Better university brand in CV (recently joined Accenture S&C)

Question

Dear all,

I joined Accenture Strategy & Consulting practice 1.5 years ago. I am focusing mainly on IT strategic and transformation activities (e.g., IT operating model, as is maturity assessment) and got recently promoted from Analyst to Consult level.

While I am happy with my current situation, I blame myself that I do not have strong university brand in my CV. Unfortunately, my resume is not quite straight forward. I dropped out of two studies and only after that I realized that I have to do much more as well as I have to focus on my strengths. Currently I have the following education background:

- Bachelor & Master from German Hochschule in field of Information System (good Hochschule but not internationally ranked)

- Master from foreign University (Rank 600-800 World University) in field of Business Administration)

While I like my job and can imagine to aim for the next level (manager) I have been thinking about studying for another year for a while, especially to get a better university brand on my CV. I recently looked out for MBA programs, and I am not really sure about the costs. Especially, I need a good reason / business case to justify the costs.

Are there some alternatives to an MBA program when I still want to work in the IT consulting field? I also thought about Mini MBA programs (e.g., LSE) but not really sure about the added value.
When is a good timing for an additional study? Soon or better wait to get promoted to manager level?

Thank you and best regards!

Answer 1

Hi Benjamin,

1) Are there some alternatives to an MBA program when I still want to work in the IT consulting field?

It depends on how you want to use the MBA. If it is just for brand name / networking with alumni, then an MBA from a top school is probably the best option to strengthen your CV. If there are other goals, there might be alternatives.

2) When is a good timing for an additional study? Soon or better wait to get promoted to manager level?

Again, it depends on the goal. If you want to use the MBA to sustain the move to another consulting company (eg MBB), I would recommend to do it now, as you can then join the other company earlier on. Please consider that you could also apply now without MBA but most likely they will offer an analyst position while with the MBA you could join as Associate (McK) or Consultant (BCG, Bain).

If the goal is different, the timeline could be different. Please consider that the opportunity cost to do an MBA increases the older you get.

Good luck!

Francesco

Answer 2

Hi there,

An MBA is the highest % chance way of getting into MBB and other strategy consulting firms. An MBA is also an excellent way of building brand, network etc.

An alternative to the MBA would be a different master's program or similar accreditation.

MBA is not an appropriate path to pursue if you want to work in IT consulting. Rather, just building up your career, getting promoted, etc. is likely your best bet.

When, whenre, how and if you should do additional study is a deeply personal question that you should consider a career coach for (it's like asking a financial advisor with ETF you should invest your $ in…it depends and takes dedicated time/expertise to advise on!)

Answer 3

I'm aligned with Ian here: MBA good if you want to get into MBB, but not good value for money (or value for effort) option if you want to continue in the IT field.

Unfortunately, don't know of a good alternative to suggest given your objectives.