What is the difference between a senior associate and a consultant in BCG/Bain?

Hello, 

A senior associate is a level in between Associate (entry level / from undergrad) & Consultant (post-MBA). 

At BCG it is rarely a title you would go through the normal process, but typically a title given to Experienced Hires that join from industry as a way to recognize experience (and not make you start from the bottom). 

Typically the promotion path is 1 year to make it to Consultant from a Snr Associate Position. 

Hope that helps, happy to chat more about it. 

Nicolas 

Hi there,

There is not a huge difference to be honest. A Senior associate is going to be 1-2 years away from a consultant.

The more senior you get, the more you are tasked with driving client engagements/presentations, managing your own module of work, etc. Essentially, as you progress you have more autonomy, less oversight, and more responsibility particularly in the strategic thinking + client management/comms side (but still a lot of powerpoint!)

Hello,

The core responsibilities and skills are broadly similar between the two roles, however more would be expected of a consultant given the fact that they have more experience. For instance, a consultant will likely be given more independence in running their workstream, have more of a forward-facing role with clients, be tasked with mentoring more junior colleagues, and so on. A senior associate will be expected to be reaching up to those roles too, but will generally have less expected of them.

Hi there, 

you are not leading projects yet but the difference is that as a Senior associate you will still work mostly alone, often supporting a consultant on his/her streams, you may also be taking care of a summer associate. 

As a consultant you often take care of Associates and you are responsible for a whole module in the project, support greatly the project leader and you are more exposed to the client interactions. 

Lucie

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