."

But students don't have to be math or science majors to work as a consultant.

"We don't look for any specific majors," said Prentiss, whose company recently hired students with degrees in business, computer science, economics and psychology. Prentiss said inter-personal skills are a key factor in success.

"As a consultant, you can be put in front of a client in a very short period of time, maybe three weeks after you're hired," she said.

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