Top 10 Consulting Career Options

Looking to combine your critical thinking and people skills for a jet settin’ lifestyle? Then consulting might be the gig for you. Yes, many consultants at the bigger firms work insane hours — and rack up an insane amount of airline points in the process while working with clients all across the country — but many consultants work at smaller firms, or even work for themselves. Consider these top consulting career options when planning for your hot shot consulting future:

Management consultant: Management consultants work with the higher ups in companies to improve coaching skills, develop management strategies or best practices, or even develop overall strategies for company success. When you think of management consulting, you probably picture the Big Four firms — McKinsey, Bain, Booz & Co, and The Boston Consulting Group — but you can join a small, boutique firm too.

Marketing consultant: Help companies build more buzz as a marketing consultant. You’ll need a creative mind and the ability to establish expertise in a wide range of marketing fields, from content marketing and SEO to more traditional advertising techniques. Often, marketing consultants will run their own businesses with their own roster of clients.

Engineering consultant: Engineering consulting represents a wide range of engineering fields — like mechanical, electrical, or chemical — but the key to being a successful engineering consultant is combining the “hard” knowledge of your engineering field with “soft” skills like expert communication and being able to see the bigger picture.

IT consultant: A background in tech is a huge plus if you want to pursue IT consulting, since these kinds of consultants will often have to understand certain types of databases like Oracle or Microsoft SQL or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to aid clients.

Finance consultant: These consultants work with the CFOs of companies to ensure profitable growth, and they may work on everything from enhancing accounting operations to helping prepare for major corporate transactions, like mergers.

HR consultant: Help a company’s Human Resources department design and implement hiring and benefits best practices, whether they’re looking to focus more on diversity and talent acquisition or overhauling retirement benefits.

Healthcare consultant: After the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, this type of consulting exploded. Help companies navigate the labyrinth of healthcare options and maximize benefits for employees will minimizing costs to the company.

Litigation consultant: Litigation or trial consultants are often keen social scientists who help attorneys prepare for court through jury selection, witness preparation, and by offering feedback on communication styles in courtroom presentations.

Operations consultant: This type of consultant usually works with manufacturing companies who are looking to cut fat out of assembly line operations. Another example would be helping a call center figure out how to reduce wait times for customers.

PR consultant: Public Relations is a heck of a game — help companies play it smartly by showing them how to build a public reputation that they can be proud of. This is another consulting role that’s perfect for people who want to go into business for themselves and develop their own list of clients.

What other kinds of consulting careers are you considering? Share your thoughts in the comments below!