I spent a month studying for the management consultant exam and still feel like I know nothing

Buying those heavy textbooks at the bookstore

I remember walking into that massive bookstore near Gwanghwamun about three months ago. I had been listening to some podcasts about people who transitioned into corporate consulting or management roles, and the term ‘Management Consultant’ (gyeongyeong-jidosa) kept popping up. I thought, ‘Why not?’ I ended up spending around 80,000 won on a thick stack of books that promised to cover everything from marketing to production management. The weight of the bag on my shoulder was heavy, and honestly, that was probably the most physical effort I put into the whole endeavor.

The reality of studying after work

Starting out was fine for the first week. I told myself I would study for two hours every evening after getting home. But then the reality of a nine-to-five, or more like a nine-to-nine, hit. By 8 PM, my brain was just mush. Sitting at my desk, staring at the diagrams about financial ratios or the legal frameworks for small businesses, I felt like I was reading a foreign language. It wasn’t that the content was impossible, but it was just so dry. I kept comparing it to the times I studied for the Maekyung TEST back in college, which felt way more intuitive and compact. This, however, felt like a slow crawl through a swamp.

Waiting for the exam schedule

One of the most annoying parts was just trying to pin down the exact exam dates and the application window. The government websites are… well, they aren’t exactly user-friendly. I found myself refreshing the page daily, wondering if I had missed the notice. There were mentions of ‘K-New Deal’ training programs and other government-subsidized routes, and for a second, I wondered if I should have just signed up for one of those instead of trying to self-study with these dense textbooks. It felt like I was chasing a moving target without a coach.

The struggle with practical application

I tried to look up the pass rates and the difficulty levels online. Some forums were filled with people claiming they passed in three months of intense study, while others warned that it takes years. Seeing those conflicting messages just made me want to close my laptop. I started to wonder if this was actually going to help me in my current career or if I was just collecting certificates to feel productive. The actual professional world seems to value experience over these badges, and the divide between what the textbook says and what actually happens in a chaotic office environment is massive.

Where I am right now

Honestly, the books are still sitting on my shelf, gathering dust. I haven’t even registered for the test yet. Every time I look at them, I feel a little bit guilty, but I also feel a strange sense of relief that I haven’t committed to the test fee yet. It feels like an unfinished project that I keep pushing to next month. I don’t know if I’ll ever actually walk into that exam center, or if I’ll just eventually donate these books to a used bookstore nearby. There’s a lingering uncertainty about whether the effort is even worth it, especially when the requirements keep shifting with industry trends. Maybe I’ll look into it again in the spring, or maybe I’ll just forget about it entirely.