MBB IT vs Accenture SI&T

My friend recently got offered FT for Accenture systems integrations. I feel like getting that technical experience is systems such as SAP, Oracle, etc can be more beneficial to you in the long run and look more attractive for b-school and other exit opps. I'm not sure how the Mckinsey back office works, if there are opportunities to move to FO. But strictly speaking about Accenture, I feel that is a great opportunity.

I can't speak for Accenture, but as for MBB, here's how it works.

MBB is a bunch of consultants, from entry level to partner. An office will be anywhere between 20 to hundreds of those. They fly around the world an do strategy stuff.

Within a given office, you have 8-9 actual consultants for 1 support guy. The IT support guys make sure that your laptop is working, that the servers are OK, etc. They never leave the office, as they are not staffed on. You also have "graphics" teams (they basically make PPTs for you and print stuff), "knowledge" workers (do searches for you on databases, Google,...), etc.

Supporting functions at MBB are not cool. There is, IMHO, no way you can move from there to an actual consulting position.

At Accenture it clearly matters which industry and which office you work for; financial services for NY is headquartered in Florham Park, NJ. Not exactly the finance hub, but most of your assignments would be in NY. System integration people can work on capital markets assignments, or SAP/Oracle jobs.

Once you are an SI, its pretty hard to move back over to banking.

Go with Accenture SI&T. First, you have some chance of getting in a decent MBA program. You will actually see clients, be on a real project, might luck out and get some good experience to talk about, rather than fixing a server or someone's laptop issue. Secondly, if MBB doesn't work out, 5-7 years out, with Accenture experience (whether you stay there or leave), you'll cross $100K and live a decent life. IT Integration > IT Support/Maintenance I'd think.

before you do ACN SI&T - read my life of an IT consultant post. I don't advise anyone to do IT consulting unless you really care about SAP / Oracle and crap like that. It's boring and Bschool is the only exit op you have.

I have a friend that was accenture it consulting before mba and got into mckinsey as associate

Thanks for the responses so far!

I think there is a common misconception that back office IT means fixing servers/laptops or doing IT support. While these things are certainly respectable as well as necessary for the survival of the firm, I just want to clarify that there are also in-house software groups, IT strategy groups, and all kinds of non-technical roles (business analysts, project managers, etc). Source: I work in MBB IT in one of these roles. It's a thankless job and we often have to deal with people's condescending - or misinformed - opinions. I'm just recently coming to terms with that.

I guess what I'm really trying to ask you guys is... which position (MBB IT or ACN SI&T) holds a stronger brand in industry? I've seen people's perceptions on MBB > OW/Booz/Monitor > Deloitte/Accenture but my question is a little different. I come from an Ivy target, have a shitty GPA, and am still looking to get my foot in the MBB door... it's looking more and more like I'll need an MBA to "reset."

Thoughts/advice greatly appreciated.

I'd say Accenture also.

As former ACN in SI&T I have to agree with Kenneth's earlier "life of it consulting" post. Your projects will be long-term warm-body gigs that (if you are fortunate enough to be on an out-of-town project) will slowly turn your brain to to mush while allowing you to rack up tons of points and miles. Go for Accenture, over the back-office job as post b-school you'll be a better consulting candidate than someone who worked in consumer goods or commodities (mining, energy, etc.). Interviewers will see that you already "think like a consultant" and are a much better fit than a former financial analyst or engineer. Not to say that the latter students can't be consultants, just that you'll have a much shorter learning curve, and with a consulting firm already on your resume, consulting firm recruiters will be more likely to look at you.

Tech consulting is a good "in" for b-school (I'm there), but the only people who tend to stay at the publicly-traded IT consultancies past the Consultant/Associate level are those whose exit opportunities are limited to industry jobs (i.e. network security mgr at company xyz). Nothing is wrong with an industry job if you want to build a very strong tech skill set. But remember the saying, "In IT you either manage or get outsourced." But since you're looking to get an MBA to reset, then it seems that you want to exit tech as soon as the ink dries on your degree.

Do ACN for long enough to go to get accepted to b-school, then don't look back, ever. There's a reason why the publicly-traded IT consultancies don't sponsor MBAs as readily as pure management consulting firms: you don't need an MBA to successfully implement a large-scale software solution. An MBA only adds value to a typical IT Consultant if you want to move into pure IT Strategy (McKinsey BTO) or maybe have ambitions of being a CFO in Silicon Valley.

I hope this helps. If not, then sorry for making you read 20 lines of useless babble.

I am an Accenture SI&T veteran of nearly 5 years before going to B-school (I'm a first-year now). I have offers to join McKinsey, BCG, & Bain as an MBA summer intern. I can't speak to what effect McK BTO has on your long-term prospect of breaking into the strategy practices at MBB. I can confidently say, however, that a few years at ACN SI&T will help you build significant transferable skills that will prepare you for a career in management consulting. Good luck!

For those who were in Accenture SI&T and are now going for an MBA, I'm just curious to know what business school you are attending (a name would be appreciated if you feel comfortable revealing it, or the ranking range will also suffice).

A friend recently accepted this position over other offers in hopes of breaking into a top 20 B-School after 2-3 years. Knowing where former SI&T's are in terms of b-school will really help!

Thanks guys for the advice on B school. It's been almost a year since I made the switch to Accenture SI&T and a lot has happened. I fully expected to end up in Oracle/SAP but was pleasantly surprised to land a role in iPad/iPhone development and mobile device strategy, with good traveling perks.

Interestingly enough, the MBB IT group I left is now becoming very front office, and is gradually starting to work directly on client engagements. I'm still in touch with my friends from that group, and several of them attended or are attending Wharton/Columbia for B school.