The 5 types of consulting firms.

Many people put consulting firms into categories such as MBB, Big 4, and boutiques, but a better way to understand firm differences is by looking at what type of consulting they do, and which industries or sectors they work in. There are five types of consulting that we're going to focus on in this section.

🔹Strategy Consulting

🔹Implementation Consulting

🔹Technology & Digital Consulting

🔹Economics & Analytical Consulting

🔹Other specialized Consulting

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Strategy Consulting:

Most candidates that we speak to are looking to get into strategy consulting. Some of the elite firms people know of, such as McKinsey, BCG, and Bain (referred to as the MBB), fall in this tier of consulting. But what is strategy consulting?

Strategy consulting is a branch of consulting that focuses solely on finding the correct strategic solution to a business problem. After conducting research and finding the solution, these consultants typically do not implement their work. Strategy consulting is seen by many as the most "elite" type of consulting. This is because strategy firms tend to be more selective, with fewer employees than other consultancies, but charge a higher premium for their work. This means employees tend to have a higher overall compensation package, as well as highly interesting day-to-day work for Fortune 500 clients.

Also in this tier are firms such as Strategy& (part of PwC), EY Parthenon, LEK, and OC&C Strategy Consultants. People sometimes refer to these firms as "tier 2" consulting firms. While MBB leads in prestige and global brand recognition, many applicants actively choose tier 2 firms for their stronger industry specializations, competitive compensation, and more sustainable work-life balance. For example, those with a strong tech background may gravitate toward Strategy& or EY-Parthenon, both of which run a significant number of tech-focused strategy projects. Others who want to focus exclusively on high-level strategy may prefer OC&C, which follows a “strategy-only” model and turns down implementation work altogether.

Below is a snapshot of the highest paying consulting firms.

Implementation Consulting:

We’ve covered strategy—now let’s look at the other side of the coin. Implementation consultants focus on execution. Rather than crafting high-level strategy, their role is to bring that strategy to life. Sometimes they’re executing plans developed by their own firm’s strategy team; other times, they’re brought in to implement strategies designed by another firm entirely. This work is often more operational and hands-on, involving process changes, tech rollouts, supply chain improvements, and more. It’s less about what a company should do, and more about how to actually make it happen.

Implementation projects tend to be longer in duration—sometimes spanning several months or even years—as consultants work alongside clients to roll out new systems, restructure operations, or manage change across an organization. The day-to-day work is often more predictable and process-driven compared to strategy consulting, and hours are generally more manageable (say goodbye to 80-hour weeks). Firms known for this kind of work include Accenture, Capgemini, and the Big 4 (Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG), particularly within their consulting or advisory divisions. Even MBB firms have built out implementation-focused arms—such as McKinsey Implementation or BCG’s Transformation practice.

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Technology & Digital Consulting:

Technology and digital consulting focuses on helping companies modernize, scale, and stay competitive in an increasingly digital world. This work can include anything from cloud migrations and data platform builds to cybersecurity audits, software implementation, and AI integration. Projects are often more technical in nature, and teams may include engineers, product managers, and data scientists alongside consultants. The goal isn’t just to suggest digital transformation—it’s to design and deliver it. These consultants work closely with tech leadership, often serving as a bridge between business goals and technical execution.

Firms like Accenture, IBM Consulting, and the Big 4’s technology divisions (e.g., Deloitte Digital, EY Technology Consulting) are major players here, known for their ability to deploy large-scale digital solutions. Firms like Slalom, West Monroe, and Publicis Sapient focus heavily on digital transformation and offer hands-on experience with implementation. MBB has also doubled down on this space—McKinsey Digital, BCG X, and Bain’s Vector team all blend strategy with deep tech expertise. These teams don’t just support traditional consulting projects; in many cases, they’re leading the work, especially when tech is central to a client’s transformation. As a result, tech and digital consulting can offer a compelling path for candidates with technical backgrounds or an interest in innovation-driven problem-solving.

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Economics & Analytical Consulting:

Economics and analytical consulting applies data, modeling, and economic theory to help clients navigate complex, high-stakes issues. These firms are often brought in for litigation support, regulatory reviews, antitrust cases, and public policy analysis. The work is highly quantitative and research-intensive—consultants might build econometric models, analyze massive datasets, or draft expert reports used in court or submitted to government agencies. It’s less about slides and storytelling, and more about precision, rigor, and technical depth.

Firms in this space include specialized boutiques like Analysis Group, Cornerstone Research, Bates White, Compass Lexecon, and NERA Economic Consulting. These firms tend to attract candidates with strong academic backgrounds in economics, statistics, or data science—and many team members hold or are pursuing PhDs. They're also popular among those considering law school, as the work is often closely tied to litigation and legal strategy. For candidates who enjoy academic-style research but want to see real-world impact, economics consulting offers a unique path that blends intellectual rigor with meaningful outcomes.

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Other Specialized Consulting:

Industry-focused consultancies carve out a narrow but deep niche. Rather than marketing broad strategy or implementation services to every Fortune 500 company, they concentrate on a single vertical—healthcare, education, transportation, real estate, and so on—and build unrivaled subject-matter expertise within that domain. Their addressable market is smaller than that of multi-industry firms, but the value they deliver can be disproportionate: senior partners often come from the industry itself, project teams speak the client’s technical language from day one, and recommendations can dive several layers deeper than a generalist shop would go.

Healthcare illustrates the model well. Firms such as The Chartis Group and Trinity Life Sciences advise hospitals, payers, biotech companies, and med-tech manufacturers on everything from reimbursement strategy to clinical-operations optimization. Similar specialists exist across other sectors: Clarkston Consulting (life sciences and consumer products), Huron (higher-ed and healthcare), Charles River Associates’ Energy practice (power and utilities), and Steer (transport and infrastructure). If you’re passionate about a specific industry—or want to work shoulder-to-shoulder with former operators and PhDs who live and breathe that field—these boutiques offer a direct path to deep expertise and impact.

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Next: Understanding the Consulting Business Model

Consulting might seem like a simple service business, but there’s a lot happening behind the scenes. From how firms charge clients to how they structure their teams and project timelines, the consulting business model is built for scale, speed, and high margins. In the next section, we’ll break down how consulting firms actually make money—and what that means for you as a new hire.