Booz Vs BCG

From many past discussions I think BCG is a better firm, but Detroit is hell. I suppose since you will most likely be traveling it doesn't matter.

BCG will probably open more doors in the long-run, plus you will probably be able to change offices after a few years.

bcg

You will never be in your office, so location doesn't really matter. The main thing to consider is what industry/specialty you're going into. If the office choice also reflects a choice along those lines, try not to get stuck in something you will hate after a year.

BCG hands down. No brainer.

Use all those airline miles you rack up to live somewhere other than Detroit and commute...

BCG.

Congrats! BCG all the way - loved the people (but wasn't in the Detroit office). Had a friend who worked in the Detroit office for 2 years post-undergrad, worked on the Chrysler deal and a whole bunch of other really cool cases. The work will be pretty much the same between the two (assuming you have an offer from Booz&Co, not BAH), but the difference will be that BCG consistently gets better mandates, bigger clients, and cooler cases.

It's a shame that you'll have to be in detroit, but as the others said, you pretty much have to take MBB over anything else you get in consulting (particularly if you want to go into PE). Booz is nice but it's not even close to BCG.

Also your rent will be low and you can live like a king - even as a consultant!

Thanks for your help guys. Much appreciated!!

I'm gonna have to go with BCG

Definitely BCG - even though Chi-town is a 100 times better than Detroit. I don't think Booz is doing so well these days. In the fall, they almost merged with AT Kearney

what industry did you get in at booz? They have an amazing energy (#2).

If you dont like either you can go with one of the other gazillion offers you have. Deloitte is not that bad either :-)

BCG Detroit...you'll staff with the rest of the Midwest offices anyway.

1. The BCG Detroit office is in Troy, so you can live in one of the nicer suburbs if that's your angle.

2. Have any of you people ever even lived in Detroit? Seriously, stop listening to whatever crap the mainstream media feeds you about the city and spend a few weeks there.

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I echo the no comparison arguments above - do a bang up job and you can have your pick of BCG offices after 18 months or so.

I should mention that a large majority of the Detroit office cases are local, so you'll have a high likelihood of being staffed near the city.

A few additional points:

1. Travel is not glamorous on the consulting path -- even if you're staffed in a place like Chicago, you're going to be at the client site or in the office until 7-8pm. That doesn't nearly give you enough time to explore the city.

2. You could be in Chicago and still get staffed in Detroit, as most firms tend to take a regional angle to their staffing practices unless there's a specialization that someone can bring from another office.

3. "Pick the firm, not the city." Agreed, but also consider that your experience at a smaller office will differ from a larger one. Smaller office = more close-knit relationship with the partners + a very tight network of people that will serve as great mentors, but it takes some effort to network with leadership in other offices. Larger office = a more broad skill-set with partners from a whole ton of practice areas, but you can often get lost in the shuffle when it comes to staffing.

I think it depends on your goals. Do you want to exit consulting later? If so, then BCG will likely provide you with better exit opportunities. If you want to stay in Chicago for other reasons (e.g., family) then maybe choose Booz.

BOOZ!!!! ......... .......

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SIKE!!!!

BCG and live in Ann Arbor. Detroit's a shithole.

I think you ^ forgot about the industry practices within Booz. There are several industry practices within Booz that are either at par or better than MBB; but yes, on the whole, Booz falls below MBB, but not by much.