First Year at Bain- Q&A
At Bain a couple months now and figured I'd do a Q&A while I still remember college.
So, ask away. Please keep it civilized.
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Are you happy?
No. The work is mind numbing. A high school student could do what myself and other members of my class are doing. I am already looking to exit. I am currently considering going back to grad school. for a MFE or a masters in Nuclear/AeroSpace Engineering.
Do you want to study nuke engineering so that you can work in a nuke plant somewhere? If so, I guarantee it'll be far more tedious and mind-numbing than any consulting job you might ever get (I work at a conventional plant, but my two closest friends at work came from our nearby nuclear plant -- their stories are painful to hear. They do the same boring, soul-destroying work that we do in conventional plants except they have to actually work all day long). I would do just about anything for the chance at a career restart (I'll be applying to a few MBA programs this year most likely, we'll see how that goes).
At this point in your life, I'd only recommend a restart if you truly and honestly love engineering work (you're obviously pretty damn pedigreed and/or smart enough to get an MBB-from-undergrad gig).
Are people you started with happy? What about the class above you? Does it sound like there are interesting projects going on?
I assume you are at Bain & Company, not Bain Capital - is that right? I could never do consulting.
in terms of questions...
what do you do on a day to day basis? how involved do you (a 1st year) get involved with a company that has hired Bain in terms of operational work or speaking to employees etc? why do you find the work mind-numbing/boring? sorry if these are stupid questions...i know what consultant do on a big picture but i dont know how that work is structured and broken up to junior employees and what junior guys do
thanks!
Basically all day I am interviewing employees, writing their responses into a report format. I am on a somewhat large engagement right now (F50 company). I am hoping that it gets better during the next engagement, my EM is a complete asswipe. Hopefully this is just a case of being new and having a shitty EM.
Have you noticed any significant differences in culture, projects, work place morale, etc, at McKinsey or BCG compared to Bain? I'm assuming you have friends at the other consulting shops, since you came in through undergrad.
Are the people that work there down-to-earth? From what I have read, it seems that Bain has the most outgoing employees.
Out of all the places I interviewed, McK, BCG, and Bain, Bain has the most down to earth people. They aren't full of themselves. Overall its a great place to work. I'm just on a shitty engagement right now.
Bain focuses a lot of PE and financial services. Most of my buddies from UG went IB/S&T but all the kids that went to McK from my UG are overachieving, full of themselves, and the kind of kids you just want to punch. Can't say anything to BCG.
Sounds like a very fun place to work...definitely seems to deserve its spot as the #1 best place to work.
HF-MFE- Pretty sure you were my TA freshman year for physics. Mind if I send you a PM to ask you a couple questions about bain and consulting in general?
Yeah, no doubt. Feel free to attach your resume if you want.
Did you get to meet Mittens?
Why would you get a graduate degree in engineering just to go back into finance?
In my mind finance degrees are pointless.All they teach you is how to repeat steps, like a monkey. At least with engineering or MFE I will be learning how to solve real world problems and think about how to solve something. I would much rather have a grad degree from a top school in engineering in case the economy goes belly-up again.
As a finance major, I agree completely and wish I'd majored in physics or engineering myself. I feel dumber today than when I started college. Just seems like an expensive and time consuming detour into something you could probably get into with what you're doing now.
What was your academic background in? At Bain arepeople with STEM backgrounds viewed any differently in consulting firms versus those with business/finance/humanities backgrounds?
I graduated with a 4.0 from a top 10 engineering school in applied math and physics. People are definitely more STEM backgrounds. Its hard to teach someone how to think once they are on the job. People I have worked with that have business/finance/humanities are usually harder to work with and come up with more in the box solution. STEM majors come at problems in a completely different way so they may come to a different, new solution. They are both useful, but most of my bosses have STEM backgrounds.
I'm still in college, but quite interested in consulting. I began with mathematics, but soon realized that I enjoy economics more. As you said, STEM subjects are preferred at Bain. Since I took a good amount of maths classes (and got really good grades) and since my econ classes are very quantitative, would I be considered sort of "half-STEM" or would I be thrown in with the others who did social sciences? It really upsets me that people often summarize econ, gov, history etc. as social sciences, because econ is actually quite quantitative (at least if you take classes in econometrics, statistics, quantitative methods etc.). My concern is that I might seem not "quantitatively skilled" enough, giving that it says "economics" on my CV. What do you think? will the HR department take a closer look on my classes and see that I took tons of maths/ stats and a few comp science classes?
thanks for hosting this Q&A session btw.
Any unique tips on how to break in from non-target?
Any thoughts on office selection? Key differences between different Bain offices in regions of the country, any Bain offices that are known to be sweatshops/have worse exit opportunities? What Bain offices are "easier" to get into, if any?
What made you go into consulting in the first place? And what region are you in (south, northeast, west, etc.)?
I love finding and solving problems. Its a real challenge
Could I break into PE like Bain with a finance and accounting degree from a non target (Rutgers). I plan on passing my CPA exam after college, I know it doesn't really help but are my chances of getting into PE like slim to none?
Yes.
Is there anything that you learned in your first few months that you wish you had known before starting? What did you think of the AC training (the one with your peers from across the globe)?
What are your daily duties?
1) Why did you choose Bain over the other MBB's? You mentioned that you're unhappy, which is why I ask. 2) I've seen a few physics/STEM majors at MBB's after undergrad -- where are the liberal arts majors, if they exist? 3) How did you prepare for the interviews, esp. the mental math/cases? Did you use any paid services, like Victor Cheng's?
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