VCA - Visa Consulting & Analytics as a starting point?

This is a great question, and first of all congratulations on securing the VCA internship – that’s a fantastic position to be in.

Being at a target uni comes with a lot of pressure and comparison, and it’s easy to feel like there’s a single “correct” path (MBB or nothing). But you’ve actually done something most people don’t: you’ve clearly defined what you want out of your career – decent pay, good WLB, travel, mobility, and interesting work. VCA seems to align extremely well with those priorities.

MBB will give you strong pay, brand, and interesting projects, and some travel and mobility. But the one thing you almost certainly won’t get is good work-life balance. That trade-off is real and often underplayed in prestige-driven advice.

Starting at VCA will not meaningfully limit your future options. Plenty of people move into MBB from non-MBB and even non-consulting backgrounds – I personally moved into MBB from education. If you enjoy VCA, you can stay. If later you decide you want MBB or another path, you can absolutely pivot then with solid experience under your belt.

Careers are long. There’s no need to rush into what some coin the most “prestigious” option immediately, especially if it doesn’t match what you actually value. Do what genuinely excites you now, learn, reassess later, and try not to let the pressure of a target uni environment push you into a path that isn’t aligned with your goals.

Happy to talk further if helpful.

I have a different opinion on this.

If you can get MBB early, it is objectively the strongest place to start, even if work life balance is not great.

The reason is simple: early career brand compounds disproportionately. The MBB stamp in your first one to three years:

• Expands optionality across industries and geographies
• Reduces friction for every future transition
• Signals a very high bar on problem solving, pace, and resilience

Yes, the lifestyle is tougher. That is the trade off. But the pain is front loaded and time bounded, while the CV signal lasts for decades.

Many people say “you can always lateral into MBB later.” In theory, yes. In practice, it is harder once:

• You are specialized
• You are accustomed to better work life balance
• You have higher switching costs

This is why starting at MBB, when your opportunity cost is lowest, is strategically rational.

That said, this does not mean VCA is a bad choice. It means it is a different optimization. VCA optimizes for:

• Domain depth early
• Better lifestyle
• Faster exposure to payments and fintech decision making

MBB optimizes for:

• Maximum breadth
• Maximum brand
• Maximum long term optionality

If someone knows they want fintech long term and values balance, VCA is sensible.
If someone wants the widest possible set of doors open at 25, MBB is simply MUCH stronger.

So the honest answer is not “MBB is overrated” or “VCA is wasting your brand.”
The honest answer is: MBB is the best default starting point if you can get it. Deviating from it should be intentional, not defensive.

That pressure you're feeling about "wasting your brand" is classic target school noise—you can safely ignore it. You secured a high-quality internship in an extremely relevant industry (Fintech/Payments) that aligns with your personal goals (WLB, travel, interest). That is a win.

Here is the critical distinction regarding optionality: MBB provides generalist training, which maximizes breadth of exit opportunities across all industries. VCA, on the other hand, provides immediate depth and specialism. If you genuinely enjoy payments, this is not a limitation; it's a fast track. Visa is a powerful global brand, and VCA experience acts as a strong, specialized pipeline directly into high-growth roles at Stripe, Adyen, Big Tech product teams, or senior roles within global financial institutions. If you start to enjoy that world, VCA sets you up perfectly, often with better WLB and immediate international transfer potential than an entry-level MBB generalist role.

The only way VCA limits you is if you realize after the internship that you desperately want to do heavy-machinery manufacturing strategy or healthcare P&L restructuring—pure generalist projects that VCA doesn't touch. But even then, if you crush the internship and demonstrate strong analytical skills, you still have the brand equity and capability set to apply to MBB later. The conventional wisdom about "MBB or nothing" is accurate only if your sole metric is maximizing top-tier prestige and maximum possible exit breadth. For your stated goals (WLB, travel, domain interest), specialization is a differentiator, not a drawback.

Focus on excelling in the 11 weeks. You have a great platform.

All the best!

Hi there,

Honestly, this idea that you’re “wasting your university brand” by going to VCA is overblown, especially given what you actually want out of your career.

VCA is a solid place to start. You’ll get real client exposure, strong analytical training, and work in payments and fintech, which is a genuinely relevant and transferable space. Yes, it’s more focused than MBB, but that doesn’t mean the skills you build are narrow. Problem solving, data-driven thinking, and stakeholder work all carry over well.

More importantly, your priorities matter. You’re not optimizing purely for prestige. You care about decent pay, work-life balance, travel, mobility across offices, and doing work you find interesting. VCA aligns very well with that. For many people, it’s actually a better fit than MBB.

Starting at VCA doesn’t close doors. People do move from VCA or similar in-house consulting teams into MBB, strategy roles, or other strong exits if they want to, especially if they perform well and tell their story clearly. And if you end up loving the work and lifestyle, that’s a win in itself.

MBB is a great option, but it’s not the only “right” one. Choosing a role that fits your interests and how you want to live is not wasting your brand, it’s using it intentionally.

Best,
Evelina

Congrats on the internship. Getting into VCA from a target school as a second year is solid. Don't let people make you feel bad about it.

Now, to answer your question

Is VCA limiting? It depends on what you want later.

If your goal in 5-10 years is to become a partner at McKinsey or lead strategy at a Fortune 500, then yes, starting at VCA makes that path harder. MBB on your resume opens doors that other names simply don't. That's just reality.

But most people don't realize that this path isn't for everyone. And it sounds like it's not what you want anyway.

You said your priorities are decent salary, good work-life balance, travel, international mobility, and interesting work. VCA checks most of those boxes. MBB checks some of them, but definitely not work-life balance, at least not in the early years.

On the "wasting your Uni brand" comment:

This is a very MBB-obsessed way of thinking. Your university brand doesn't expire. If you do VCA for two years, build real skills, and decide you want to try MBB later, you can still apply. People do this all the time. Your degree doesn't disappear.

On skill development:

Yes, VCA is narrower. You'll learn payments and fintech deeply, but you won't get the variety of industries that MBB gives you. At McKinsey, you might do a pharma case one month and a retail turnaround the next. At VCA, it's payments-focused.

But narrow isn't always bad. Deep expertise in a growing sector like fintech can be more valuable than shallow knowledge across ten industries. Especially if you actually enjoy it.

My advice:

Do the internship. See if you like it. If you love the work, the people, and the lifestyle, why would you leave for a harder job just because someone said you should?

If after the summer you feel like you're missing something, you can recruit for MBB next year. You'll have real consulting experience, which actually helps your application.

The "MBB or nothing" mindset is overrated for people whose goals don't require it. And it sounds like yours don't.

Hi there,

It is true that if you start off with MBB, you will have more optionality later. However, this applies to those who are not sure what they want to go into yet. It sounds like as if you are quite clear on what you care about and if this VCA opportunity fits the bill, I don't see why you should go the same route as others towards MBB.

hello!

VCA is not a bad starting point at all if payments and fintech genuinely interest you, and for your stated goals WLB travel international mobility and interesting work it is actually very well aligned, the idea of MBB or nothing is overrated unless you are explicitly optimizing for pure prestige or fastest generalist training, you will not close doors by doing VCA early and you can still pivot later if you build a strong story and skills, you are using your uni brand just fine by choosing something intentional, happy to discuss more if helpful.

best,
Alessa :)

It sounds like you know what you want but are confused by the noise around you. 

If this feels right to you and is aligned with your goals, then it's perfect. 

I've worked with several candidates for and from Visa and never heard anything bad about the organisation. 

Yes, of course, it's a different working culture than MBB. But what matters more is fit. If it's right for you, then it's right. 

If you want to be really sure about it, have a chat with a few people from your office. The recruiter should be able to put you in touch with them. Do a vibe-check and see if it still fees right. 

Best,
Cristian

I don't think this is limiting you, quite the opposite. It's a good role in a good company.