Hi all!
What is the standard career path for a top consulting firm such as McKinsey or BCG?
Hi all!
What is the standard career path for a top consulting firm such as McKinsey or BCG?
expert
Expert with best answer
MBB Career Path
6 answers
Hello!
McKinsey
- Analyst
- Associate
- Engagement Manager
- Associate Partner
- Partner
* From BA to associate is when you do the MBA
*You also have "intermediate figures" such as JEM -Junior Engagement Manager-, etc.
BCG
- Associate
- Consultant
- Project Leader
- Principal
- Partner
Bain
- Associate Consultant
- Consultant
- Case Team Leader/Manager
- Principal
- Partner
Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Clara
Hi!
The general career progression on the generalist consulting track is almost identical across the three MBB firms. Here is a structured description of the levels:
Level I
McKinsey – "Business Analyst" (BA) [or "(Junior) Fellow" in some markets like Germany)
BCG – “Associate”
Bain – “Associate Consultant” (AC)
Description: First two years out of undergraduate degree.
Level II
McKinsey – “Associate” (ASC)
BCG – “Consultant”
Bain – “Consultant”
Description: first post graduate school role (but with roughly 10–30% as direct promotes from Level I across firms).
Level II b
McKinsey – “Junior Engagement Manager” (JEM)
BCG – “Senior Consultant” / ”Acting PL”
Bain – “Case Team Leader” (CTL)
Description: third year after grad school and bridge to Project Manager role. Not a “formal” promotion at the firms, but definitely a precursor for promotion/designation.
Level III
McKinsey – “Engagement Manager” (EM)
BCG – “Project Leader” (PL)
Bain – “Manager”
Description: 3–7 years after grad school and responsible for day-to-day oversight of teams and main contact for client project leader. This is a formal promotion and a significant career turning point at either firm. Reaching Level III sort of proves full mastery of the general consulting toolkit in MBB quality, including team management and operational client management.
Level IV
McKinsey – “Associate Partner” (AP) (formerly called "Associate Principal")
BCG – “Principal”
Bain – “Principal/Senior Manager”
Description: after 2–4 years as a Project Manager (Level III), signals greater focus on relationship management and commercial skills. Time is split across several teams to give content and context guidance. Partner case is built.
Level V
McKinsey – “Partner”
BCG – “Partner”
Bain – “Partner”
Description: on average 6–8 years after grad school. Highly engineered, formal promotion process involving a committee decision with broad spectrum of Partners from multiple global offices with stringent interviews and performance documentation process.
Level VI
McKinsey – “Senior Partner” (formerly called "Director")
BCG – “Senior Partner”
Bain – “Senior Partner”
Description: effectively, Partners with tenure. Exact mechanics are a little vague, but generally Partners with 4+ years experience in the role with a consistent track record of client impact, commercial success, and meaningful IP development.
Cheers, Sidi
(edited)
It usually consists in 5 positions, 2-3 years each, up or out policy. You start as an analyst (graduates with no experience), then you move to associate (you can join MBB directly as an associate if you have 3+ years of exp.). Then there is the manager position, when you start to lead teams of analysts and associates. Then you can become a principal and you start to lead a client with multiple internal teams. Finally, you can get the partnership of the firm, with multiple clients and shares of the company
Best,
Antonello
Hi,
I believe you can easily google it or search for it on the consulting websites. That's one of the basic consulting skills and basic skills for life in general:)
Best
(edited)
Hi there,
This is a nice view of the ranks, pay, and responsibilities :)
McKinsey career progression: Business Analyst (2 years after BSc/MSc) > MBA (a small % of consultants go from BA direct to Associate)> Associate (~2 years but you can perform Junior EM after a couple of projects as Associate) > Engagement Manager (2 years) > Associate Partner > Partner > Senior Partner
The transition from AP to Partner and then to Senior Partner can take more than 2 years for each promotion given performance, office needs, etc.
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