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The story
An article explaining why graduates of elite universities like the University of Tokyo, Hitotsubashi University, and Waseda/Keio are flocking to the consulting industry drew a strong response on 5ch. The article credits the strong fit between real-world work and the “ability to process huge volumes of information” honed through entrance-exam prep, but the thread was dominated by blunt takes like “it’s because the profit margins are huge and the pay is great,” along with criticism that “it’s a job where you just offer opinions without ever taking responsibility.” At the same time, posters noted that a consulting background carries real weight in the job market, and compared it favorably to the corporate track — where it takes over a decade to make section chief, with pay that tops out around 10-15 million yen — a contrast that became the central axis of the debate.
(Omitted)
Todai, Hitotsubashi, and Waseda/Keio Students Flood Into Consulting — The Extremely High Compatibility Between “Exam-Brain” Information Processing and Real-World Work
Even landing a job at a major corporation no longer guarantees lifetime employment. The seniority-based system is also weakening. Foreign-affiliated firms pay well, but competition is fierce. Starting a business holds promise, but the risk of failure is high. That’s precisely why these students have come to focus not on their academic pedigree itself, but on how to cash it in.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Consultants are useless unless they've actually worked at a company outside consulting and have real hands-on experience.
Exactly this.
Irresponsible people like that are what run companies into the ground.
Obviously.
Because if the project fails, the executives don't have to take the blame.
I feel like people who've never actually dealt with one have the wrong image in their heads.
And it's also true that a lot of small-time consultants are sketchy.
The typical "sketchy consultant" ordinary people run into is probably the online SEO type or the social-media consultant type.
They pitch you with "Leave your Facebook and Instagram management to us!"
It's like tackling environmental issues or sustainability without having any actual technical ability to solve them.
Isn't the real problem that they hire new grads in the first place?
Consulting firms should just only hire experienced mid-career candidates.
That's consulting in a nutshell.
Same as AI — "I'll look it up for you, but I won't take responsibility for it."
Seriously? A half-assed job where you don't take responsibility for anything actually works as a career, and a high-paying one at that?
But honestly, that's pretty close to the truth.
There's that side of it too.
Job description: copy ideas from chains and famous shops, then spread them around 🤣🤣
Why are those bubble tea shops always so sickeningly sweet… I don't get it.
The stuff in Taiwan let you choose the sweetness level and was actually good. The tea itself had real flavor too.
And since they're proud after leaving an elite consulting firm, they'll probably try starting their own business next.
Feeding highly educated people into that kind of brutal environment is actually a net positive for Japan.
"Ex-McKinsey" or "ex-BCG" (Boston Consulting Group) looks great on a resume, so finding your next job afterward is easy.
More like just over 10 years.
At most major Japanese companies, career-track university hires tend to make section chief around age 35.
But even as section chief, you only pull in about 10-15 million yen a year.
That's a completely different pay grade from foreign firms, consulting, or trading companies.
LOL that's practically retirement age by then.
So why doesn't the Japanese government consult these guys?
Maybe because the answer they'd come back with would be politically toxic and hurt them at the ballot box.
For example:
Consultant: "To fix Japan's problems — raise taxes, cut social security, and restrict human rights."
Government ministries outsource to consultants all the time, you know.
Wait, is THIS why the government keeps blowing money on weird stuff?
That's not really "consulting" so much as just plain outsourcing, right?
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
While lifetime employment and the seniority system are eroding at Japanese companies, the consulting industry is known for its meritocratic, up-or-out personnel system — a brutal environment where anyone who fails to make managing director is pushed out within a few years. Even so, that background carries significant weight in the job market, creating a structure that draws top talent. Opinions in the thread were split partly because the word “consultant” covers everything from elite foreign strategy consulting firms to small-time SEO and social-media management agencies, producing a mix of distrust toward “sketchy operators” and genuine respect for “elite strategy consultants.” The thread also didn’t mention that government ministries themselves routinely outsource work to major consulting firms — a fact worth keeping in mind when trying to understand the roots of the criticism.
*This article is composed of excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “Why Do Todai, Hitotsubashi, and Waseda/Keio Graduates Flock to the Consulting Industry?“
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