Portrait of David, consultant

For his final master's internship, David undertook a consultancy project on territorial reform at the Midi-Pyrénées Regional Council. This experience was not entirely successful as the project took time to get underway, and David was only able to attend its launch. Nevertheless, he was able to learn about the unpredictability of political agendas and the constraints associated with working in local public service.

Following his master's, David was employed at a consultancy firm, which is positioned around four key areas:

1. Private strategy
2. Human resources
3. Health and support for hospitals (within the framework of hospital reform)
4. Public strategy, primarily focused on higher education and research (the autonomy law and university grouping), competitiveness clusters, and economic development

David describes his firm as a medium-sized company with around 40 employees, four of whom are direct graduates of the STU master’s programme! The others mainly come from engineering backgrounds, business schools, and the ENS. In terms of market positioning, the firm generally charges higher rates than its competitors, which David attributes to a deliberate quality strategy aimed at precisely meeting client demands without standardising processes, while consistently seeking out the most promising innovations and markets.

He primarily works within the public strategy division of the firm, with current projects focused on the establishment of business clusters in Évreux and the Gironde, as well as supporting the response to the industrial chair ANR call for projects in Épinal. However, he also has a role in the HR sector, assisting two hospitals with the merging of their HR functions.

For those wondering whether the courses of the STU master's programme are truly beneficial in a consultancy career, David affirms that they are: the STU master excellently prepares students to understand economic development challenges and to gain knowledge of local authorities, for example – although there is a slight caveat regarding innovation.

As for working conditions, nothing new under the sun: a consultant's work pace is very variable and depends on sales (projects). Average hours are from 9 AM to 7 PM with a travel requirement roughly every two weeks. There is a high turnover in consulting as it is an intense profession that can be stressful for some and often entails being in a representative position and under pressure in front of clients, but also because consultants with 2 to 3 years of experience are in high demand. Nonetheless, David is very happy in his job today and does not regret having fallen, perhaps quite by chance, into the consulting field.

David’s Tips

• Be proactive and show it; express what you feel, especially when you find your work useful and/or interesting.
• If you are asked how much you want to earn during a job interview, respond: “I prefer to reply to an offer” (and of course, choose your response at the top end of the range)! But that doesn't always work, as with all salary negotiation strategies. If you manage to get information on prevailing salaries beforehand, that’s better!