McKinsey's MBA era is ending

For decades, an MBA was the clearest path into elite consulting. Now the firm is recruiting mathematicians, computer-science PhDs, startup founders, and tech company veterans instead.

“Our recruiting changed dramatically in the last few years. We recruit from places we haven't recruited before.”

AI is reshaping consulting work

As artificial intelligence changes what consulting firms do for clients, they need people who can build technology and devise strategy around it, not just strategy alone.

“Today many, many of our colleagues are coming from non-MBA backgrounds, and then technology too is kind of the next wave.”

The industry is hiring fewer consultants overall

Job postings from the seven largest consulting firms fell 24% year-over-year through May 2026, but AI roles grew from 1.4% to 5% of their total openings.

Forward-deployed engineers are the new role

Consulting firms created 1,404 forward-deployed-engineer openings in one year, up from zero. These roles require engineers to deploy AI systems inside client organizations and do client-facing consulting work.

McKinsey is recruiting outside traditional schools

The firm is hiring through coding bootcamps, non-degree pathways, and different geographies. It seeks curious people with deep technical skills who want to solve client problems through technology.

QuantumBlack grew from 47 to over 5,000 people

McKinsey's AI arm expanded dramatically over a decade, now employing data scientists, engineers, designers, product managers, and product owners across multiple disciplines.