Investment vs. Management Consulting
Hi all,
I need advice making a decision about my current career path. I graduated from a top university about a year ago, and currently work at an investment consulting firm (think Russell/Cambridge Associates/Mercer) in a less-than-desirable metropolitan area. I recently received a offers via laterial recruiting from non-MBB management consulting firms (in the range of Deloitte S&O/ATK/OW) that would allow me to relocate to a more desirable city.
My current investment consulting role has given me broad exposure to various asset classes, which I have enjoyed. However, I do not think that the "technical" skills from my current role are very transferable to other industries. Additionally, the pay level for my current role (in the $45-50k range) is non-competitive, dampening the recruitment process (I get the impression that the recruitment team has had to settle for B-level candidates rather than top talent) and causing major turnover at the junior level. This has stretched many employees thin, as the firm is currently understaffed.
That being said, I interned at an AM shop during college and found the asset allocation process more interesting than the Security Analysis. My current role in investment consulting is one degree separated from the markets, which lends itself more to my interest in the market at large/asset class views. Additionally, former entry-level employees have gone on to great business schools - the majority of employees end up at MBA business schools<br /> ">M7 schools, with four employees (from the ten that left for business school last summer) attending H/S/W.
Switching to management consulting would be radically different from my current role - I understand the lifestyle shift that my career would take. I was a part of an undergraduate consulting club and would be interested in expanding my knowledge from the investment space to other industries as well. Since I'm young, I believe that this is the best time to take a risk and explore a new career path before committing to remaining in the institutional investing space. I believe that neither choice would be detrimental to my professional future, but I'd greatly appreciate advice.
Thanks!
Most people (~75%) at Deloitte/ATK/OW end up at M7 schools...probably closer to 25-30% going to H/S/W than 40% though. Assuming you do well on the GMAT, you should definitely be able to get into a M7 school.
Anyways you're being horrifically underpaid, so in your case, I would definitely switch to MC.
Thanks for your response. I recognize that firm recognition is only one piece of the puzzle for grad school admissions (I've been preparing for the GMAT in my downtime), but it's good to hear that the admissions process is promising if I ended up switching roles.
I forgot to mention an additional factor in my original post: by the time I would start at one of the new firms I received an offer from, I would have been at my current job for a little over a year. A major part of my desire to switch firms and move towards a more desirable city (in this case, most likely NY) is family-related: my entire family is based in NY, and I have a parent that may not have many years left. I was completely transparent about this during my interviews and acknowledged that the lifestyle of management consulting would not enable me to be home with my family every day, but I'd like the opportunity to relocate closer to family.
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