The consulting industry is undergoing its most significant restructuring in decades. As AI automates core workflows, client expectations shift, and challenger firms produce what was once bespoke, the traditional consulting pyramid is collapsing from the bottom up. Evan Berta, an associate at Hunt Scanlon Ventures, speaks with James O’Dowd, founder and CEO of Patrick Morgan, to unpack how the consulting workforce is being reshaped – and what’s in store for the next decade.
A new analysis from Revelio Labs reveals a stark shift: consulting job postings have fallen sharply across every seniority level, with the steepest declines in junior and associate roles.
This contraction is not a temporary correction; it is the result of AI absorbing vast amounts of early-career work while clients push back against the leveraged delivery models that once powered the big platforms.
Challenger firms have rushed into the gap, offering faster, productized solutions that feel more like technology offerings than traditional consulting projects.
“The industry is moving from doing the work to orchestrating the technology that does it,” said James O’Dowd, founder and CEO of Patrick Morgan.
He noted that the mix of talent inside consulting firms is still weighted toward a pre-AI world, even as client demand is shifting toward automation, data fluency, and specialized technical capability.
Long-Term Displacement
That mismatch is widening the skills gap – and accelerating the pace of disruption.
Much of the public conversation focuses on AI displacing new graduates, but the reality is more nuanced.
“By 2030 the traditional consultant will be unrecognizable. The firms that rewire their operating models the fastest will shape the next decade; everyone else will get squeezed into the undifferentiated middle.”
“New grads are built to learn. They have cultural permission to experiment, adapt, and step directly into AI-enabled workflows,” said Evan Berta, an associate at Hunt Scanlon Ventures. “The real risk sits with mid-career consultants who built their skill sets around delivery models that AI is now automating.”
As firms raise performance bars and reduce middle management layers, he argues, the danger of long-term displacement grows for those who do not reskill.
Mr. O’Dowd agrees. He sees rising pressure on professionals who assumed experience would protect them.
“This feels like the 1990s software engineer who never made the jump to the web,” he says. “The people who move toward AI rather than away from it will lead the next decade. The ones who hesitate will struggle to re-enter a labor market that demands completely different capabilities.”
Against this backdrop of disruption, and opportunity, we sat down with Mr. O’Dowd to explore what the future of consulting talent looks like, how challenger firms are winning market share, and what capabilities will define the next generation of leaders.
The Reshaping of the Consulting Workforce
James, what is driving the decline in entry-level consulting roles?
It is a combination of AI, margin pressure, and shifting client expectations. AI has removed a large amount of early-career work, while clients are less willing to pay for leveraged pyramids. Firms simply cannot justify the same intake when the model no longer needs the same volume of junior execution. It is a structural reset, not a short cycle.
How will challenger firms evolve their productised service models over the next three to five years?
Challenger firms will keep expanding from standardized workstreams into fully managed, subscription-style solutions that feel closer to software products than consulting projects. Their advantage is cultural: they already build around automation, not people-heavy delivery, which allows them to move faster than the incumbents trying to retrofit productisation into legacy operating models.
“The people who move toward AI rather than away from it will lead the next decade. The ones who hesitate will struggle to re-enter a labor market that demands completely different capabilities.”
AI, Capability Gaps and Talent Risk
What capabilities will define the “new consultant” in an AI-powered model?
The new consultant is a creator rather than a doer. The value sits in designing automated workflows, building data-backed products and architecting solutions technology can scale. IP creation, prompting, commercial judgement and fluency in AI-enabled delivery will matter far more than task execution.
How worried should traditional firms be about the widening capability gap?
The gap is already visible in the middle of the pyramid. The Partner role has changed faster than the people in the pipeline and many mid-career professionals are trained for a delivery model that no longer exists. Firms that ignore this will end up with the right titles but the wrong capabilities.
Where is the greatest long-term displacement risk for mid-career consultants who do not reskill?
Roles built around manual analysis, document-heavy deliverables, and project management tasks are most exposed. If someone’s value comes from volume of work rather than orchestration of systems, they risk being displaced by teams that can deliver the same output with a fraction of the headcount.
Industry Transformation and Leadership Implications
What does “winning” look like for consulting firms in this new environment?
Winning means building a leaner, tech-orchestrated operating model with AI in the workflow rather than on top of it, productising core IP and creating clear differentiation in an industry where everyone is converging toward the same blend of technology, data and transformation. The firms that succeed will look far less like partnerships and far more like advisory platforms with scalable assets.
What should leaders be doing right now to prepare?
Leaders need to reset their talent models, raise the performance bar, hire fewer generalists and more builders. They also need to invest heavily in AI training, restructure middle management and redesign Partner criteria around product creation, automation and monetisation, not tenure and team size.
How can early-career consultants future-proof themselves?
They should lean fully into AI tools, automation workflows and technical problem-solving. New graduates have the advantage because they have cultural permission to learn and adapt; the smartest move is to become the person who builds systems rather than the one who feeds them.
James, what is your biggest prediction for how AI will reshape consulting by 2030?
By 2030 the traditional consultant will be unrecognizable. Most firms will generate a meaningful share of revenue from productised, AI-enabled offerings and the classic pyramid will shrink dramatically. The firms that rewire their operating models the fastest will shape the next decade; everyone else will get squeezed into the undifferentiated middle.
Article By
Evan Berta
Evan Berta is an Associate at Hunt Scanlon Ventures, specializing in data analysis, market mapping, and target list preparation. He plays a critical role in identifying and building out groups of firms in sectors of interest, including preparing strategic overviews of top potential targets for acquisitions. Evan’s analytical expertise supports the firm’s sourcing initiatives, particularly in identifying niche and emerging market opportunities, and delivering actionable insights on tight timelines.
