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Senior Role at Entry Level

I am wondering what are the differences between Senior BA at Mck (Senior Associate at BCG/Senior associate consultant at bain) with BA at Mck (Ssc at BCG/Asc cons at Bain)?

For someone who has 3years of work experience (non-business), will it be better to go to Senior role or note? In terms of (career development, work-life balance, job pressure, learning opportunity)

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Top answer
on Sep 23, 2021
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success: ➡ interviewoffers.com | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

In most countries, Senior Analyst / Senior Associate is equivalent to the level you reach working as an Analyst or Associate for 2 years

They will expect more experience, as you should be able to move to Associate / Consultant in 1 to 1.5 years.

In terms of career progression, the Senior role is better, but as mentioned by Calvin you will join with higher expectations, so that may lead to more pressure at the beginning.

Best,

Francesco

Deleted
Coach
on Sep 22, 2021
Experienced interviewer | Roland Berger Project Manager| Cambridge University | Super intuitive approach

Senior BA or equivalent level would come with higher expectations on your: 

  • Work/ output quality
  • Ability to work independently
  • Maturity level when interacting with clients 
  • Ability to manage more junior colleagues

For someone coming from industry, around 3-4 years of work experience would be expected to be ready for Senior BA/ equivalent position.

Hope this helps!

Ian
Coach
on Sep 22, 2021
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

Yes you could probably come in at the second level of the entry role, but it depends.

Your best bet is to talk to HR to see where they see you fitting.

Good luck!

on Sep 23, 2021
McKinsey | NASA | top 10 FT MBA professor for consulting interviews | 6+ years of coaching

Hi!

Ask HR what's the most appropriate seniority level for your profile.

Please also note that for some offices “Senior” doesn't correspond to a specific contractual agreement, but it's more a label within the firm.

Best,

Anto

Pedro
Coach
on Sep 23, 2021
Bain | EY-Parthenon | Former Principal | 1.5h session | 30% discount 1st session

You will be at a higher level (better pay), but performance expectations will be higher… without you having relevant consulting experience.

So after 1 year they will be evaluating whether you are ready for the next level. If you start at entry level, they will assess if you are ok to move to senior BA. If you already a senior BA, then they will be assessing for consultant. Not only the level is higher, the evaluation is less forgiving at that level. 

So… higher pay and shorter career path on the one hand… higher change of being “outplaced” on the other one.

I would suggest starting at entry level. I've seen the other option go wrong multiple times, and simply because people had less time to learn the ropes than their peers. And if you have a strong performance, nothing prevents you from being promoted earlier.

Agrim
Coach
on Sep 24, 2021
Top Awarded Coach | BCG Dubai Project Leader | Master Casing in only 3 Hours | 10y in Consulting | Free Intro Call

With 3 years of work-ex you stand a better chance at SBA and NOT BA. If you give us more details of your profile (perhaps CV as well) then we can give better comments. It also depends a little bit on the office as well.

However, we can only speculate - network with someone currently at McK and get their opinion. Even the HR/recruiter.

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