McKinsey Hierarchy

Hi there,

This is indeed an interesting question which is probably relevant for quite a lot of users, so I am happy to provide my perspective on it:

• The Junior Associate role was specifically designed for European and African offices' new hires with a Master's degree but without prior work experience (approx. 1 year of work experience). It applies mostly in countries where studies last at least 5 years (i.e. studying Bachelor's and Master's degree is the norm, not the exception).
• The role of the Junior Associate is very similar to the Senior Business Analyst role yet you would still need to be promoted to the Associate role before being promoted to the Engagement Manager role.

In case you want a more detailed discussion on what should be your personal entry position at McKinsey, please feel free to contact me directly.

I hope this helps,

Hagen

Hi there,

It's essentially the “midpoint” between the entry level role (BA) and the consultant-level role (Associate).

It means your path to consultant is accelerated, and yes, it's generally for when you have more qualifications than a BA, but aren't quite ready experience-wise for the Associate role.

Junior Associate is a role offered in lieu of Associate as a post MBA role in some countries. In places like India it is very common. I personally think its an unfair distinction and is just a way for them to pay you less for the same amount of work. The main justification provided is that in some places like India people do an MBA without any work experience so it would not be fair to make them an Associate directly.

Best,

Udayan