Hello there,I have a couple of questions and given that I will be graduating this year, I'd really appreciate some feedback..The consulting sector seems to be facing a downturn(or being reduced to outsourcing/IT consulting) and I wanted to know if it would be a good idea to start in internal audit n then move on to consulting later.Will internal audit provide a good foundation?Otherwise are there any specific sectors within consulting that are more in demand at the moment...?I have a numerate degree and covered some Operational Research material and thought it would be appropriate to enter the strategy/Operations sector...are there any other options?Lastly ,If I dnt get into either consulting or internal audit now, is there any particular masters degree that is appropriate for consultants or is it better to specialise in an industry and then do a masters?

Not sure why you think there is a downturn at the moment. Consulting firms are currently experiencing a bit of a boom Not sure audit is the best place to start though... I think you need to do some more research.

HieI am in Zimbabwe and my advise will be based on Zimbabwean busines environment.My opinion is that you are not wrong to think that Internal Audit is a foundation in consulting. Personally I feel it enlightens you about the common system shortcomings that companies make & the solutions that you normally recommend and management response to that then becomes you basis to consulting.CheersMcDee

Obviously the best place to start is consulting itself recruitGal. In case i didnt make myself clear, the very fact that firms are recuiting now, means that competition is tough. So unless ur bringing real value-added to the company, its gonna be tough to compete against the MBAs. Lastly, people become consultants in virtually any horizontal or vertical nowadays. So my question was addressed to active consultants who probably know more about the business than "recuiters". Thank you for the effort though and if theres anything ur actually sure of,then by all means let me know.

Amazed - There are a couple of things I am sure of. Firstly, you should learn how to express your queries more coherently. Secondly, if you ever want to break into Consulting, you need to lose the attitude. Most people posting on this site appreciate the advice of a "recruiter" - since getting your foot into the door of a consulting business means getting past us first. Terribly sorry to have troubled you by offering you my humble thoughts.

RecuitGalYou sound like you know what you are talking about -I think I fancy you!

I got 2 replies to my query. One understood the question, the other one didnt...enough said.

Soon to be graduate, it is not an obligation for the likes of Recruitgal to reply to every message that's posted, but without the input of those in the know, this forum would be useless. If you believe that someone's opinions don't apply to you, there's no need to try and shout them down and embroil yourself in petty arguments. Appreciate that people take time out to help and be grateful of that as there is a lot of good advice to be gleaned from other, more experienced people.

Dream on buddy, she's mine!

I wanted to have a carrear in Internal audits and Risk Based audits.I have teh vast experiance in the abpove said areas at senior level. Can i have the job in Australia or cananda or UK.