Undergrad MBB internship recruitment and prep 2019 summer

I'm an incoming junior from a top 5 target school with a 3.7 GPA in STEM (CS). I'm been dissuaded from doing software engineering and am looking at consulting and finance (specifically consulting) instead. I've always had a deep passion for economics and finance. I religiously listen to economics podcasts and am currently an econ research assistant at my school. I am wondering if there's an advantage coming from a technical background and looking to do an MBB or tier 2 consulting internship. I also heard that McKinsey had a new analyst+data science position for interns/new grads. I would be interested in either that or the traditional route.

For summer 2018 I have an operations and data science internship at a fin tech startup in SF but not much relevant experience beyond that.

I am interested learning about the timeline for recruiting for consulting as I'll be doing case prep this summer as well as studying for the GRE. I'd also like to learn about the different sectors and division in MBB consulting, specifically west coast offices and their cultures.

Any advice helps!

 
Most Helpful

As for whether technical background helps, in my experience it's not a deal maker/breaker but could definitely be an interesting point to talk about during interviews and may give you an edge in getting your resume pulled (especially because 3.7 in CS is pretty solid) because it's likely different from the dozens of business/econ kids who apply.

McKinsey's new data science positions are for New Ventures (you can search for more info) - I actually got a bunch of mixed comments on what New Ventures actually does but I think the general impression is that they're like a semi-support team that helps build industry-specific solutions for clients and provides support on more traditional engagements. Note that this is separate from the traditional BA/summer BA route, and since the group is so new it's tough to say if you can necessarily switch (though one BA I know did a rotation for New Ventures for a few months).

The timeline for recruiting consulting varies on a per school basis. For my school, recruiting for junior internships basically began when school began with info sessions for the first month or so and the bulk of interviews spread out across October/mid-November.

Overall across MBB (and tier 2 firms) the general vibe is that offices 'specialize' in industries specific to their region with the exception mostly being McKinsey because of its global staffing model. Bain's home-staffing model ensures low travel - its SF office specializes in tech/PE due diligence, LA specializes in media/entertainment, and NYC specializes in financial services. Also note that for west coast, McK has both SF and a Redwood City (South Bay) office - South Bay is known to be more laid back as most people retire in South Bay so there's nothing to do while McKinsey NY is notorious for working you hard. Can't speak too much to BCG though I do know the partners there really like French Laundry and the firm eats there (relatively) often.

 

Contrary to juicetin's input, there are actually new data science -oriented positions at McKinsey that are not in New Ventures. These roles travel just like any other BA and work on projects specializing in DS/analytics.

CS is a really popular major for consulting recruiting, and I think a lot of other CS majors get dissuaded from SWE as well. With a 3.7 in CS you definitely pass the bar academically - getting an interview will be about making sure your resume is polished and also some networking.

P.S. sounds like we go to the same school. Feel free to PM if you want.

 

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