Any advice on switching from MBB to another consulting firm?

Question

Hey everyone! I am hoping to get some advice on a possible career transition away from MBB.

I spent a year at MBB before leaving for grad school and then rejoined afterwards a bit more than a year ago. My performance reviews are good (got a promotion a couple months go) but I am struggling: I had tough couple of months due to family issues and my mental health is really not good. Furthermore, I less and and less like the culture at my firm, constantly look forward to the weekends, and my office is in a city far away from my partner and friends (my transfer request was rejected). I like consulting, but I don’t know if I can stay much longer in my current environment and I’ve been telling myself for a while I need to change something. That is why I started recruiting a bit and I got offered a position at an economic consulting firm where the total package looks great: more base salary, better bonus, more vacation days, the option to move to the city where my friends and partner live, etc. My ideal exit would’ve been corporate strategy or a small PE/VC fund, but I have a hard time to actually concentrate on recruiting properly due to time constraints and my declining health.

Still, I’m in doubt taking this offer is the right thing to do:

On the one hand, I am hoping that this will give me some time to live a slower life and think more clearly about recruiting/career options. My idea would be to spend 1.5 years at this economic consulting firm and get one promotion, use the time to rebuild my health and network, before trying to switch to corporate.

On the other hand, I’m concerned that economic consulting may be something where I won't be able to get a good exit and that my current MBB tenure is not high enough (1 year pre-grad school and 1.2 years afterwards).

What do you think? Any advice?

Answer 1

Hi,

First of all, thanks for being so open and candid about your situation. I can definitely relate to some of what you're describing.

It's difficult to give a definitive recommendation without knowing you personally, your priorities, and the severity of the health and lifestyle challenges you're currently facing. That said, my gut feeling is that moving from one consulting firm to another may improve your lifestyle at the margin, but it is unlikely to magically solve the underlying issues you're experiencing.

At the same time, I do think there is a risk that moving into economic consulting could make it somewhat harder to reach the exits you currently seem to prefer, namely corporate strategy or a small PE/VC fund. Since you already have a fairly clear view of where you'd like to end up, my instinct would be to try, if your health allows it, to hold on a bit longer and move directly into one of those target paths rather than making an intermediate stop.

The reality is that MBB will likely give you the strongest access to the types of opportunities you're ultimately targeting.

That said, I want to stress that this is a very outside-in perspective. If your mental health is genuinely suffering, your support network is far away, and you're reaching a point where the situation feels unsustainable, then the analysis changes. Career optimization is important, but not at any cost.

For what it's worth, I ended up leaving BCG as a Principal despite performing very well and having a high chance of being elected Partner, simply because I realized consulting was not the long-term path I wanted for myself. So I understand the tension between staying for the career benefits and recognizing that something isn't working anymore.

If you're comfortable sharing a bit more about your situation via DM, I'd be happy to offer a more tailored perspective.

Best of luck.
Franco