Today’s blog post is a description of my day job, based on a
reader request. My next post will elaborate on this topic.
What is a consultant?
I am a consultant.
Generally speaking, consultants work for clients who have questions
about their business and the market for their products. Consulting is a hierarchical field. My firm has 7 levels from the fresh-out-of-college
entry level Analyst role to the top-boss title of Partner. Each level is defined by a set of
expectations and skills and one is not promoted until they can demonstrate competency
in a variety of areas such as (for the junior levels) -- interviewing
physicians, analyzing data in Excel and SPSS, writing a survey, managing time
and communicating with teams. Consulting
is like an apprenticeship – you are constantly seeing what those above you can
do and learning from them. Usually, once
you’re good at your job, you get pushed into a new role with new challenges and
opportunities. Consulting is not the
type of job when you stay at a level/role for a long time after you’ve mastered
it.
Who becomes a consultant?
Consultants tend to be type A overachiever
personalities. As a group, we tend to be
extroverted, but that’s not always the case.
It’s probably a similar personality to those who are successful in sales
– interpersonal relationships become very important, along with communication
and strategic thinking and planning. To
college students, consulting represents a field that “doesn’t close any doors”
meaning if you become a consultant upon graduation – as I did – you are not
narrowing your options for future jobs but you are gaining valuable skills and
an understanding of the business world. Consulting
lets you avoid picking an industry or specific role, it preserves – or appears
to college seniors to do so – the attributes of “the generalist” compared to
many career or academic options.
Who do you work for?
Because my consulting firm is specialized, we focus only on
the healthcare and life science markets.
Our clients are pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the makers
of medical devices and technologies, and the manufacturers of diagnostic and life
science research equipment. We work for
companies that make cutting-edge cancer treatment, catheter tubing and
syringes, robots that perform surgery, machines that analyze DNA and many
things in between.
What is the office like?
My office is not the company headquarters –we have about 8 staff
in the office. On a day to day basis, everyone
in my small office works on computers in cubicles. The office – located in a high-rise office
building – includes two private offices for senior staff, a few conference
rooms and a kitchen stocked with shared snacks and treats. I’m usually in the office 10-12 hours/day,
Monday to Friday and usually have weekends free.
