Accenture Strategy Thoughts

I come from a MBB target school and I really want to get to Bain specifically for the culture and less bureaucracy. I recently accepted an offer from ACN strategy after not getting a Bain interview . Might try again for Bain post mba, but any thoughts on Acn strategy or if i should even try again for bain ?

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ACN Strat will be similar comp for the time you’ll be there, but I can assure you it’s way less political, way less hours, heavier emphasis, and better balance overall. Different clients and not big PE group, but the opportunity is there is you’re actually the man in that area. Great landing spot and be excited about it! I know two guys who are roommates, one at ACN Strat and the other at Bain… went thru same recruiting process and the Bain guy sold his soul for the spot, and then left for a non consulting gig in less than two years, while the other is happily moving up quickly at ACN Strat, with no plans of changing career direction. And yes, Bainie had PE group exposure for atleast a year.

 
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Currently at Bain. Have a coworker at Bain who was at ACN prior. Have another very close friend at ACN.

Firstly, congrats on landing a great offer.

My thoughts are:

  • ACN is highly respected, serves top clients, and does great work.
  • Comp will be similar or marginally less.
  • Hours, pressure, and intensity will be much less.
  • Tldr this is a great gig.

The only bad thing I've heard is that the quality of work / aptitude of the team can be wildly lower than MBB. Middle 50% are likely comparable between MBB and T2, but ACN would probably have fewer rockstars to mentor you and would also probably have a lot more people who are just egregiously bad at the job.

I would use it as an opportunity to try out consulting and decide if you even want MBB afterwards. Or maybe you fall in love with ACN and never want to leave. There's nothing to be done for the next year or so, so work hard and enjoy your life.

 

Hey thanks for the great advice. Can you speak a bit about the intensity and hours at Bain. I was under the impression that if you’re on more interesting projects the time commitment might be less of an issue. Lastly i’ve had some musings about compensation up the ladder such as partner vs MD. Would you say compensation is at that level is arbitrary in my decision making right now ?

 

Hours are heavier for consulting but lighter than finance. Target 55-60 in a good week at junior levels. Increases significantly for managers and higher.

Probably wouldn't worry about MD vs P comp as it's literally over a decade away for you, but there is a sizable difference between MBB P and ACN MD.

Hours are better when you're working on something interesting... or is it that things seem more interesting when the hours are better and allow you to take an interest in what you're doing?

An hour spent on work is an hour lost for personal time. Some minot truth to the enjoyability shpeal, but it's mostly kool aid and cope

 

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