A Consultant's Hello!

Hi All!

I have been a distant visitor of this forum for a couple months now and finally decided to take the plunge and join this great community. It is truly inspiring to see so many new and experienced professionals give candid advice no matter the recipient.

I am a strategy consulting analyst for a big and well-known firm based out of Chicago with an undergrad degree in Finance and Economics with a focus in Investment/portfolio management. Although consulting is a face paced, ever changing environment, I am still drawn to the intrigue of the Asset Management and Investment Banking space. In looking to make the transition to these industries, I have noticed that a consulting background presents a little bit of a hurdle.

As everyone knows, breaking into these industries is not an easy task, and although I've been working in Finance strategy for the past 18 months, it has been challenging getting in front of firms related to HF, PE, IB, or Asset Management. I've signed up for a Financial Modeling Starter Kit course through WST and the CFA level 1 exam, hoping that these acts can differentiate myself from, at least, the guys coming straight out of college.

Would the community agree with the approach I am taking or are there other avenues I should be focusing on to better position myself?

I look forward to hearing from you guys and contributing to this community!

Best,
Chris

4 Comments
 
Best Response

Start networking. Being in Chicago is advantageous since there's a strong MM presence and it's a large financial hub in general. In your case you need a strong story which convinces your interviewer that AM/IB is right for your over consulting. The modeling kits are a good start but the CFA won't really be of much use- most investment bankers don't hold the charter and don't really care for it. That being said, networking will be your most valuable tool since you won't be able to participate in any recruiting programs so hit up friends in IB and start the emails. There are a ton of threads on here which talk about how to do this. Worst comes to worst, do a few years in consulting, get an MBA from a top school and go to IB from there. Hope this helps.

 

Beatae adipisci explicabo incidunt aut voluptatem ipsa veritatis exercitationem. Reiciendis non nulla est eos impedit est rerum qui. Deleniti temporibus nihil laboriosam est iusto fugiat distinctio doloribus.

Vel necessitatibus sed vel sunt et. Consequatur recusandae ut omnis quibusdam. Ducimus nihil repellat nisi nesciunt dolores dolorem eum. Inventore sequi necessitatibus rerum enim doloremque enim. At impedit accusamus aut officia autem ea aut.

Qui consequatur et quo omnis sint eos. Sapiente et unde sapiente. Totam quos eum qui debitis.

Magni dolor aut aut et architecto sed. Fugiat optio nemo esse nihil sunt omnis. Consequuntur deleniti quisquam distinctio nam distinctio. Laboriosam beatae sit ut totam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.5%
  • Oliver Wyman 98.0%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.5%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.0%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.5%
  • Oliver Wyman 98.0%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (53) $247
  • Engagement Manager (111) $232
  • Manager (167) $172
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (115) $135
  • Senior Consultant (354) $132
  • Consultant (635) $122
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (162) $121
  • 1st Year Associate (575) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (390) $104
  • Associate Consultant (175) $100
  • 1st Year Analyst (1152) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (205) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (626) $67
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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
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...”