Is taking T2 FT offer always the safest path to eventual MBB?

I recently received an offer to work at T2 M&A-focused firm FT, and a return offer in a Corp Dev role w/ F50. Although, the T2 consulting firm is a more prestigious name than my current company, I feel as though the responsibilities/autonomy of my current role is potentially higher than that of a Y1 Consultant.

Eventually, I want to work in VC/strat/tech, and feel like MBB opens more of those doors than my current offers. Is it best to have a "blank slate" without a "tier below MBB label" when hoping to work for MBB? Or does "I have a consulting background and therefore need less upfront training" attract them?

4 Comments
 

Are you trying to lateral into MBB after starting FT? If so, good luck, because that'll be pretty difficult the next couple of years (read: don't base your decision off of this happening). If you are trying to get an MBA and then move to MBB, it shouldn't really matter as long as you get into a good MBA program, and MBAs nowadays take candidates from a range of backgrounds.

 
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This is just pure guesswork (as it always is when trying to guess what hiring patterns might look like ever), so take it with a grain of salt. Yes, FT hiring is slowing down; this is evident in the current recruiting cycle. However, even if the US economy doesn't enter a recession, it won't be roaring back in a sudden boom like it did in 2021 after Covid-19 shutdowns lifted. It's during periods of really explosive growth that MBB tends to hire laterals to keep up with demand. If growth is stable, low, and normal, they *usually* just stick to OCR. Not saying that lateral hiring won't happen at all, just that it probably won't be like 2021/2022 when it happened A LOT.

 

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