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[Career Advise] Consulting career road map

BCG Career Advise consulting McKinsey
Recent activity on Oct 29, 2018
4 Answers
2.4 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Oct 27, 2018

Hi everyone,

I would like to ask whether I should go for consulting with Big 4 firm to get strong enough and apply for M2B or should I start as a financial analyst in industrial firm (such as FMCG, retail - higher salary than Big 4) and apply for M2B later

Thanks for your support

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Benjamin
Expert
replied on Oct 29, 2018
ex-Manager - Natural and challenging teacher - Taylor case solving, no framework

Hi,

Both will give you opportunities to apply later for MBB.
Therefore I would recommand to make this choice based on you current preferences and not the perspective of joining MBB later on, for which you have no garanty of success.

Best
Benjamin

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Anonymous replied on Oct 28, 2018

I agree that you should choose a career path that makes you happy and that you are excited about. Going the MBB route will do 3 things:

1) Give you more exposure: At an MBB firm, you will work on a diverse set of projects that involve different types of problems in different industries, thus broadening your exposure

2) Accelerate your learning: I always used to tell candidates that you learn in "dog years" because you truly do learn at a much faster pace in consulting than in almost any other field

3) Receive a great deal of mentorship: Mentorship at the MBB firms is a core value and is a way to quickly understand areas where you need to work on to get better. You don't usually receive that in other settings

Hope that helps!

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Guennael
Expert
replied on Oct 28, 2018
Ex-MBB, Experienced Hire; I will teach you not only the how, but also the why of case interviews

Doing something on the hope of snatching an MBB offer later on is ok,but remember the odds are low. Make sure you also select a career that will make you happy. Ultimately, how well you do will matter more than 'what' you do

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Oct 27, 2018
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

Both options are equally good to make a career switch to MBB. However, it's important to have a broad experience to tell the interviewer about. The chances of getting a diverse experience are higher with a Big 4 Firm.

Best

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