At a T2 DD focused firm, feels like dead-end
Anyone else at a T2 DD focused firm (LEK / S& / EYP) feel this way? Lack of ops / implementation prevent meatier senior exits, while buyside exits are limited to non existent :(
Aug 01, 2022
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MBA?
u culd also say EYP 😎
I don't think OP is here since at EYP you could at least rotate to do ops projects with our other groups.
Plus buyside exits are far from non-existent if you're a competent associate here, I've had headhunters trying to get me to interview 8 months into the job.
What type of PE funds do people at T2 firms like EYP get looks at? Any notable ones or mainly tiny LMMs no one has heard of?
Lateral directly to MBB. Very common move.
Feel for you OP
Bit unrelated but this is kind of why I don't get the craze with strategy work for exits - you don't really do anything substantial for the client, just give them recommendations and don't have to care about whether they actually work or not.
The stereotype with external consultants in industry is that they just make PowerPoints and dip. Why then do people think that strategy will get them the best exits?
Factually consultants at strategy firms have access to high paying or high impact roles that sometimes just aren't available to other consultants. I don't have any data on hand but I am confident that comp upon exit from MBB will be higher than the T2s which will be higher than other large firms on average
But there is a good caveat on exits. Some people are under the misguided notion that almost any role is open for consultants, and that isn't true. In particular strategy consultants will have uphill battles applying for roles that are (a) highly specialized and different from what they did in consulting (e.g. product management management at FAANG is often looking for more technical or hands on experience than most strategy consultants have), or (b) roles with P&L ownership. Especially the latter will prefer people who have demonstrated long-term ownership over a problem with skin in the game. However the same issue that strategy consultants have here will also apply to more operationally-focused consultants -- it's inherent to contract work
I'm not going to respond much to the 'consultants just make pretty slides and leave' type argument as that's been hashed out enough elsewhere online, but I will say that strategy consultants have toolkits for dealing with ambiguity and problem solving that are demonstrably valued by the market
How much of the MBB better paying exits than T2 than B4 etc chain is really driven by doing "strategy" work vs the company's brand name though? MBB has a ton of implementation work now - if you wanted to do strategy work only you'd honestly be better at an LEK or Strategy& or something than be an MBB generalist.
When you say that strategy and ops consultants have the same issues getting PM or P&L jobs I think there's a bit more nuance. Sure if you're not working on a TMT implementation case you might not get that TMT experience, but you do develop skills that you might not otherwise develop on a strategy case.
The last part like I said is a stereotype - I don't think that tells the full story either. What I don't get is what seems like a lot of people on and off this forum overindex on strategy work, to the point where you have people wondering if implementation at MBB is less prestigious than a T2 strategy firm
If you're an A1, I'm not sure what opportunities you're looking at that require simultaneous high level strategy and implementation experience. You're probably getting in your head about the extent to which you're 'boxed in' - most exit ops looking for strategy consultants with 2-4 YOE are usually just looking for smart kids with the consulting toolkit. For example, I exited into a competitive team in FAANG with pretty much zero TMT experience
Pardon the thread takeover. Random question here from a senior in college, but if the current tech role is PM-y or SBO-like, do you think there’s still room for a generalist IB M&A analyst with some tech deal experience to join, and, if so, what would you want the candidate to convey? Have a return offer but I’m honestly contemplating whether I even want to go back if my ideal exit is into tech PM/BizOps anyway.
Take a look at LinkedIn to see how common the exceptions are, but in my experience IB is not a good path to get a product or BizOps type role at a FAANG. Most of the good BizOps type teams are pretty much entirely ex-consultants since they're often doing consulting-like work, and they aren't looking to train people on the core consulting toolkit from scratch. I'm also fairly confident that PM would be a stretch -- it's already a tough one for consultants to break into (they're typically looking for people with more technical experience) but I really don't think the IB skillset would be that relevant
There are some corp dev or M&A focused strategy teams that might value that experience more than PM or BizOps would
If you do IB then the likelihood that you'd need an MBA to break into PM or BizOps FAANG roles is higher than if you worked in consulting at an MBB or T2
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