MBA with an engineering background - little experience

Question

hello!

im a mechanical engineer with 2 years of experience, currently pursuing an MBA in the US.

my question is, is my low experience level a hindrance to getting a case interview with big consulting firms? I'm only applying to entry level jobs, where experience is not necessary and its said that its probably better if i have no experience at all.

any insights on this matter would help, and your advice is appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi Zeid,

2 years of experience + an MBA is great to enter in MBB with a non-entry level position ("junior associate"/"associate" in McKinsey, "consultant" in BCG and Bain).

Moreover, you can find multiple paths suitable for your background (maybe in your case operations and implementation). Here you can find post MBA paths available in McK: https://www.mckinsey.com/careers/students

Best,

Antonello

Answer 2

Hi Zeid,

2 years of experience plus an MBA would be sufficient to be considered for an Associate (McKinsey) and Consultant (BCG and Bain) position. As mentioned by Vlad it would be useful to obtain a referral for your applications. You can find more on referrals here: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/hey-everyonehope-all-is-well-3176

Hope this helps,
Francesco

Answer 3

Hi,

Absolutely not! Your experience is more than enough. There is another problem:

Non-MBB firms will be happy to invite you
For MBB firms, the prestige of an MBA is important. While they hire in all schools, most candidates are hired from the top3 schools, while the other school have intense competition

What you can do is get a referral either from a current employee or one of your classmates who is the former MBB employee and can put you in a list of the on-campus recruiter

Best

Answer 4

Dear Zeid,

I can tell you my experience.

I also have a background in engineering, but right after my gradution I've applied at McKinsey as Business Analyst without any prevous working experience. After almost 3y as Business Analyst, I have been sponsored for an MBA that guarantee my Associate level.

Your case: 2 year of experience + MBA should allow you to apply for example at McKinsey not only at entry level, but directly at Associate level. What need to be assesed are your hard skills (data reading/performance evaluation/sensitivity analysis) and soft skills (management/leadership/autonomy), that are required at Associate level. Happy to deep-dive on this if you are interested.

Hope it helps. :)

Giulia

Answer 5

Hello!

It would depend a bit on the MBA you are doing.

However, overall yes. The more experience, the better chances.

Good luck!