What could I do to better prepare myself?
I am 25y/o and getting out of the Air Force after 4 years. I have a bachelors, a Project Management Professional (PMP), and working on my Masters in Management - Project Management and Professional Scrum Master 1 (PSM-1). I plan to get an internship through the skillbridge program offered by the DOD.
What can I do to successfully transition into a consulting firm like Deloitte and come on as a consultant or second tier at other companies?
Try to get a skillbridge with D. PwC offers one now too. Use the vet recruiting pipelines. Use veterati and other vet resources. Also, consider service2school and getting a top MBA.
Yes. A target MBA is a serious multiplier both salary and career wise.
That said, cyber security is another path. I worked in cyber and chose to go MBA -> consulting because I wasn't passionate about that work and the MBA to broad consulting route gave me more exposure.
If you want to do cyber you need to be technical so maybe using S2S for a top Comp sci degree or just plan on loading up certs. Accenture and even amazon may have technical apprenticeships for vets that would help get a foot in the door too.
To clarify: I am already on LI and network and get on call with many other veterans and people in positions that interest me. I have previous work experience prior to joining the military that could somewhat translate to consulting to a certain extent. I have an interest in going into cybersecurity, when it comes to cyber what would you recommend? I was told to look at Risk & Financial Advisory, any more recommendations or things I should do for this shift?
I worked for a cybersecurity/pentesting company and they have a program that will train you to be a consultant. They hire recent graduates with com science degrees or professionals with little experience in cyber industry and train them in an accelerated program to be a penetration tester. I’d suggest looking into that if it interests you.