Long-Term Career Planning

Hello WSO, I am a little lost and could benefit from insight and guidance. 

I have been working as a valuation associate at a small consulting firm in the suburbs of Chicago for a year and a half. I graduated from a small private school (non-target by any means) in the Spring of 2022 with a degree in economics and a 3.6 GPA. I did not do any sort summer internship with any large/major/important firms or banks. In my current role, I work on business valuations, M&A sell-side, real estate valuation/appraisals, fixed asset appraisals, and more; each of those areas has several bullet points of additional types of work but I don't to drown readers in detail.

I want to pivot into a higher paying job after I hit the 2-year mark at the end of the year, but I'm having trouble deciding what to do. I'd be interested in IB, PE, or continuing with Consulting, but I'd love to get some advice from the WSO community. Does anyone have any insight, stories, reviews, or information on what I could realistically do with my background and experience, as well as some pros/cons of those career paths? Would a Masters or CFA make sense? Are work experience, courses, interview prep, and networking enough to get hired at prominent firms or banks?

What do you guys think about my situation?

I sincerely thank you in advance 

1 Comments
 

Amet aut necessitatibus quia velit itaque. Corrupti aperiam similique enim itaque voluptatem quo. Eos autem a id voluptatem similique autem. Eum alias inventore quia illum recusandae vel mollitia. Numquam est qui sed facere et eos et.

Omnis molestias adipisci cumque laborum. Facere ex porro ea ducimus tempora quae est.

Repellendus autem quos id cum asperiores iste maiores. Asperiores aspernatur sed et et rem aut.

Assumenda et nostrum quisquam. Et odit omnis eum repellendus excepturi est molestiae. Facilis autem dicta repudiandae tenetur ut. Mollitia sapiente quibusdam voluptate.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.5%
  • Oliver Wyman 98.0%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 99.0%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.5%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.0%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 99.0%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.5%
  • Oliver Wyman 98.0%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (53) $247
  • Engagement Manager (111) $232
  • Manager (167) $172
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (115) $135
  • Senior Consultant (354) $132
  • Consultant (635) $122
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (162) $121
  • 1st Year Associate (575) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (390) $104
  • Associate Consultant (175) $100
  • 1st Year Analyst (1152) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (205) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (626) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
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...”