but which I saw I could now do with almost all subject areas.
Mmm, but you can't tho'. No-one can. What consultants do is fake expertise, then actually learn it on the time the client is paying for an expert. Not that that isn't a skill mind, but don't confuse it for something it's not.
I never mentioned anything about expertise. What I said was:
I also gained a lot of confidence in my abilities to pick up and absorb new things and become productive quickly - something that I knew I could do with technologies, but which I saw I could now do with almost all subject areas.
I think you're letting a prejudiced opinion of consultants get in the way of the article.
I believe that you believe it, and can make others believe it, Accenture spent a lot of money training you to, but c'mon, you can be productive in any subject quickly? Really? Have you tried it in anything that was truly outside of your comfort zone?
I'm an ex-Consultant myself, like you right out of college, so I know about this from the inside.
Any topic that involves advanced maths or other hard science will be hard to pick up quickly (despite doing a Physics degree), but other than those, most business-related activities tend to be fairly straightforward to pick up, so long as you have the right "learning materials" (be it work samples, manuals, people to coach you, whatever makes sense for the activity).
Sure, there's a world of difference between "being productive" and "being an expert", but again, I'm not saying you can become an expert in a week, I'm saying you can be productive.
Moreover, I'd argue that with the right coaching/motivation/environment, most smart people can do this.
Mmm, but you can't tho'. No-one can. What consultants do is fake expertise, then actually learn it on the time the client is paying for an expert. Not that that isn't a skill mind, but don't confuse it for something it's not.