Technology Consulting as a Career
Description of the Job
Technology Consultants work with clients to help them transform the way they use technology. These transformations include improving business processes, reducing costs, maximizing use of technological opportunities, digital strategy, technology change projects, and much more. Technology consultants help organizations upscale their digital abilities to compete in an increasingly technological competitive world.
It’s common for technology consultants to specialize in a certain technology, such as SAP, Salesforce, and other software products. Generally, these consultants work to help their clients integrate a new technology into their system. They might develop, design, and implement these strategies.
Fast Facts
- Number of hours per weekGenerally 50-60, but can get to 70-80 during peaks
- Average starting pay$79k Nationally, $82k in Bay Area
- Amount of travel requiredDepends on client, between 0 travel and 80% travel
Roles & Responsibilities
- Examine IT structure and capabilities
- Integrate new technology
- Identify potential IT issues
- Improve process efficiency
- Work with clients to look at how they can use technology to create richer experiences
- Help clients determine their requirements (what the technology must do in order to fulfill business needs) and work with them to build and deliver technology solutions that fulfill those requirements
Skills Needed
- Analytical skills: technology consultants analyze an organization’s current technologies and needs to make recommendations and provide guidance, so they should have strong assessment and analysis skills and be skilled in multiple programming languages.
- Business strategy: to successfully guide IT decision-making, technology analysts also need a strong sense of business strategy and a high level of familiarity with their client’s goals and objectives
- Market expertise: technology consultants should also understand their clients’ industries and be able to identify ways that technology can impact market share and create a competitive edge
- Problem-solving skills: technology consultants should be exceptional problem-solvers, able to assess a client’s current shortfalls and devise creative and technical solutions to address these issues
- Team coordination: technology consultants work closely with CIOs, CTOs, and IT departments to implement new technologies, so effective team collaboration is vital
- Communication skills: technology consultants should also be strong written and verbal communicators, since they interact with personnel throughout their clients’ organizations and frequently work with technology vendors
Steps to Enter The Field
- A B.S. degree is required for technology consulting. Some common majors for this career include Computer Science, Business Analytics, Information Technology, Management Information Systems, Economics.
- An internship position as an analyst, software engineer, or advisor is great experience. Joining a consulting club or technical analyst organization at your college will help prepare for interviews.
- Interviews in technology consulting usually require around 2-3 rounds of interviews: including Fit Interviews (also called experience interviews), which focus on your skills, background and professional aspirations, and Case interviews, which focus on your ability to analyze and solve problems.
- Certifications are not necessary, but a few are well-known in the industry: AWS certified solutions architect, Salesforce certified development lifecycle and deployment designer, Oracle database and MySQL administration certifications, Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP). It’s not expected to have these for entry-level positions, but they could boost your chances of getting roles in tech consulting.
- Side projects using data analysis tools and/or programming languages will help your chances of landing a tech consulting internship or job.
- GPA, work experience, and leadership roles are important, especially for top consulting firms.
- Follow tech trends and news (often will be asked in interviews, and can be used for small talk)
Landscape of the Field & Companies in the Field
- The top 3 consulting firms include McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company. They do a bunch of other consulting work, but they also do technology consulting
- Other top players in the Technology Consulting world include Accenture, IBM, the Big 4 (Deloitte, EY, PwC, KPMG), Cognizant, Infosys, DXC, Capgemini, Booz Allen Hamilton, SAP Services
- There are also smaller, boutique technology consulting firms all around the world
External Resources to Learn More & Develop Skills
- Tech Consulting Community: A community for aspiring technology consultants, which include over 2,000 members from 70+ countries. It includes career / interview prep resources, pro bono consulting programs, and networking events
- Intro to Technology Consulting: A video explaining what it is from KPMG (A Big 4 firm that does a lot of work in tech consulting)
- Tech Consulting Case Interview: discusses what they are, how to prepare for it, and how to succeed
- Various blogs/podcasts include:
- MBA Crystal Ball : Blog post on management consulting versus technology consulting
- Tsavoneal : Consulting blogs
- Qemploy Blog : IT podcasts for consultants
Related Careers
- Management consulting, Project Manager, software engineer, IT manager, product panager, systems consultant, technical analyst
Informational Interviews
Richa Shah
Company Name: Protiviti
Title: Senior Technology Consultant, Security & Privacy
Years of Experience: 3
Biography
Richa Shah graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in business administration and computer science. She started her career at EY for 2 years in Technology Risk Consulting and Cybersecurity Consulting, and now is a Senior Consultant at Protiviti in the Security & Privacy practice.