“Imagine you could change your job every three months to try something new and unexpected” was perhaps the best description of consultant’s life I’ve heard. During my PhD, I realized that my side projects such as teaching high-school students in Slovakia or helping my mum with her poverty reduction projects made me happier than taking apart my research question in Neuroscience. I wanted to try new things and see the impact of my work right away.
Since I have always been passionate about technology, I applied to McKinsey and joined as a junior associate in 2015. In my very first project we were asked to create a digital app to help people manage their finances better. I was suddenly back in my research days, going through articles and discussing human psychology with experts. But this time, to my pleasure, with a practical touch and an end goal. About 9 weeks later, after working hard on the project, the digital app was deployed and covered across the media in the UK. I left for Christmas holidays happy but also very impressed by how fast this experience was and moreover, how quickly I could move on to other projects.
I came back and “changed my job” to another project or “study” in McKinsey-speak. This time, we were trying to find an answer to a CEO’s question as to how his bank could stay relevant in the 21st century, what services, and more importantly across what channels these services should be offered. Six weeks later, I was helping find new ways to help diabetic patients adhere to their treatments. As I write this paragraph, I am working alongside data scientists to develop machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms to target treatments for patients better.
My experience is not exceptional. When I walk the corridors of the London office, I pass people who helped create a strategy for refugees from Syria, who work alongside ministers to develop educational strategies or who create new approaches to improve cold-chain logistics for the delivery of vaccines in poor rural regions. As I look back to my switch from my PhD to consulting, my working hours are less flexible than they used to be but I am never bored and the outcome of my work has tangible results.
Each study is “a new job” with new intellectual challenges and puzzles to solve. Work can be a rollercoaster but at the end of each ride, I get out and feel that I have made the world a slightly better place.
About Matej
Matej is a translator and engagement manager in McKinsey’s London office. While working on his PhD at UCL and following his passion to improve education, he, together with his friends started a summer school for high school students (DISCOVER) who were interested in learning about university courses they would like to pursue. He joined McKinsey as a junior associate in September 2015 and is currently working primarily on digital and machine learning projects.
For more information on McKinsey's tech career paths, visit mckinsey.com/TechCareers.