I have a Master of Science degree in Computer Engineering from a non-target school (top 40) with a GPA of 3.71. No full time experience (4 years Bachelor's in Engineering + 1.5 years Master of Science) (but good EC and a couple internships in tech industries) I am confused between 2 possible career paths at the moment-
1. Should I join a boutique consulting firm (~900 employees, $50M-$100M revenue) as an Associate and make a switch to MBB/Tier-2 within 2-3 years? (95% of their clients are pharma companies)
2. Should I join a mid-size product company (~220 employees, $10M-$25M revenue) as a Software engineer and make a switch to MBB/Tier-2 within 2-3 years? (I would like to explore strategic/management consulting and not just be a tech consultant if I make a switch)
What are your thoughts on both these scenarios? Is an MBA the only option for a Software engineer (with MS degree + 2-3 years exp) to break into consuling?
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Hi Vlad, thanks for responding. The transition from Software Engineer to Product Manager role might take about 5 years or more. Will it be too late to make a switch to MBB/Tier-2 firms then? Or should we try doing an MBA after 3-4 years of experience as a Software engineer and then make a switch?
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