Introduction
Here's what changed: McKinsey just announced it's cutting 5,000 people—roughly 10% of its global workforce. McKinsey is projecting that AI could replace up to 30% of consulting jobs globally by 2030. This isn't the firm saying "we have too many people." It's saying "AI is fundamentally changing what consulting work looks like, and we need fewer people to do it." The good news? That actually makes exiting now smarter than waiting around.
The consulting industry is contracting—but the exits are expanding. The combination of AI creating new skill premiums, remote work actually being permanent now, and companies building real internal strategy teams means your options are better than they look at first glance. You're not trapped. You're actually at a moment where exiting on your terms is more realistic than it was in 2023.
This guide walks you through what's actually happening in 2025, what exits are genuinely viable, and how to think about timing when the ground beneath consulting is shifting.
The Real Situation: What's Happening Now
The Consulting Firm Contraction Is Real
McKinsey cut 5,000 people in 2025 and is continuing to right-size its workforce. The firm cut 360 employees in 2024 focused on technology practices, following the 2,000-person Project Magnolia cuts in 2023. Other MBB firms have delayed MBA start dates, frozen salaries, and are being more selective with hiring. BCG is the outlier—they're actually increasing headcount, but specifically in their AI unit, BCGX, which now has over 3,000 employees.
This isn't cyclical consulting industry stuff. This is structural. Consulting firms are figuring out that AI can do a significant portion of what junior consultants do—data analysis, scenario modeling, building models, basic strategy formulation—faster and cheaper. So they're cutting headcount and investing in AI infrastructure instead.
What does this mean for you? If you're an analyst or senior analyst, your tenure at a consulting firm just got more uncertain. The "stay three years, build your credentials, then exit" playbook isn't as safe as it used to be. If you're a manager or senior manager, you have more leverage to exit on your terms right now than you probably will in 18 months.
AI Is Reshaping What "Exit" Even Means
Entry-level roles are being crushed by AI automation—over 27,000 tech jobs have been directly attributed to AI-driven redundancy since 2023. The unemployment rate for workers ages 20-30 in tech has jumped 3% since the start of 2025, which is substantially higher than for young workers in other sectors.
But here's the thing everyone misses: AI doesn't eliminate consulting jobs—it changes what consultants do. Law, accounting, and consulting experience significant transformation as AI handles routine research, analysis, and document preparation. The consultants who survive are moving from "build the model" to "interpret what the model tells us" to "sell the client on actually implementing." That's client-facing, judgment-heavy work that's harder for AI to replace.
The upside: companies that would never have hired a consultant for $50K now hire freelance consultants for specific AI implementation projects. The skill you developed in consulting—breaking complex problems into structured solutions—is actually more valuable now, but it's distributed differently across the market.
The Remote Work Shift Actually Stuck
This one's straightforward: you can work from anywhere. Not "companies are starting to allow..." It's "nobody questions remote work anymore." This changes the exit calculus dramatically because you're no longer constrained to cities with major corporate offices. The 2025 job market has normalized remote work across industries, which means you can take a strategy role in a mid-market company in Austin or Denver and actually make the economics work that never would have worked in 2019.
What's Changed About Exiting in 2025
Where the Layoffs Are Actually Hitting
If you're at McKinsey or Bain, you're probably feeling the pressure. If you're at BCG, it depends on whether your skills map to AI work—if they do, you have some cushion. The Big 4 (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) are also adjusting, but more slowly. The message is consistent across all of them: junior roles are at risk, AI specialists are in demand, and everyone is hiring fewer MBAs.
This actually strengthens your hand if you're exiting. It means:
Consulting firms can't afford to burn bridges when people leave (they need references later)
Companies hiring ex-consultants know the firms are unstable and are actively poaching
The "cooling off" period between leaving consulting and landing a corporate role is shorter because firms need warm bodies now
The AI Skills Premium Is Real (And It Matters)
Organizations are increasing AI usage across industries, and AI-exposed industries have seen revenue growth jump from 7% to 27% since 2018. Wages are rising twice as quickly in AI-exposed industries compared to those with minimal AI adoption.
The consultants cashing in are the ones who can articulate how their specific project experience translates to AI implementation. Not "I know about AI." More like: "I ran a supply chain transformation, and here's how AI could have made that 40% faster."
If you're exiting, this is your leverage. You understand business problems deeply. Most AI specialists don't. The combination is valuable.
The Main Paths Forward (And What's Actually Different in 2025)
Corporate Strategy Roles (Still the Default, but Tighter)
This is still the most common exit. You work on strategy and transformation for one company instead of rotating through clients. Tech companies will start someone exiting from senior roles at around $180-200K total compensation, while traditional sectors pay less.
What's changed: companies are pickier about who they hire because they can be. The flood of consulting alumni has slowed because consulting firms aren't expanding. This means you need a clearer story about why you specifically, not just "I'm a consultant."
The play: if you've worked on strategy for one industry or one function multiple times, lean on that. "I've done supply chain strategy for three clients across manufacturing and retail" is stronger than "I've done four different types of consulting for eight different clients."
Companies are more interested in consultants who can implement and explain strategy than those who just design it. Client-facing skills matter more now.
VC and Growth Equity (More Selective, but Hungrier)
VC firms still actively recruit consultants, but they're being more deliberate about seniority and specialization. They want people with specific vertical knowledge or some operating experience, not generalists.
The advantage in 2025: VCs are particularly interested in consultants who understand AI implementation in their vertical. If you've done digital transformation or operations consulting in any sector, you have a story to tell about how AI changes the unit economics of portfolio companies.
The downside: deal activity has slowed, which means some growth equity firms are tightening hiring. The compensation is still good (base lower, carry higher), but the risk is real.
Freelance / Independent Consulting (The Fastest Growing Exit, and It's Better in 2025)
Freelancing is now the fastest-growing consulting exit, with the US freelance workforce expanding 90% between 2020 and 2024. Strategy, operations, and business development are the top areas for freelance consultants.
Here's why it's better now: companies are more comfortable hiring freelance consultants for specific AI implementation projects than they were two years ago. Platforms like Consultport, Catalant, and Toptal have matured. And the gap between what you'd make consulting and what freelance consultants charge is still large enough that clients prefer freelancers for project work.
The appeal: control, flexibility, and the ability to pick clients. You only take work that makes sense. The economics work if you have a network or if you can build one.
The real catch in 2025: competition is tighter because more people are exiting. You need to differentiate on expertise, not just "I'm an ex-consultant."
Tech and Product Roles (Expanding, but Requires AI Fluency)
Tech companies are still recruiting ex-consultants, but they're more selective. IT professionals lead in AI adoption at 54%, but marketing, sales, and even HR teams are incorporating AI into daily workflows.
What's different: when they hire consultants, they want people who can either (1) manage AI tools and teams, or (2) think through how AI changes the business problem they're solving. Pure "strategy without tech" is less attractive than it was.
If you're exiting to tech, make sure you can speak intelligently about how AI affects your target market. That doesn't mean you need to be an AI expert. It means you need to ask smart questions about it.
Starting Something (Still Risky, but AI Actually Opens Doors)
The ones who succeed are still the people who (1) noticed a problem over years, (2) validated it outside consulting, and (3) have genuine founder motivation. That hasn't changed.
What's new: if your idea involves AI-powered solutions, capital is more available (though more selective). If your idea is "better version of existing product," it's harder because companies are implementing AI first.
The real timeline: 12 months of validation while still employed, then make the jump. Not the other way around.
How to Actually Choose (The 2025 Version)
Financial Reality
Be honest about money first. If you're carrying heavy debt or have no runway, entrepreneurship and VC aren't options. Corporate strategy roles in tech start around $275K for senior manager exits, and can scale higher. If you need less, freelancing or corporate roles in non-tech sectors work. If you want equity upside, VC or founding.
Companies are being more selective about compensation in 2025 because hiring is slower. Don't assume you'll negotiate up as much as previous years. Negotiate hard on remote flexibility instead.
Your Actual Skill Set (Not Your Resume)
Be specific about what you're actually good at. Are you the person who solves the problem or the person who explains the solution? Are you energized by new problems or frustrated by them? Do you want to go deep in one industry or stay broad?
The mistake people make: taking the job that sounds good instead of the job that feels right. If you hate strategy work, don't take a corporate strategy role. If you want to see something through, freelancing or founding. If you want a day job and nothing more, tech ops or corporate finance.
Timing (This Is Actually Critical in 2025)
The consulting firms are right-sizing now. That means:
If you're already planning to leave, the market for ex-consultants is active right now
If you're on the fence, the next 12 months are actually a good window to move before consulting becomes less of a credential
If you're waiting for more clarity on AI impacts, you're waiting too long
The companies hiring now know what they want from ex-consultants. The ones hiring in 2026 will be more selective.
What You're Bringing to the Table
What relationships do you have? What industry expertise? What functional depth? If you can speak to AI implementation in your vertical, that's a competitive advantage in 2025. If your network is purely internal to your firm, work on external credibility first—write something, speak somewhere, build a POV.
Things to Actually Pay Attention To
McKinsey's 30% automation projection by 2030 is a warning signal. That's not just McKinsey—that's the whole industry. If you're a junior consultant, your path to partner just got a lot harder. If you're a senior consultant, your exit window is actually wider than it will be in 18 months.
Entry-level hiring is getting crushed by AI automation. If you're early-career and still at a consulting firm, the slower hiring at those levels means less internal competition for good projects and more visibility to partners. Use that.
Companies are building AI competency centers within their strategy teams. If you can position yourself as someone who understands both strategy and AI implementation, that's a clear opening.
What Actually Works Right Now
Stop optimizing for the title or the story you get to tell. Optimize for:
Whether you'll actually like the work. If strategy doesn't appeal to you, don't move to corporate strategy. If you're leaving because you hate client management, a VC role with portfolio companies might be worse.
Whether the economics match your constraints. What's actually true about your financial situation, not what you wish was true.
Whether you can see yourself staying for 3+ years. Most exits are stronger if you're not already looking to bounce after year one.
Whether you have actual relationships that can help. Better to lean on people who know your work than convince someone why you're different from the last five consultants who applied.
The reality: if you have 2-4 years of consulting experience and you're asking "should I stay or go?", the answer is probably "go now." The consulting firm landscape is tightening. The exit market is still open, but it won't be as wide in 2026.
If you're genuinely interested in something specific—freelancing, VC, starting something—do it now while you still have the credential working in your favor. In two years, "ex-McKinsey" will be less of a calling card because more people will have left.
Your consulting experience taught you how to solve complex problems under pressure. Your exit strategy deserves the same rigor. Use it.
Key References & Resources
On Consulting Firm Layoffs & AI Impact:
The Silicon Review: AI to Reshape Consulting Workforce by 2030
Consultancy.org: McKinsey Slashes Hundreds of Jobs in Technology Practices
BusinessBecause: BCG Increases Employee Headcount Despite Mass Consulting Layoffs
On AI Job Displacement & Workplace Impact:
Fortune: AI-driven Layoffs Are on the Rise as the Job Market Shrinks for Recent Grads
National University: 59 AI Job Statistics: Future of U.S. Jobs
The Interview Guys: The State of AI in the Workplace in 2025
On Traditional Consulting Exit Opportunities:
On Freelance Consulting Trends:
About author
San helps management consultants exit traditional consulting and land high-paying industry roles without burnout. Before building Consultant Exit, San spent a decade across Deloitte, Accenture, and Oracle, where he saw firsthand how unpredictable and unsustainable consulting careers can be. After failing his first startup and returning to consulting, he eventually built a systematic approach for exiting consulting the right way, which became the foundation of Consultant Exit. Today he and his team help consultants transition into roles across product, strategy, operations, and startups using a proven, data-driven reverse recruiting system
San Aung
Founder of Consultant Exit (Ex-Deloitte, Accenture, Oracle)
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