Choosing Between Shipbroking & Consulting

Hi all

I'm an Engineer working in the Marine industry in Singapore, trying to break into Commercial Shipping (Ship Broking).

I have 2 offers lined up now:

  1. One as a Ship Sale & Purchase broker. I'm genuinely passionate about the industry and as I'm part of the industry. I know for a fact that it is not an infatuation of sorts. However, due to the flat organisational structure in shipbroking firms, I'm not sure if it will set me up for a good MBA programme in the (near) future. I want to do an MBA as the rationale is to ultimately get into Shipping Finance.

  2. Other as a Business Analyst in a Big 4 firm where it is a very structured approach and will most definitely give me relevant experience and exposure for a decent MBA moving forward.

I'm torn between which offer to take where I'm ultra passionate about Option 1 but don't know what the future has in store wrt to an MBA while Option 2 has good and structured future ahead albeit something I'm not too interested in.

Looking forward to some insights here. Cheers!

4 Comments
 

Hi there

Shipping finance people mostly start off as Analysts and then move on the RM roles. However, with bigger Chinese leasing companies coming into play, the structured lending products offered are more complex hence, an MBA with a Finance major might put me in a better footing than without as the typical prerequisite backgrounds are Corporate & Project finance in this space atleast.

Thanks!

 

Qui facilis natus magnam expedita ut. Corrupti omnis molestias facilis sed. Harum aliquid nam praesentium facere aperiam rerum incidunt. Quis aut rerum qui et dolor et et quia. Dolore molestiae quidem sed cupiditate voluptas id consequuntur. Dolorum eum aperiam qui et quas quam.

Aut qui velit aut quidem et. Cumque eligendi dolor rerum illum culpa. Nisi sint sit rerum aut. Et dolor quas sit nesciunt omnis et dolores earum. Error enim nulla quas est ratione aut exercitationem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 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

May 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

May 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

May 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 (114) $134
  • Senior Consultant (354) $132
  • Consultant (634) $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 (1150) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (205) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (624) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”