At the beginning of your career at McKinsey, and while you develop new skills, you will work with one client at a time on studies that typically last about 2 to 6 months.

Your role will include looking at facts, providing analytical insights, framing hypotheses, developing recommendations, and making presentations to client leadership. For further descriptions of business analyst/fellow and associate roles, see our Career Paths section .

From brainstorming sessions to client presentations, your team will look to you to voice your opinions, challenge findings, address client questions, and present recommendations.

One of the values we hold most dearly is each team member's 'obligation to dissent'. We know it is often the most junior people on a team – those who are spending the most time with the client and doing the front-line problem solving – who will come up with the most critical insight. While it might seem intimidating for a new consultant to say, 'I disagree' to the most senior person on the team, it is truly what we ask and expect every person to do when they have a fact-based point of view.

We asked some of our people around the world to keep a diary of how their day working in a team unfolded. Read about a day in the life of McKinsey.