By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated June 2026 Yes, you can move from a PhD to consulting, and McKinsey, BCG, and Bain actively want you. They recruit advanced-degree candidates through dedicated Advanced Professional Degree (APD) pipelines, and PhDs usually enter at the post-MBA Associate level, not the analyst track. The pipeline is…
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Updated September 2026 | By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant Orphoz is McKinsey & Company‘s implementation and transformation arm: a wholly-owned “McKinsey company” whose consultants execute strategy and deliver measurable results on the ground, rather than only advising on it. If McKinsey designs the plan, Orphoz is often the team that makes it happen.…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated September 2026 Yes, you can move from a Tier-2 firm to MBB, and you start from one of the strongest positions there is. If you are at Oliver Wyman, Kearney, L.E.K., Roland Berger, or Strategy&, you already do work that looks a lot like what McKinsey,…
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Updated July 2026 · By Florian Smeritschnig, Former McKinsey Senior Consultant The practical consulting GPA requirement for McKinsey, BCG, and Bain in 2026 is 3.5 / 4.0 at a US target school, with the competitive zone for interview invitations starting at 3.7+. McKinsey publicly guides candidates toward “top decile of your class,” which translates to…
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By Florian Smeritschnig, former McKinsey Senior Consultant · Updated July 2026 Yes, you can join McKinsey, BCG, or Bain as an experienced hire, and a large, growing share of every office is exactly that. You apply laterally, outside the campus cycle, and you enter at a level set by your experience: roughly the post-MBA Consultant…
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Florian spent five years at McKinsey as a Senior Consultant and is a highly experienced consulting interviewer and problem-solving coach. Having conducted interviews with hundreds of candidates, he understands exactly what top-tier firms look for in successful applicants.
He founded StrategyCase.com to make top consulting careers more accessible by providing tailored, up-to-date insights into the recruiting process. Recognized as the most successful case and fit interview coach, Florian has helped his clients secure 700+ offers at MBB, Tier-2 firms, Big 4 consulting divisions, in-house consultancies, and boutique firms over the past four years.
He is the author of “The 1%: Conquer Your Consulting Case Interview,” “The 1%: Case Interview Workbook,” and “Consulting Career Secrets”, all available on Amazon.
