Management consultants are self-employed or employed by established consulting firms. Those who are self-employed must market their services and establish and maintain professional credibility. This field is highly competitive.
Management consultants employed by consulting firms may become team leaders and, later, senior consultants. Only a relative few achieve the status of senior partner in large consulting firms.
After gaining experience as an employee in a consulting firm, many management consultants set up their own firms. Even experienced and respected managers who leave salaried positions to become consultants often must subcontract their services to more established consultants to begin building their own client base.
Management consultants are part of the larger 2011 National Occupational Classification 1122: Professional occupations in business services to management. In Alberta, 75% of people employed in this classification work in the following industries:
The employment outlook (PDF) in this occupation will be influenced by a wide variety of factors including:
- trends and events affecting overall employment (especially in the industries listed above)
- location in Alberta
- employment turnover (work opportunities generated by people leaving existing positions)
- occupational growth (work opportunities resulting from the creation of new positions)
- size of the occupation.
Over 14,600 Albertans are employed in the Professional occupations in business services to management occupational group. This group is expected to have a below-average annual growth of 1.6% from 2016 to 2020. As a result, 234 new positions are forecast to be created each year, in addition to job openings created by employment turnover. Note: As management consultants form only a part of this larger occupational group, only some of these newly created positions will be for management consultants.
Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.