How I Left Consulting and Broke Into Tech: Lessons from a Career Transition

Two years ago, I was working 60+ hour weeks as a management consultant, jetting from city to city to advise clients on business strategy. I had a nice paycheck and was on the partner track, but something was missing. I didn‘t feel challenged or fulfilled by the work anymore. I craved a career that would let me build products hands-on and flex my creative muscles.

So I decided to leave consulting behind and transition into the tech industry as a product manager. It wasn‘t an easy journey, but through a lot of hard work, strategic networking, and a bit of luck, I landed my dream job at a high-growth startup. Here‘s how I made it happen, along with some advice for others considering a similar leap.

Gaining Relevant Experience

The first step was to start developing the skills and experience I would need to be a credible candidate for PM roles. But I couldn‘t just quit my consulting job and go back to school or do an internship. I had bills to pay. So I had to get creative with my time outside of work:

I took online courses in subjects like web development, UX design, and data analytics to build a baseline of technical knowledge. I earned certificates from Coursera, Udacity, and Codecademy.

I worked on small side projects for friends and family, like building a simple website for a friend‘s small business and designing an app prototype for my sister‘s nonprofit. This gave me hands-on experience to point to.

I found a mentor, a senior PM at a big tech company, through a contact in my business school alumni network. We did a monthly phone call where he answered my questions and gave me advice on the career transition.

Altogether, I spent about 10-15 hours per week over 9 months gaining these new skills, on top of my demanding day job. It was exhausting but necessary to become a viable candidate. I treated it like training for a marathon – consistent effort over time.

Building a Network

I knew I would need insider connections to break into tech. So I focused on expanding my network in the industry:

I went to tech meetups and conferences in my city. At first it was awkward, but I forced myself to introduce myself to at least 3 new people at each event. I focused on asking them questions about their work rather than trying to sell myself.

When I traveled to tech hubs like San Francisco and Seattle for my consulting projects, I set up coffee chats with people working at interesting companies there. I reached out via LinkedIn or asked my business school classmates for intros.

I did tons of informational interviews – at least 2-3 per week. Every time I talked to someone, I asked them to refer me to 2-3 other people I should meet. This created a snowball effect.

After a few months, I had developed relationships with PMs, designers, engineers, and tech leaders across all the major companies I was targeting. I had a strong support network to lean on for advice and references.

The Job Search

Finally, I was ready to start applying for product jobs. But first I had to decide what types of companies and roles to target. I made a spreadsheet of 40 companies of various sizes, industries, and geographies that looked interesting.

For each one, I researched what specific product teams and positions they had open. I pored over job descriptions to understand what skills each one emphasized. Then I ranked the list by how excited I was about the company and how well my skills aligned to the role.

I created a customized resume and cover letter for my top 10 choices. I highlighted my most relevant side projects and coursework, along with the transferable skills from consulting like analytics, project management, and client communications. I wrote personalized cover letters that described why I was passionate about the company‘s mission and how I could contribute to specific initiatives.

Then I started working my network. For each company on my list, I figured out if I knew anyone there or if I had a 2nd degree connection. I reached out, told them I had applied, and asked if they would be willing to refer me or put in a good word. Referrals bump you to the top of the resume pile.

Applications led to phone screens, which led to interviews. I studied like crazy, doing mock interviews with my mentor and other PM friends. I made flashcards of metrics and technical terms. Before each interview, I read everything I could about the company‘s products, culture, and recent news. Preparation breeds confidence.

In the end, I got 5 onsite interviews and 2 offers. I negotiated hard and got a 15% higher salary than my initial offer, plus a signing bonus. In April 2019, I signed on the dotted line to be a Product Manager. I was elated – and terrified.

Lessons Learned

The transition from consulting to product management was harder than I expected. I had imposter syndrome all the time, surrounded by engineers who had been coding since they were kids. I stayed up late watching CS tutorials to try to keep up with the jargon. I put a lot of pressure on myself to prove that the company made a good bet on me.

But the same skills that served me well in consulting were valuable in product – things like breaking down ambiguous problems, communicating with stakeholders, managing complex projects, and always keeping the big picture in mind. I didn‘t need to be the most technical person in the room to be an effective PM.

As I reflect back on the career transition, a few key lessons stand out:

Play to your strengths. I leaned heavily on the soft skills from my consulting background, things like stakeholder management and crisp communication. These were my unique differentiators compared to more technical PMs.

Take the initiative. I didn‘t wait for my company to train me on the technical skills I lacked. I enrolled in online courses, set up tutoring sessions with our engineers, and learned by doing.

Find your champions. I identified a few senior leaders who believed in my potential, advocated for me, and gave me stretch assignments. Having their support made all the difference.

Attitude is everything. I brought a positive, can-do attitude to work every day, even when I felt overwhelmed and inadequate. I was eager to learn from my mistakes. This earned me the trust and respect of my new colleagues.

One year into the role, I‘m now leading the product strategy for my company‘s core e-commerce platform. I‘m working with an amazing cross-functional team to build tools that empower small businesses around the world. The long hours I put into the career transition were 100% worth it to get here.

Advice for Aspiring Career Changers

For anyone else considering a move from consulting into tech, here‘s my advice:

Believe in yourself, even when it feels impossible. The career change will be harder and take longer than you think. You‘ll face a lot of rejection. There will be days when you wonder if you‘re crazy for leaving a safe, prestigious job to start over in a new field. But if you have conviction in your goal and your ability to get there, you‘ll make it happen.

Start building skills and experience now in whatever way you can. Don‘t wait until you have the perfect resume to apply. If you keep putting one foot in front of the other, no matter how small the step, you‘ll be surprised at how far you can go.

Relationships are everything. The tech industry is surprisingly small and interconnected. If you invest in building authentic relationships with people in your target field, those will open doors when you‘re ready to make your move. Always look for ways to add value to others rather than just asking for favors.

It‘s okay to take a step back in seniority and salary to make the switch. I went from being a management consultant leading client teams to an entry-level PM with no direct reports. But in the long run, getting my foot in the door was far more important than holding out for the perfect role.

Making a major career change can feel lonely and daunting, especially when you‘re leaving behind the comfortable and familiar. But if you‘re hungry to grow and willing to bet on yourself, it will be the best decision you ever make. Since moving into tech, I wake up excited to go to work every day. I‘m building products that improve people‘s lives. And I‘m learning from some of the smartest, most passionate people I‘ve ever met.

If my story resonates with you, I‘d love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or LinkedIn. I‘m always happy to pay it forward by sharing more details about my journey, suggesting resources that helped me, or making introductions to people in my network.

The tech industry needs more diverse voices and perspectives, so I hope my experience encourages other non-traditional candidates to consider making the leap. It won‘t be easy, but I promise it will be worth it. As Steve Jobs once said, "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven‘t found it yet, keep looking. Don‘t settle."

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