Thanks for raising! Yes, all these Tier 1, Tier 2 etc classifications are just BS. Its doesn't matter. 

Not every firm is great for you and neither are you great for every firm. The mutual FIT matters. And once you get that FIT you fly, enjoy the work and make a tangible positive impact on everything around you.

I know some people in my network who are miserable at MBB and some who are loving working for a Boutique. Its all relative.

All the best.

Good one! Generally speaking, it´s the market that sets the rules of the game - irrespective of our personal convictions.

Often you´ll see job ads for generalist roles (Business Developers, Corporate Strategy, etc.) seeking people with Tier 1 consulting experience. That´s just the way it is and whether it makes sense or it´s fair or whatever - it doesn´t matter.

Hence, it´s imperative to consider what the next step after consulting should be and what consulting role sets you up for success. That is because it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY, statistically speaking, that anyone will join consulting as a long term career.

Yes, it's crazy. I've been in all possible angles of the equation (MBB, Tier 2, Big4, Corporate Strategy, Boutique, Client-side).

And I can tell you I've seen it all. Of course, the consistency on the quality of MBB (quality of projects and people), breadth of offering and geographical reach is what makes those firms stand out. They will have a specialist for every topic and every location. And their quality will be highly consistent.

Others are not necessarily worse, but may be smaller, focus on less industries, or be a bit more inconsistent across offices. Some just didn't have the time to get there.

When I started at Roland Berger I met people of the highest calibre, great partners and top-notch strategy work and clients (in my country Roland Berger was Top3).

When I launching EY-Parthenon office, many of my clients would comment that project quality was in line with MBB (and some of those clients were MBB alumns), sometimes even higher. On the other hand, I had just left one of the MBB for that role… so it is not surprising that I was performing at MBB level…

So to be honest, this is like the Olympics. The difference between #1 and #4 is smaller than 1%. It's very small. But in the end, despite the small difference in performance, one takes the medal and the other doesn't.