Is MBB the gold ticket?

Hello!

I had never seen it referred as a gold ticket, but it´s a good one ;)

It totally depends. 

It´s true that is a true career accelerator, this without doubt. It teaches you so fast -perhaps because you need it to survive-, but it´s also true that is at expense of many things (e.g., your health, in many ocasions). 

It is also great for networking, since you meet wonderufl people very well connected. Not to mention that you make true and lovely friendships. 

Finally, it´s true that it´s a stamp in your CV that is not perishable, so something worth investing in probably. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara 

Hi Anonymous,

I still believe that consulting is the job in which you learn most in the shortest period of time in a systematical way. You acquire skills which carry you a long way afterwards, no matter what you will want to do, and especially MBB is a door-opener and fast-track to higher management positions in industry.

However, there is no one-size-fits-all here - there are also many downsides. The important point here is to make an informed decision for yourself.

Hope this helps - if so, please give it a thumbs-up with the upvote button below!

Robert

Hi there,

No it is not and neither is any particular industry or job. There isn't a one size fits all. Its all about finding a job and industry that fits with you and in which you can be your best and joyful. This may take a few years to figure out and will certainly involve risks. Success becomes your slave then and work is effortless. Very few people are lucky enough to land their FIT early on. Most just become slaves to the circumstances, become entangled and then work super hard to escape (after making a lot of money of course). Unfortunately, too many of us get into a job for the wrong reasons and MBB/Finance have become very glorified and glamorous.

They are certainly very sought after careers and for good reasons. You learn a LOT very quickly, stretch yourself and become materialistically successful. 

Another argument is- Go big or go home. If you are looking for pace and intensity in your career then MBB, Investment Banking, PE, SaaS etc are certainly fantastic places to be. Whether this will bring you genuine joy and happiness, thats questionable. But if you FIT then it will be a dream!

Cheers!

Hi,

It really depends on the country. In the US the market is so mature that consulting does not really give you exceptional opportunities. Moreover, most of the industries in the US are looking for narrow specialists, not generalists.

In the developing countries MBB is still a big thin and yo can get an amazing job post MBB

Best

Hi there,

Consulting and investing banking are great if you don’t know exactly what you want to do and want to keep doors open. The salary is good and the brand in top companies like MBB is great for whatever you want to do after.

Once you know what you really want to do, a great way to achieve a very good lifestyle is to found your own company in a niche and work for yourself. The sooner you realize what is your niche, the better. To me, life became exponential better after I stopped working for someone (although being an entrepreneur can be quite stressful, in particular if you raise money).

For more on that I suggest you read The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch (one of the founders of LEK and former BCG and Bain). The real success of Koch came after selling his shares in LEK, stop working like crazy and becoming a private investor under his own terms. It has some great tips on lifestyle design and living a life based on what is truly important to you.

Best,

Francesco

It's not a gold ticket, but can be a great stepping stone if you are aiming for specific positions.

Generally, a background at MBB is very attractive for working in strategic/management positions of many industries. In addition, you'll get promoted quite quick in your career and it feels like a very steep learning curve. Overall, consulting is probably a pretty predicatble and low risk career accelerator. 

However, it fully depends on what you want to achieve, and other industries offer different trajectories and different risk profiles. E.g. if you want to get ridiculously rich, consulting is probably not the right industry. Tech offers higher rewards if you bet on the right horse - so an entirely different risk/reward profile.

It totally depends on the industry!

The Federal Reserve Bank of the US is the golden ticket for an Economic Policy career.

Harvard and Yale are the golden tickets for a career in Academia

Amazon and Google are the golden tickets for a career in Tech

Broadway is the golden ticket for performance.

Is MBB the golden ticket for strategy consulting? Yes!

For Academia, Research, Public Policy, Arts, Politics, etc.? Absoolutely not.

Hi there!
It`s not a golden ticket, but it`s a great sphere to build a good career, make useful contacts, and develop a lot of skills. It definitely depends on the person, somebody can reach huge success, somebody, not because he doesn`t enjoy the process and doesn`t see the ways for improvements.  So think about how you feel about it!
All the best
GB