ZestyQuokka

Getting into Management Consulting

I am very fascinated by Management Consulting and been speaking with ex consultants. All of them are critical of it, but agree the money is good 🤤

Need advice

Do these companies take lateral hires? I have seen only IIM candidates freshly graduated being taken in I'm not IIM, but MBA with 6 years of work ex
MBB have shittiest WLB and highest money. Which comes down as per tier. Which is the best tier to get into, so I have best of both worlds (less shitty WLB with lesser money)

18mo ago

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GroovyBoba

X (formerly Twitter)18mo

Who the f is saying the money is good? I see freshly minted kids from college making more at Faang and good startups working a third of the hours consultants work for.

MagicalHamster

Stealth18mo

Not true Sure post undergrad their salaries start at 16-18LPA which is not super high. But progression is much much better than any FAANG/Startup/Tech role along with stability.

I know of a friend who has gone from 35LPA post MBA to 60LPA within 2 years

The bull market (of 2021) may have made consulting salaries seem less attractive. But we're back to normalcy now and thats how it is

GroovyBoba

X (formerly Twitter)18mo

I agree with your points man and thanks for all your great replies across different threads.
But the point about freshers engineering salaries in tier 1 still stands. 2yrs after MBA means 4 years in total and I have seen tons of people from tech pull in ~60 at 4 yrs experience and this does not even account remote roles in foreign startups and HFTs where salaries start at 60-80lpa.

MagicalHamster

Stealth18mo

Yep, post MBA is the most common track. They take laterals from other consulting funds (MBB, even PWC, Accenture if you have expertise in a specific space).
Bain has better WLB than McK and BCG (a big no no in WLB). But even Bain has long working hours on weekdays.

ZestyQuokka

Stealth18mo

But do they hire laterally from non consulting?
Not asking fro industry leaders/experts role

MagicalHamster

Stealth18mo

If you can tell me roughly what industry you're from, I could check with my friends

JumpyUnicorn

Stealth18mo

they don't hire lateral hires. fresh minted mba or iit or top ug only. if u are in tech then its possible, but again u might not be as valuable as management consultant

WigglyNoodle

Amazon18mo

This isn't true at all. Know a bunch of folks making into MBBs as lateral hires. My wife recently moved to an MBB after 10 years of work ex (IIM MBA); although in all fairness I have seen folks without top tier MBA getting into MBBs too

JumpyUnicorn

Stealth18mo

U mean a software engineer without mba can move into consulting later at mbb?

FluffyKoala

Google18mo

Don't come to consulting if you aren't ready to sacrifice WLB

SleepyBanana

Stealth18mo

Si amigo! Move to consulting if you want work to be your life and of course money to splurge on things you don’t need :)

SquishyWaffle

Stealth18mo

My 2 cents:

Proper management consulting (which fascinates us all) is mostly at MBBs only. As you go down the tiers, the quality of clients reduces which in-turn reduces your pay and benefits.
Brand names on your CV are the only way to get in at entry level in India. This can be tags at a UG level (IIT), PG (IIM/ISB) or 1-2 years of Analyst experience at tier 2 consulting/top tech/quant firms.
For mid career folks, one way could be to land a consulting role at tier 2 or tier 3 firms and move to their US office. From there, you can network your way to an MBB interview as the competition is comparatively easier (I could be wrong though)
You cannot expect WLB in initial years of top-tier consulting (until you reach Principal title). It’s just not possible as you have to travel on Mondays to client site and return on Thursdays with working from base office/home on Fridays. It’s very hectic, hence the high attrition after 2-3 years. Most people only want the tag as it makes your CV standout in whatever it is that you want to pursue next.

GroovyMarshmallow

Stealth18mo

Which is considered a tier 2 consulting firm. I'm really interested to get into it. I have 10 years of work ex

FloatingMarshmallow

Student18mo

Kearney, Accenture Strategy, EY Parthenon, Strategy&, A&M etc.

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