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Consultant position in MBB Vs Senior position at EY-Parthenon

Bain BCG BostonConsultingGroup EY eyparthenon MBB McKinsey Parthenon
New answer on Sep 30, 2021
7 Answers
3.8 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Sep 24, 2020

Hi everyone,

I am an experienced professional who already worked as a Consultant in an MBB. As I am currently looking to change geography (transfer to currently possible with my firm), I started looking for other options. Among the ones I have are:

  • Join one of the two other MBBs (have offer for both of them) at the same level (Senior Consultant)
  • Join EY-Parthenon for a more senior position (Sr. Manager or Director)

Which one would be more interesting for me: keep learning and hopefully fast track in another MBB or climb the ladder quickly in EY-P. I would see your help in evaluating both options both on the career development stand point and on potential exit opportunities in 4-5 years.

Many thanks!

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Best answer
Udayan
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Sep 24, 2020
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /12 years recruiting experience

While I do not know your personal circumstances, from a purely objective lens MBB is way more valuable than EY. There is a reason people want to get into MBB vs Tier 2 and as you probably know, the exit opportunities are much better with MBB.

In terms of career growth, from what I know it is a lot more defined at MBB - the routes are clear and there are set goals to achieve to get there. Once you get to AP of course making partner is more about networking etc. However in EY I have seen this is not always the case and a lot more politics is involved.

All the best,

Udayan

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Ian
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replied on Sep 24, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there,

What a great choice to have!

Given you already have the MBB name, I do think moving up the later is quite appealing. You've done your time, so to speak (assuming you've been at MBB at least 1.5 years) so now you can reap the rewards.

That being said, no-one here can tell you where you will be more fulfilled. You need to think about the people/cultures at these companies AND the type of work you'll be doing. Really self-reflect to see where you think you'll be happy/pushed/engaged and go there!

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Clara
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replied on Sep 25, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

It´s difficult to give you a good advise without knowing your personal circumpstances and the whole picture.

Furthermore, it´s a good problem to have, so congrats in any case.

Only thinking about career, I would 100% stay within MBB. No-brainer. In terms of career projection, it has no comparaison.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

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Francesco
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replied on Sep 25, 2020
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.500+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ interviewoffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi there,

Congrats on your offers, that’s a great achievement.

The answer depends on your goals. Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

I would then proceed backward from there. MBB will open more doors, but you will lose at least 3-4 years compared to EYP in terms of seniority. That’s the main trade-off you have to consider.

Once you have clearly defined where you want to go, choosing the right path should not be too difficult.

Best,

Francesco

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Robert
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replied on Sep 26, 2020
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Anonymous,

All other factors being equal, MBB career trajectory is by far stronger than EY.

It has downsides as well though - you need to make an informed decision based on your overall life circumstances, in which career might not be the only component to consider.

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind to give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

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Anonymous replied on Sep 28, 2020

Dear A,

Congratulations to your offers! That's great!

Regarding your choice, I wouldn't give advice just out of the blue without knowing your personal situation and your goals (where do you see yourself in 5 years).

On the one hand MBB brand opens many doors for your, on the other - it will take few years to et to the senior position.

Hope it helps,

Best,
André

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Pedro
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replied on Sep 30, 2021
30% off in April 2024 | Bain | EY-Parthenon | Roland Berger | Market Sizing | DARDEN MBA

EY-Parthenon structures its career path in a similar way to MBB (well, actually has one more level between Principal/Director and Partner). 

I don't find very appealing to go down a couple of ranks in your situation:

  1. You already have MBB on your CV
  2. What you don't have is the Sr. Manager / Director role, and you may not be able to get it at MBB

So if you join EY-P you will have a strong CV right away, while it is not clear whether you will be able to get the same CV if you go the other way around (sometimes at MBB the bar is higher for external hires vs. internal ranks when considering promotion to manager rank).

So since you have the Director rank + MBB brand name, you may have better exit opportunities and earlier on.

I could understand your doubt if it was between Manager at MBB or Senior Manager/Director at EY-P. But in this case the answer seems quite obvious to me.

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Udayan gave the best answer

Udayan

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Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /12 years recruiting experience
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