Consulting isn’t the “prestigious” career it once was. At 42, I’ve been in the game long enough to see how much the industry has changed, and it feels like we’ve become glorified PowerPoint jockeys for clients who don’t want to make decisions themselves. Is it just me, or has consulting lost its shine over the years?

I dont think it was ever prestigious - I think it is just high paying. Most jobs are unsatisfying unless you are building / growing something of of your own or have deep purpose (eg cancer research, veterinarian, farmer, PwC partner, etc)

You’re giving me a couple of side thoughts. At 42, your personal goals may be changing.

You are absolutely right about clients who don’t want to make decisions. This may be where your personal goals conflict with the people who sold the service or with the client.

You’re trying to solve two different problems. Often times you want to solve the problem, and the sales people and/or the clients just want to become comfortable with their decision… Even if that decision is to do nothing.

Another idea might be…

When you were younger, you might’ve been going after “perceived” prestige, which is external validation. What was prestigious when you were 30 may not be what you see as prestigious at 42+.

Or maybe as we age sometimes we no longer need validation from outside. We have got enough confidence that we don’t need to chase that anymore. This is when people strike out on their own and start their own business. Sometimes they become consultants at boutiques. And sometimes they find personal satisfaction coaching the next generation, and they start that business. I’ve known some to get PhD’s.

All of these can be factors of age, or of things happening in life (children, aging parents, our own age) and also our own personal growth and understanding of the world.

It’s around this age, many people have the “midlife crisis”. Some people buy that new Ferrari, and other people start their own business or take a new job!

I’m sure you’ll find your way, I sense a door opening somewhere, the kind of door that leads to opportunity!

I think consulting has always kind of been "prestigious" from the outside looking in. Once you're in, I have maybe felt it was prestigious for the first week or so. Consulting is much more of a grind, on the body and, more importantly, the soul than most jobs in industry. There is no prestige.

At 42, unless in the exec ranks / equity partner, time to throw in the towel. What matters isn’t prestige… it was never was about that for most of us. All that matters is what’s on the K1/W2.

If you are looking for external validation to be happy (ie prestigue) then you’ll never find it. You have to find fulfillment from purpose in life and learn to fulfill yourself.

Before getting into consulting about 5 years ago I always associated it with slimy, amoral corporate types who were probably screwing someone, and that someone might be their client. Now I only kind of think that.

I’d suggest that it depends on the type of consulting and the role that you perform in that type. Here are some ideas:

Technology consulting has never been prestigious. Sorry folks.

Operations consulting is prestigious if you’ve had the luck / fortune to work on major projects that had a large impact in the industry or on a company and played a specific role in the project.

M&A, Legal, Tax consulting is prestigious if you’ve had the luck / fortune to work on major deals with lots of public awareness and played a specific role in the M&A activity.

Strategy consulting is prestigious if you’ve developed a trusted advisor relationship with business leaders who have grown in their role and continually show loyalty to you and seek you out for your ability to deliver impact and success for their current role.

Other ideas?

lol. The only people that think consulting is prestigious is other consultants or people that want to be consultants. Most people don't even understand consulting exists.

By 40, one should no longer care about "prestige" or external validation. You're now in the back half of your life. Do what fulfills you from here on out.

I'm in a similar boat and looking for an exit.

Depends on your perspective - when you see the faces of blue collar / working class parents whose kids get a job at a big consulting firm and they know that their first year pay check will be more than they’ve made their whole life, you’ll see who prestige is really for.

Never was prestigious though I understand the sentiment. I may have thought that when I was younger. But now I’ve come to realize that people who can’t do, consult.

Consultants can’t actually execute the stuff on their PowerPoint. They wouldn’t even know how to unless the flywheel, infrastructure and team was already there in place.

What’s much more prestigious is when a consultant leaves consulting to create their own product or startup their own company and make a success of it. Now THAT is cool. Not even a Managing Director / Partner can come anywhere near that.

Prestige is what mattered to my grandma when bragging to the other ladies around the pool. I lost the prestige competition when I decided not to go to med school and when her friend’s grandson became a producer for HBO. Focus on impact or job satisfaction.

P1 is correct. I boomeranged at 44, 3 years now and I am miserable. Can make more than enough working for myself with less bullshit.

Agree

I would do some contemplation on what it will look like in 5 years with AI.

Prestige aside. I’m burnt out and bored.