Careers in Consulting - Part #1

Junior, Associate, Consultant, Manager: many consulting firms offer a standardized, structured career path. In practice, however, this is rarely the case, and it is not always compatible with the reality of employees’ lives. In our interview series “Career Paths in Consulting”, Andreas Deuerling (HR Manager at firstwaters) offers a look behind the scenes, using real people from the consulting industry as examples.

ANDREAS (HR Manager)
Lorenz, you chose consulting deliberately, and then chose firstwaters deliberately once more. How did that decision come about?

LORENZ (Manager)
Choosing consulting was a well-considered decision. What appealed to me about firstwaters was its focus on implementation: not strategy on paper, but real transformation projects in banking. The specialization at firstwaters fit from the start. What ultimately tipped the balance, though, was less a rational weighing of pros and cons than a concrete feeling during the application process: straightforward communication, direct points of contact, and an atmosphere in which I felt I could genuinely take on responsibility step by step.

ANDREAS (HR Manager)
What did your start look like in concrete terms?

LORENZ (Manager)
Back then there was no classic onboarding in the conventional sense; today the process is far more standardized and tailored to the individual. I was, however, deployed with a client from day one. That meant on-the-job training in a smaller first project in the treasury space, working in tandem with a very experienced consultant. This mentoring was decisive for getting started, both professionally and personally. In this phase you learn not only the subject matter but also how the team works, how people treat one another, and what defines the culture at firstwaters. And that was positive from the start. The setting was chosen deliberately: a clearly defined topic, a small team, a reliable point of contact. That made the start easy, both in terms of content and on a personal level.

ANDREAS (HR Manager)
How did your area of responsibility develop from there?

LORENZ (Manager)
Next came a move to a large front-to-back project with a broader functional focus and a considerably larger team. My development there was gradual: first smaller work packages, then increasingly self-directed topics, and finally taking on the stream lead role. What I learned along the way is that there is no predefined development plan, but that is not a weakness of the model. Quite the opposite. The flexibility you bring yourself comes back to you in your own development. That is the principle I have experienced here.

ANDREAS (HR Manager)
What does this flexibility look like in practice?

LORENZ (Manager)
Every project, just like private life, brings many challenges to overcome. What makes that possible is the hybrid way of working at firstwaters. Depending on the project phase, I work more remotely or more on site. This requires personal responsibility and self-organization, but it also gives me a flexibility that I actively use. The same applies to my balance outside of work: marathon training, skiing, hiking, time with the dog. These are not coincidences but the result of a way of working that leaves room for them, if you take it.

ANDREAS (HR Manager)
Senior after three years, now Manager. How did this path unfold?

LORENZ (Manager)
The step to Senior came after about three years, still at the first client, in the second project. What I find telling is that there was no defined waiting period and no fixed level scheme. The promotion was the logical consequence of continuously taking on responsibility, not a date on the calendar. After that, I moved to a new project as a Senior, where I mentored juniors, drove various topics, and took on the lead BA role. The logical step to Manager followed in the course of that project. I am now working as a Manager at another client, an international German bank.

ANDREAS (HR Manager)
What do you take away as the key learning from this development?

LORENZ (Manager)
The model at firstwaters does not follow a standardized program; it follows the principle of reciprocity. The flexibility you bring is the flexibility you get back: in career development, in shaping your working day, and ultimately in your private life as well. That does not mean there is no pressure or no expectations; both exist. But it does mean you can help shape your own path. Flat hierarchies and short decision paths make that structurally possible. What makes it truly sustainable in practice, however, is the team. Not only professionally, where the standard is high and we constantly learn from one another, but above all on a human level. The cohesion at firstwaters is not a marketing promise but something you experience concretely every day: in the way we communicate, in how we support one another, and in how we treat each other outside of project work. That, ultimately, is what defines an employer in the long run.