Hi!

Sorry to hear about your situation, but it sounds like have a lot of options. 

I won't tell you what to pick (for obvious reasons), but I do want to highlight that ‘keeping up with your MBB peers’ is unlikely to lead anywhere happy. 

It rather sounds like what you need now is clarity. 

Specifically, clarity in terms of what your goal is. 

Once you have that goal in mind of who you want to be and what you want to achieve, you can start assessing which of these avenues best contributes to this vision. 

To gain clarity, you need space. So take a few days off, go for a walk, take your mind off it and let things settle a bit. 

But by all means, don't be desperate about the situation. I wasn't kicked out, so I don't know what it feels like. But I do know from your description that you're young, at the start of your career, and everybody that is in front of you is an opportunity. Try to embrace these opportunities, rather than to anxiously weight them countless times. 

Good luck!
Cristian

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First things first - MANY people are getting laid off and when that happens future employers will completely understand (like they do with covid related employment issues).

You have some truly amazing options to move forward and not many people have that so congratulations! In terms of how to decide, here is what I would suggest

Have a framework for making the best decision for you

1. Think about where you want to end up in the next 2-5 yrs. For example you may want to do an MBA from a top 10 program in which case a role at the well known tech company might be better than the one at a local tech company
2. Solve for where you will be most valued for who you are - Most people go to roles for title and money. Both are important but cannot sustain happiness levels. What does sustain is being part of a culture that values you and is happy to have you there
3. Go with your instincts - we all spend ages analyzing all pieces of information to make the best decision. That is important and you should do it. Ultimately though, you cannot rely on data to make all decisions as we are not robots - trust your gut and you are likely to end up where you will be valued.

A lot of people are going through a challenging time in consulting now given the changing dynamics of the global economy. All the global uncertainty is creating an environment where clients do not want to spend money on projects and firms cannot sustain their cost basis. This is out of your control. You are doing the best thing by focusing on your next career move. I wish you all the best!

Udayan

Hey,

Last but not least, I tend to believe I really have some problems with my technical skills (excel modeling etc.), making me less confident to stretch myself in new roles.

From what I gather from your post, your problem is not your technical skills, but low self-esteem. I suggest you try therapy. I'm myself 3rd year into it and it has helped me tremendously in all areas of life. 

Good luck,
Nick