Consulting Entry Level (Singapore)
Hi, I'm a high-school graduate who will either be attending university at Warwick for Bsc Econs or at the National University Of Singapore for Econs w Business Analytics (yet to be accepted for this course). I am interested in management consultancy as an initial career post-undergrad and wanted to learn more about the relevant job scopes in both countries and the reputation of the unis/courses in said industry. For reference, I've lived in Singapore for 10+ years but am a foreigner and will be an overseas student at Warwick also. While finances are not an issue, if I were to get a tuition grant, NUS would be around 68k SGD tuition for the whole degree while Warwick would be around 152k SGD.
Thanks!
Recruited for consulting in Singapore so can give some color to the topic.
You probably want to be a Singaporean/PR or have some form of work authorization in order to recruit since immigration laws are getting more protectionist.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard that there is a substantial % of spots (at least for MBB) that are reserved for kids recruiting from top US and UK schools, and from personal experience the recruitment process/pipeline for overseas schools is separate from that of local schools. I personally went to a bona-fide US target school so getting interviews was straightforward.
From what I’ve seen, competition for MBB seems pretty intense given the relatively limited amount of spots and the fact that Singaporeans tend to be huge hardos. Hence, recruiting from NUS will probably be pretty competitive and will require winning case competitions/being part of elite clubs etc. Not too sure about Warwick’s rep in the consulting world so will let others chime in on that.
Obviously didn’t spend any time in consulting in SG, but for Bain and BCG at least, staffing works on a regional level, so you get to work on projects across SEA which mainly vary from Government to O&G to Financial Services. Honestly find this pretty dope since you’d get to work in cities across the region during the week and get to chill in SG on the weekend. Hours are also supposedly comparable to MBB in the US, maybe a bit longer.
Would you say it's virtually impossible to recruit for consulting in SG as a foreigner? Or just very challenging?
I.e. do people actually do it?
From what I’ve seen, pre-existing work authorization is required so it’s probably closer to virtually impossible than very challenging. But of course, policies might change.
An alternative would be to recruit for consulting in the UK (if you go to Warwick) or in your home country and apply for an office transfer to Singapore.
The differentiated pipeline for the top UK & US schools is honestly one of the most stressful parts of MBB recruiting for me even though it's something out of my control. Due to personal circumstances, I had to decline my offers from some of those institutions so I always feel like I'm extremely behind as compared to my peers who're attending those schools. Right now I'm just trying as much as I can to maximise my chances as a local undergrad.
FWIW, the school I attended isn't a target for many firms within finance (where I ended up), so I can empathize with how you're feeling. However, I'm sure if you prep well for the process you'll be able to land interviews coming from NUS/NTU/SMU, and getting the offer is ultimately up to you.
Im in the same situation. Can I dm you?
Warwick has a very good reputation in the uk. Especially for economics. Very solid university, with good placements. From memory, they also have decent placements into MBB (the big three firms).
To boost your chances, you’ll probably want to do a summer internship during your undergrad. Congrats on your uni acceptance and best of luck for your future.
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