Booz Allen Hamilton jobs are desired by many seeking a career in consulting – especially public sector consulting. Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) has a long and trusted history due to its track record of understanding the interconnected nature of problems organizations face.
Booz Allen Hamilton is a forerunner of the management consulting concept and has been serving clients for over a century. This history can get confusing, however. Here’s a quick primer: Booz Allen Hamilton was spun out from Booz & Co. as an entity primarily focused on public sector consulting. An additional fun fact: Booz & Co. sold its commercial practice to PwC, who promptly rebranded it as Strategy&.
BAH is an excellent place to start your consulting career. However, beware that many of your exit opportunities will be determined by the fact that you have achieved limited industry exposure. If you have a passion for cutting through the bureaucracy and waste of government and public entities, Booz Allen Hamilton may be just the place for you. Will you be challenged and work hard? Absolutely. Will it be worth it? You’ll gain skills that will serve you for a lifetime.
Life at Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton says that their management consultants are, “design thinkers, strategic planners, organization designers, agile change managers, and process reengineers”. Cut through the jargon, and this is what they actually mean: you’ll conduct analysis to help organizations cut costs, improve processes, increase the amount of services they provide, and achieve efficiencies.
As we’ve already mentioned, Booz Allen Hamilton jobs focus largely on the public sector. However, you will have some commercial exposure as well. Regardless, BAH looks for candidates with demonstrated analytical, leadership, and problem-solving skills. You need to be able to synthesize information and data quickly, draw insights from your synthesis, and communicate your insights clearly. You must be able to present ideas and solutions that help clients improve their business processes and bottom lines.
A quick aside: Cabinet-level agencies also manage to the bottom line. However, any “profit” they achieve is classified as a budget surplus. The difference here is that these agencies don’t treat the bottom line as the only KPI. For example, providing services to a greater number of citizens is also a KPI, and can often be at odds with managing to the bottom line.
Overall, strong data, analytical and technical skills are a huge plus in landing a job at Booz Allen Hamilton and ensuring your success once hired.
If you work at Booz Allen Hamilton, you will leave with a great deal of excellent experience that is desirable for future employers. Many former BAH employees appreciate how their consulting experience enabled them to leapfrog positions when transitioning into either industry or the pubic sector.
Booz Allen Hamilton Culture, Benefits, and Reviews
Booz Allen Hamilton jobs are highly desired by Undergraduates, Master’s students, MBAs, and PhDs alike. These Booz Allen Hamilton jobs are coveted given BAH’s strong reputation in the market, clear career path, and dedication to excellence and client satisfaction. You can expect to work in a fast-paced environment with intelligent, motivated and hard-working colleagues.
Pro tip: the firm has an incredibly strong brand in the Middle East. If you are looking to work in emerging economies, get paid an equivalent U.S. salary plus allowances, and work for a market leader, check out the firm’s Middle East offices.
Culture
Booz Allen Hamilton fosters a strong team dynamic, both by how it structures its office environments and its teams. Many of its offices are open concept, which allows ideas to flow easily between team members. Traditional office spaces are not embraced at Booz Allen Hamilton.
Don’t mistake this for a non-hierarchical culture, however. On the flip side, hierarchy provides a clear career path that motivates new BAH employees to succeed and progress in their careers. Employees are aware of what it takes to progress in their careers and how long it will realistically take to get there. Typically, you’ll hit a promotion cycle every 2-3 years once you start your Booz Allen Hamilton job.
Reviews
Employees at Booz Allen Hamilton offer mixed reviews on Glassdoor about their experience at the firm. Many report feeling micro-managed and not listened to by upper management. Overall, it seems like your experience at the firm is dependent on the quality of your Manager. While this is true at all firms, there seems to be more of a delta in Manager quality at BAH as opposed to other firms.
Still, Booz Allen Hamilton jobs are known for setting individuals up for career success. Booz Allen Hamilton jobs are coveted for this very reason: to have a brand name buttress your resume.
Pay
You won’t make as much at BAH as you will at the MBB or Big 4 levels. Yet, Booz Allen Hamilton pay is comparable with other boutiques. See full BAH salary data here.
Booz Allen Hamilton Job Openings
Booz Allen Hamilton job openings are prevalent across the country. Did you know the firm has an office location in Hawaii? That has to be worth checking out at the very least.
See the link for current consulting job openings.
Booz Allen Hamilton Jobs – Worth Pursuing
Landing your Booz Allen Hamilton job will require a strong resume to get you in the door for an interview. Once there, it’s all about your case performance.
Booz Allen Hamilton is committed to training its employees to ensure they grow and meet the needs of their clients. If you are motivated to learn and work hard, a Booz Allen Hamilton job is consulting opportunity worth considering.
Additional Reading:
- Booz Allen Hamilton Complete Firm Profile
- Top MBA Programs For Consulting
- Consulting Resume: Complete Guide
- Case Interview: Complete Prep Guide