A Business/Management UG degree + work exp. + MBA or non-business UG + MiM?

Hi everyone, I recently finished High school in the UK; 'A' levels in hand, currently embarking on a gap year, I'm just finishing off my university applications. Initially I was certain on my plan to get a business/management ug degree, work for 3-4 yrs at an IB or a Management consultancy, maybe in a corporate then MBA in the states and spend the rest of my career in IBanking. I've got my applications for Business/management UG degrees ready, and I'm applying to some pretty respectable unis (St Andrew's, WBS, Cass, Manchester and Nottingham (might replace the latter with Lancaster)). However, recently, I met with a family friend who's an associate at Parthenon-EY in London, he did a languages degree followed by a MiM at Imperial and couldn't stop going on about how good the MiM program was. It got me thinking that maybe I should restructure my uni applications to follow a similar route he did. Would it provide a quicker route into senior positions at IBs or Management consultancies? What are your opinions on MiM programs for breaking into IBanking/consultancy/the corporate world? Should I stick with my original plan or get a non-business UG, followed by an immediate MiM and scrap my plans for an MBA?

1 Comments
 

Vero dolores iste laudantium. Nam aperiam ea voluptas eum ullam fuga. Quos dolor eaque praesentium quia. Neque commodi accusantium labore quia unde reiciendis non vero.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 98.9%
  • McKinsey & Company 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.4%
  • McKinsey & Company 97.9%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.9%
  • McKinsey & Company 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (52) $246
  • Engagement Manager (114) $233
  • Manager (171) $173
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (116) $137
  • Senior Consultant (355) $132
  • Consultant (642) $122
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (164) $121
  • 1st Year Associate (577) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (393) $104
  • Associate Consultant (176) $101
  • 1st Year Analyst (1165) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (208) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (640) $68
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”