McKinsey wants ambitious technologists, not just MBAs

McKinsey seeks engineers as AI reshapes consulting Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images McKinsey QuantumBlack leader Ben Ellencweig said the firm is embracing a more technical talent pool.

"Our recruiting changed dramatically in the last few years," Ellencweig told BI.

McKinsey isn't the only firm shifting its talent base.

EY has also expanded from accountants.

Once famous for its ties to business schools, McKinsey is casting a wider net to meet its needs.

For decades, an MBA was one of the clearest routes into elite consulting .

As AI changes the work firms do for clients, the consulting industry is looking for people who can build technology as well as devise the corporate strategy around it.

"Our recruiting changed dramatically in the last few years.

We recruit from places we haven't recruited before," Ben Ellencweig, who leads McKinsey's AI arm , QuantumBlack, told Business Insider.

"Today many, many of our colleagues are coming from non-MBA backgrounds, and then technology too is kind of the next wave." That includes mathematicians, computer-science PhDs, startup founders without degrees, and people with experience at technology companies.

The shift is playing out beyond McKinsey.

Job postings from Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG, McKinsey, BCG, and Bain fell by about 24% in the year ending May 2026 compared to the year before, according to labor-market intelligence firm Draup.

At the same time, AI jobs grew from 1.4% to 5% of their total openings.

The number of forward-deployed-engineer openings across the seven firms rose from none to 1,404 in that same period, according to the analysis.