Would anyone be willing to briefly discuss the difficulty in entering consulting and maybe pros and cons of their choice in this occupation. I’m a Freshman and believe I may enjoy it( at least from the description of it) being collaborative and working on a team. I’ve read Duke places decently into it,and plan on the BS Finance track. But unsure of the difference btw top tier firms and say other more attainable ones,Thanks in advance.
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This is a very loaded question haha. You might find it difficult, as anyone does, to get an internship opportunity your sophomore year summer but for your junior year and full time, as long as you keep your grades up and join some organization to show this interest, you will be fine.
T1 your chances are small, as for anyone. It's very competitive but you should def still apply. If you can get an interview for any of the MBB thats great, even if you do not get a offer, they will keep you in mind if you impress them
T2 your chances are looking better compared to T1, reach out to some alum, networking is key
T3, this is your best shot, esp if you don't have consulting experience, theres great options here and still competitive but very attainable
Try to just join some orgs at Duke that explore project based work and student led consulting work next semester to try it out
Much appreciated.
Sophomore year, I'd try to get any business-related internship. Unless you're a URM or you're extremely connected, you're probably not getting an MBB or T2 internship, since most of their sophomore programs are diversity programs.
Answering your question about the differences between the selective and less selective firms
In general, the differences in 'tier' between consulting firms is due to pay, prestige, interesting work, and selectivity. This is my view of the tiers of the firms (this is not an exact factual list, just an approximate ranking).
MBB/Tier 1: Mckinsey, Bain, and BCG- these firms pay the most ($110K + bonus for first years) and have the best brand name. The brand name matters because when you try to find your second job or go to grad school (the average tenure at MBB is only ~2 years), companies seek out MBB consultants. PE firms, F500 companies, start ups, and top 10 business schools actively recruit consultants from MBB. MBB is like the Harvard, Yale, and Princeton of consulting. MBB is very selective- they recruit top students from top universities. They also have more interesting work for high-level stakeholders of the client.
Tier 2: More of a grey area here, but T2 firms tend to include Oliver Wyman, LEK, EY-Parthenon, PwC Strategy& (note not EY and PwC advisory, but specifically their strategy groups). I may be missing a few, as this is not an exhaustive list. These firms pay on par to MBB, but are slightly less selective and don't have the brand name MBB has (but are still very good for the resume nonetheless, and do lead to similar opportunities that MBB leads to). These firms are still quite selective though, recruiting good students from top schools. They have similar work to MBB.
Tier 3: These are mostly smaller strategy firms or firms that focus more on operations (vs strategy). The reason operations is less desirable is because it is not as 'interesting' as strategy work. T3 firms also tend to pay less and are less selective than MBB (they recruit from less-prestigious schools). My friends at T3 firms make a good salary ($80-85k) but it is definitely less than MBB. Examples of T3 are Accenture, the big 4 advisory, and boutique firms (though some botique firms are a great choice if you like the industry they specialize in).
Coming from a school Duke, you should shoot for MBB, Tier 2, or a boutique firm that is in a cool industry.
This is just management/strategy consulting. There's also economic consulting, tech consulting, etc... which is a different game.
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