An MBA has no impact on making a partner. But if you choose to leave the firm it is one more brand name you can leverage on your resume. Honestly, the value of an MBA is diminishing fast but for people that do not have great names on a resume it is still a good degree to have. At this point you already have good names on your resume so do it for the experience if at all. 

As for visa - I am not sure where you are but in the US you can't do that unless it's a part time MBA. You need to transfer to the F visa as you'll be a full time student. 

Best,

Udayan 

Hi there,

To Do An MBA Or Not

An MBA after making Associate probably won't affect your MBB promotion rate. In fact, it is more likely to slow you down (because you're taking 1-2 years off).

That said, it can be a boost to your resume in general (i.e. when exiting).

Remember an MBA isn't just about career progression. It's also about career expansion, networking, and, if done right, learning. This is all a personal choice that has a number of factors.

MBA Improve Partner Chances

An MBA is not taken into consideration in this decision.

Working vs. Student Visa

My understanding is this would be a student visa, but honestly you should not listen to anyone on this Q&A for this. Find this out from the horse's mouth! Literally just directly ask HR at your company!

Hi there,

Not a bad place to be in - I did a self-funded MBA at a top school and really wish MBB had paid for it …

• I was wondering if it would be possible (or in fact beneficial) to pursue an MBA (with MBB sponsorship) 1 year after being promoted to an associate (i.e. expert solution associate). Or even possibly after being promoted to an EM (i.e. Expert). There isn't a good or bad time from an MBB career perspective. If you get the chance to do a sponsored MBA and would like to do one, go for it! I had a few MBB consultants in my MBA cohort and they loved having a break, which it ultimately was for them.
•  Would such a move make sense from a self-development and CV-boosting point of view? Of course it would! In particular for specialists such as yourself (or myself at the time) there’s going to be a steep learning curve, which is different to working in MBB and will complement your existing toolkit nicely. Again, if you were self-funded I’d be more critical about the ROI. However, if you’re getting a free ride I say go for it!
• Also, does an MBA improve the chances of being elected to a Partner (when that time comes around)? Is the fact that having an MBA taken into consideration? No, doesn’t matter. What matters is the amount of business you’re generating and the leadership you’re providing, among other things. Very few people get to this point and any firm would be ill advised to deny someone the chance to become Partner if they have what it takes but no MBA certificate to slap on their wall.
• Finally, assuming that I choose to enroll in an MBA program that is in the same country as my base office, is it possible to remain on the working visa which is sponsored by the MBB, or do I need to transfer to a student visa during my time at the MBA program? We have no way of knowing because this is a specialist area and depends on your particular case. That being said, student visas are generally easier to get than work visas so I’m not sure you’d have any problem if you had to switch for some time (even though I understand that this would be a deal breaker so let’s hope there’s another solution)

Hope this helps a bit. Best of luck!

Hi there,

From my point of view it makes little sense to pursue an MBA once you're an Associate and even more so past that point. If you're in MBB that's a sufficiently big brand without having to do an MBA. And if you're planning on staying in consulting, the actual work experience will be worth more than the MBA. 

Best,

Cristian

Hello,

To answer your questions:

People go on to pursue MBAs at many different points in their career trajectory. Whether you ultimately want to do one is a personal decision, but a program at a top school can certainly look good on your resume and accelerate your career path. 

Regarding partnership election, I don't have direct experience with this, but I'm pretty sure that (at McKinsey at the very least) it has no impact on how likely you are to make partner.

I can answer the visa question for the US: if the MBA program is in the US, you will need to be on a student visa. You cannot remain on a work visa.