Due to the high burnout, it’s common to work in consulting for 2-3 years and then jump ship to another job. For those that decide to stay at the firm, often the path is to spend around 4 years as an Associate (progressing from first year associate/analyst to a senior associate), followed by getting an MBA (not necessary, but most common), followed by a Consultant position (~2-4 years), an Engagement Manager role (~1-4 years), a Principal (~1-5 years), and finally Partner
Exit strategies/opportunities – The most common exit routes for strategy consultants are private equity or corporate strategy at another company. However, some people end up working at startups, in governments, in nonprofit, at other consulting firms, or a variety of other paths. Although consulting is sometimes sold as a way to build such a valuable skillset it’ll be easy to get a job anywhere, this is definitely not the case, and if you’re not shooting for private equity, you’ll need to do a fair bit of reading up on, networking within, and building skills for the new industry you’re interested in.