MBB in Italy: which fits me the best?

Hi,

I work in Milan in MBB and I can tell you that there no much difference from one another in terms of work/life balance. A good life-style project is one that starts at 9am and ends at 9pm. But it is a very good lifestyle, you can also have projects that starts at 9am and end at 3am every day. It can happen and it is very difficult to "avoid" them. You can try, knowing people, being proactive, but there is no guarantee that you'll not be staffed in terrible projects. Thus, if you don't think you can accept this risk and this kind of lifestyle, look elsewhere for your career. The job is demanding also in terms of your life outside work, that's one the reasons why consultants are so well paid :) MBB are great career accelerator, but you have to take into account that a few years of your life are going to be tough.

- Both BCG and McKinsey has a dedicated digital practice, thus I would say both of them. Honestly, don't know about Bain

- I think BCG is bigger than McK, but McK is the most prestigious one. That's why salaries are a bit lower than BCG: the brand is part of the benefit, it's going to open more doors that other's when you want to leave

- The internship is usually 3 months. You are working exactly as a BA, but with a lower salary. Since the process to hire is the same from internship and full-time position, it is highly probable that you'll get an offer for full-time position after the internship.

If you want to know more about life in MBB in Milan send me a message and I'll answer all your questions!

Hi,

I can answer for BCG in Italy, as I was part of the IGT (Italy, Greece, Turkey) system for four years and did several projects in Italy.

In terms of the work-life balance, I am afraid that Italy is one of the most demanding offices in Europe. For instance, I remember that I had to work all weekends, including the last day of the project on a Friday until 10 pm (even though it was my birthday, and I specifically asked to be at my home office).

In terms of digital, BCG has made a significant move in the past few years, thus I am confident that you can be staffed in top profile projects in this space.

Lastly, internships typically last 4-8 weeks, but BCG is usually flexible with this dependent on your schedule and the needs of available projects.

Best,

Deniz

Hi,

I have been working in the BCG office and I did the interviews also for Bain and Mckinsey, where I have many friends. It's really hard to summary the differences between these 3 offices but I will tray to address your points:

• Culture: The working culture is really similar in each office, the customer comes first, no matter what. Mckinsey is maybe still the office where you feel "more exclusive" but probably also the more though for work. Bain and BCG have developed a little "start up" attitude with some small initiatives that make your life better.
• Growing: BCG has been impressively growing in the past years (double digit per year), while McKinsey has slowed down a bit in Italy . Bain has just joined the international network and is in the middle as growth.
• Type of projects: I would say no difference between McK and BCG (there are often teams of both companies for the same client). Bain is doing these kind of projects but also differentiating a bit focusing on small projects (that's why you could experience double staffing even as new hire)

All of them are excellent offices and place to work, but you should try to understand which office is closer to your personality, also looking around and knowing people working there during the interviews. One aspect that you should consider is also the MBA policies, that are quite different between them.
I know that is difficult to understand differences between them from outside, I had really hard time to decide which offer to accept.
Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss more about it, I can share with you which were the drives of my decision and some general insights.

Best,
Luca