Career Changer - Meet Eddy

What motivated you to make a career change? 

Having worked in physiotherapy for 6 years, I had come to the point where I would either fully commit to my original plan of starting my own practice or digress and change careers. Because physio didn’t exactly tick all the boxes which I thought it might for me, I chose the latter. 

Why did you choose consulting?

I chose consulting due to the varied nature of the work that comes with it. My working day or even year consisted of back-to-back patients coming into the clinic. Although the type of people varied hugely, the type of work or my approach to it would remain similar for the most part. I wanted to bring a little more variety to my working life. 

What advice would you give to someone considering a similar career change? 

I’m a huge believer in just giving something a go. If you’re thinking about it long enough, it’s probably a sign you’re not completely sure about or satisfied with what you’re currently doing. There’s always risk involved when making a career pivot, but also shouldn’t deter someone from doing so if they’re not completely sold on what they’re doing. If things don’t work out, you can always revert back to what you were previously doing.  

What skills or experiences from your previous career have been most valuable in your new role? 

I would like to think that having had direct exposure to patients over a 6-year period has set me up quite well in some of my more recent engagements in BearingPoint, which have been more client-facing. This exposure has given me a level of proficiency in client engagements and conversations, and the expectation on you of delivering a quality service. Up to this point, I’ve luckily not had to have too many difficult conversations, either internally or client-facing. But feel I’m well equipped to do so following this transition. 

What’s the most surprising skill you’ve discovered in your new role? 

I would prefer to say it’s always a work in progress, and most skills can always be improved to some degree. However, I would say that more recently, I’ve developed an interest in the technology side of what BearingPoint offers, something which is obviously substantially different to my previous role as a clinician. I’m currently working as a Product Owner on one of our projects, which has definitely furthered my interest in the area, and I’m excited for what’s coming down the track. 

Was there anything daunting about making the switch?  

There is always going to be an element of risk or anxiety with a career change. Having moved home from New Zealand at the point of changing careers I (hoped) I could have moved into a reasonably good job or opened up a clinic. Leaving something you’ve been doing for several years to almost have to start again from scratch is something which took a lot of thought.

Are there any preconceptions of consulting that have proved to be true/false? 

I had some preconceptions about consulting being quite a “dog-eat-dog” type of setting and a pretty competitive environment, even within teams in those consulting firms. Thankfully, I’ve not found this to be the case, at least not within BearingPoint. It may be because we are slightly smaller in stature to other consulting firms, but one of the most enjoyable elements of working here is the continuous supportive environment we work in, something I’m not sure exists across all firms. 

As a full-fledged consultant now, what is your favourite corporate slang?

The word cadence! Not necessarily my favourite word or slang, but certainly the one which I have taken the most note of since starting.  In my previous career, the word cadence had a shortened definition of “steps-per-minute” or “revolutions-per-minute” depending on what activity one might be participating in. The concept of using cadence hasn’t really changed all that much, but I would say it’s in the top 5 favourite words of a consulting dictionary.