Is it possible for an undergrad to be hired as an associate or junior associate?

I am doing my best not to dox myself, but I am an older student at a top target school (between 26 and 31) pursuing a career in consulting with MBB. I applied to college later because I started working immediately after high school instead of attending college. I am itching to begin working again and, therefore, don't necessarily want to pursue a master's right away. With that being said, I feel that I would add greater value as a Junior associate or associate rather than a business analyst. 

So, as stated above, is it possible for an undergrad to get hired as a junior associate or associate following graduation and a successful internship?

2 Comments
 
Most Helpful

I'll caveat saying I am UK-based, but since at MBBs, we typically have a very standardised system, I would expect that while at Bain you should be able to come in as an Associate Consultant, bear in mind that this is like BA at McK or Associate at BCG.

Hierarchy goes:

  • Analyst-type: BA / A / AC
  • Typical Consultant: A / C / C (I'm ignoring the JAs / SACs)
  • Managers: EM / PL / M to SM

The entry-level Analyst is for undergrads / recent grads, while usually in the US the McK Associate or BCG / Bain Consultant is a post-MBA role (also PhD / JD / MD, I believe). I am not sure if those can be reached by lateralling later in your career. However, I am pretty sure those are not accessible to recent grads.

You might want to double check with someone US based or even jus emailing the recruiting teams in your nearest MBB office.

 

Similique corrupti inventore molestiae aut quia illum et. Quia sapiente molestias id reprehenderit delectus aliquid. Incidunt nisi eligendi veritatis. Pariatur recusandae eligendi cumque soluta necessitatibus aut. Sunt corrupti sed est voluptate consequatur odio. Facere esse nesciunt saepe quis.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”