Burns, who has worked on eight cases in his two years consulting, says that the experience has also benefited him personally.

"One of the neat things about the job is that it gives you great general management skills," he says.

Training, he adds, is one reason recent college graduates crave offers from Bain and other consulting firms. They receive training in general strategy and management that is applicable outside the consulting world--often where associates eventual career destinations lie.

"They don't teach you what to think, they teach you how to think," Bruns says. "They teach you how to structure your projects--that's why this experience is so valuable for anything else."

Immediately upon starting with Bain, new hires are taken off-site for a two-week intensive training session, which is followed by two months of on-the-job training.

Even on case teams, the process continues, as each member of the team is giving responsibility for a part of the project.

At Bain, associate consultants are paired to with regular consultants on their first projects.

"When you start, you're not thrown right into the fire," Burns says. "But once you've been here for a while, that consultant in the middle goes away and you're working directly with the manager."