Hello all,
Recently received offers from the subject firms. The particulars of the offers (salary, bonus, location) are close enough that they cease being a point of comparison.I think I fit the culture at Deloitte more, but I haven't had a negative experience getting to know BCGers. Am I crazy for even taking time to think about this, or is BCG simply the way to go?
I know Deloitte has the edge in implementation and is poised to grow into the disruption that's expected in the consulting energy, but BCG is still doing great work and seeing double digit growth. What are the odds that Deloitte surpasses BCG? More importantly, what are the odds they do so in the next 10 years where it will affect me directly?
I would appreciate any feedback you guys have, either through this medium or PM.
BCG has better exit ops, only ~10% of people make it to partner, so I wouldn't worry much about the industry changes a decade away.
The odds are extremely low that Deloitte will surpass BCG in prestige, exit ops, or quality of case any time soon (1-20 years). Implementations, though profitable, are neither interesting nor impressive
Implementations are boring as shit. Most mind-numbing case I've had thus far. Take BCG if everything is equivalent relatively equivalent.
BCG seems like a no brainer to me.
lol at this question
It is a no brainer, BCG. That said the fact you are asking that question may be an indicator of what the new talent truly thinks. I am very surprised you asked, but that's a worrying sign for BCG, or a good sign for Deloitte
I think the fact that this question was raised is more a sign of OP's unfamiliarity with the industry than any shift in the tides; anyone informed enough about an industry to sniff out a major shift like the described above wouldn't need to ask a message board of strangers for advice
For what it's worth, a friend of mine who interned at Deloitte last summer mentioned that the full-timers he worked with made several disparaging remarks about BCG in particular.
Thank you all for your replies; the general tone supports my initial inclination, but I've had an excellent experience with Deloitte through my process so I wanted to get some unbiased advice as a spot check. My question could either be a sign of particularly skilled recruiting by Deloitte, or the relative lack of engagement with BCG (despite the offer). That's not a knock on BCGs recruiting process in my area, just the way things turned out.
It makes sense, as Deloitte doesn't have the prestige advantage of BCG and thus would need to work harder to snipe off candidates who are considering M/B/B. I don't really have access to anyone knowledgeable who doesn't have an agenda, so I'm glad this resource exists. I'll continue the events planned up through the deadlines, but I'll likely go BCG unless something major pops up.
As far as my question representing what the new talent thinks, all of my peers quickly answer BCG as well. The opinion of Deloitte is very, very high, but there is still a gap. I'm fortunate to have a choice, and I'm doing what I can to give the decision the respect it deserves.
Thanks again everyone!
Worked in a top group at Deloitte and it was likely the least enjoyable experience of any place Ive worked. Also, it is absolutely insane to consider Deloitte over BCG, they are quite literally not in the same league. Working with a bunch of BCG folks now and can attest that they are 100x smarter and more impressive individuals than myself.
Also for you reference, your compensation might seem relatively close now (most Big 4 are trying to increase their starting salary to stay competitive) but the different in pay gets much bigger 2 years down the line.
Obviously money isnt everything, but its not safe to assume that since theyre both in par now that it will stay that way. BCG has much more upside.
On a career development side, BCG has much more opportunity to gain broad experiences, and they have a strong network and foundation to help you on your next career move.
As @"Hugo Stiglitz" mentioned; Big 4 comp will be identical as a BA but once you reach the FY Consultant level the difference is much larger and will continue to grow as you move up the ranks.
I'd accept BCG for the following reasons: clients, brand, type of MC assignments, future salary, exit ops, alumni network.
Deloitte does a lot of the same stuff BCG does (e.g., strategy), but Deloitte also does a ton of undesirable things (e.g., implementations, PMO, everything related to the Affordable Care Act, everything related to Dodd Frank). So, while it's possible to have comparative case/project experiences between the firms, it will generally take more networking, reputation building, dodging bad projects, luck, and patience to work in your areas of interest at Deloitte.
These days, BCG (and McK and Bain) also do plenty of implementation/PMO work. One of my best friends works at BCG, and 3 out of his 4 cases have been post-merger integration.
That said, BCG unquestionably sets you up for more optionality down the line.
BCG has at least 4-5x as much "wow" factor on a resume than Deloitte.
Let's make this question more interesting, since everyone agrees that BCG > Deloitte. What if this was a post-MBA position, and Deloitte was offering to pay for 2nd year of the MBA (50k)? Would you still take BCG over Deloitte + 50k if your exit plan was a F500 biz dev position after 2 years or so?
@mba_consultant, that's a great question.
With your stated goal of F500, I think it's an easy choice to pick MBB. $50K is about 1/3 of a year of post-MBA consulting comp. If you plan to work for ~30 years after MBA, then depending on salary growth and discount rate that $50K will be 1-2% of your lifetime earnings. In the long term, that brand name alone will easily provide the boost.
If your goal were to do a start-up after 2 years, then that 50K might give you freedoms you wouldn't otherwise have, so it's a closer call. Similarly, if you think that you might leave corporate life soon-ish (to raise kids, do a nonprofit, whatever) then it might be tempting.
To OP, congrats on both offers! Just to add my two cents: having jumped from Deloitte to BCG, I can say that BCG > Deloitte in every dimension - culture, pay, project work, career progression, staffing transparency, etc. I've seen both firms on the inside, and trust me, choose BCG and never look back.
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