F500 Corp. Strategy vs. Boutique Consulting

Hi everyone - I have two offers that I'm trying to decide between. One is with a F100 corporate strategy team...a group of 25 people doing strategy work for the firm. The firm itself doesn't sell the most interesting services, at least in my eyes, but this may well change once learning more about the industry.

The consulting firm is a boutique, about 75 consultants, focusing on an industry that I find to be more interesting than the F100 firm.

The pay is about the same. They aren't located in the same location (the F100 location has the advantage here). Exit opportunities, at least based on what each firm told me, seem to be similar - top notch B-schools for the most part (or move up through the firm).

I know that many people use consulting as a way to get to F500 corp. strategy. Should I just skip consulting and go right to corp. strategy right out of undergrad? I do see myself going to business school in the future, for whatever its worth.

Let me know if you have any advice...kind of stuck here. I imagine that the Analyst role would comprise of similar work at both firms.

 

F100.

You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
 

Depends on whether you are looking to start a career or set yourself up for b-school. The F100 Strat group would probably look better on paper for a b-school application. Plus, if you choose the boutique consulting company, when you apply to business schools, you will essentially be "competing" against all the other consultants from more prestegious brand name companies. However, if your long-term post-mba career goal is to do Corp Strat in the industry that the boutique consulting firm specializes in, I would very strongly consider that option.

If the F100 is Insurance, and post-mba you want to do Tech... and the boutique consulting company specializes in Tech, then it would be stupid to take the F100. You know? My vote would be to take the job in the industry that you're most interested in. Good luck, and congrats on the offers.

 

It's pretty tough. Chances are you'll learn a lot more and a lot faster if you pick the consulting firm vs the in house group. But that acceleration will come at the expense of a considerably worse work-life balance (also brand value of the firm may be an issue depending on how unknown it is). There's a lot of truth to the saying "a year in a consulting firm is worth at least two in industry".

If your goal is to accelerate your career growth, I'd say pick the consulting firm. If you want a steady and comfortable climb, go with the in house group.

In any case, congrats on the offers and good luck with the decision.

-MBP
 

Possimus incidunt dolorem cumque sapiente est dolorum velit. Dolores odio qui blanditiis quis quaerat eos deserunt in. Nulla aut perspiciatis earum voluptatibus ullam amet voluptatem. Enim sint earum deleniti. Est quia vitae sunt eaque nihil. Non et rerum veniam aut eaque repudiandae officia pariatur. Et quos tenetur et possimus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • Cornerstone Research 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.7%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group (BCG) 98.3%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.7%
  • LEK Consulting 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $368
  • Principal (25) $277
  • Director/MD (55) $270
  • Vice President (47) $246
  • Engagement Manager (100) $226
  • Manager (152) $170
  • 2nd Year Associate (158) $140
  • Senior Consultant (331) $130
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (108) $130
  • Consultant (587) $119
  • 1st Year Associate (538) $119
  • NA (15) $119
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (146) $115
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (344) $103
  • Associate Consultant (166) $98
  • 1st Year Analyst (1048) $87
  • Intern/Summer Associate (188) $84
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (552) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
numi's picture
numi
98.8
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”