Lucas Aras

Describe your role and what it is that you do overall and on a day-to-day basis.

I work as a management consultant, which easily explained means supporting and advising top management in different organizations on important strategic questions. During my time at McKinsey, I have mostly focused on topics related to private equity and principal investors. The range of topics on our engagements are broad, and include everything from helping optimizing the operations of a company to help them scale and launch a new business unit or production facility. Depending on the topic, the day-to-day work varies a lot, but is generally focused on problem-solving together with the team, and also together with the client in a collaborative effort.

What interested you about the field / company / role you are currently in?

The consulting industry is a great place to learn and try a lot of different topics in a short period of time, allowing you to explore and find your interests, while working closely with colleagues and clients to always help you improve. My journey started through an internship, where I quickly understood how much impact we do in important areas such as sustainability and tech. This made me sure that I want to start my career in this field.

Why did you choose to study your subject area at SSE?

I have always been very interested in the areas of accounting and finance, which was strengthened during my time in the Bachelor program at SSE. When choosing my Master’s degree, I therefore choose Accounting, Valuation and Financial Management as it is the most practical program, where I still use a lot of the topics and skills I learnt in my daily work. In addition, the program allowed me to choose several different elective courses from the Finance program, which gave me the perfect mix of courses I was looking for, together with SSE being an excellent environment to prepare you for the work after graduation. 

How did your time/education at SSE help guide you to the career journey you have embarked on?

The environment SSE provides, being full of driven and ambitious people, together with the direct interest of companies in the students through fairs and events helped me understand the different career options and how I could pursue them. At the same time, SSE gives you the opportunity to really dig deep and discover the topics and subjects you are interested in the most, both in the Bachelor and Master program. This helped me a lot in understanding what topics I like and hence which career options that would best suit me, making SSE instrumental for my current career journey.

Following the time at SSE, do you have any words of wisdom or advice you would like to share with our current students?

My biggest advice would be to follow your own path and make sure to enjoy the experience beyond the studies and exams. When I started, I had no idea what I wanted to do after graduation or which internship to apply to, and even if you feel that most other students to, they don’t. Therefore, make sure to explore your own interests and ambitions, as this is the only way you will know what you want to do, rather than doing what you think is expected from you. And have fun while doing it!

What are three words that sum up your time at SSE?

Fun, challenging and impactful!