Advancement depends on individual skills, personalities, and goals. There is no promotion based on time served. Through performing well on cases, one eventually builds up client contact. This potentially leads to becoming a case leader for projects from that client. Being a consistently successful case leader might open up the opportunity to become a Director of a group.
Directors are responsible for long term vision and business development.
If one is making money for the company, there is no pressure to be anything other than what one wants to be. We talked for quite some time, mostly with me asking questions about management consulting and McKinsey in particular. She was clearly a high energy, people oriented person. She gave me the name of the firms recruitment officer for Ph.D.'s and out went my resume again. In late October, Katherine Padgett, McKinsey's Ph.D. recruitment officer, contacted me with a list of questions.