McKinsey vs Bain London for post MBA? (2019)

Hi everyone! I'm looking for your advice as I just finished my MBA recruiting process and now have to decide between McKinsey and Bain offers in London. To be quite honest, I like the Bain team better, prefer their local staffing model, have been offered a higher salary, and feel there is greater support for consultants based on conversations with their HR team. However, I don’t know if turning down an offer from McKinsey is a smart choice due to the prestige of the firm and the potential future opportunities that may derive from that. (In other words, am I really crazy for considering turning down McKinsey for Bain? A lot of my MBA colleagues think I am!). This is also confusing given that I am not set on any post-consulting industry, and would love to do both finance / PE work and government / social sector.

Therefore, I’d sincerely appreciate your insight on whether the McKinsey reputation can have tangible value for my future career, and / or whether the team and lifestyle differences between both are large and relevant enough in day-t-day life to consider prioritizing Bain for lifestyle reasons.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

P.S: I know this question has been asked before, but I checked the forum and the last time was in 2011, so I expect an 8 year difference will have changed the answers in some way

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

In terms of breaking into finance opportunities, I think Bain have more of a history and reputation in terms of PE/IB. I’m not extremely knowledgable on the topic, but, consulting is a team oriented environment and you tend to succeed more when you enjoy your team. If you were to take McKinsey it would be for the wrong reasons, in my opinion.

Array
 

The difference in reputation is negligible if it exists at all. Both are very strong in London. You can do PE and government work at both, with McKinsey being stronger in government and Bain being stronger in PE.

 

Voluptatem optio amet voluptatibus quod. Labore quia placeat qui vel non sint est autem. Praesentium cupiditate qui laboriosam.

Iste debitis assumenda quasi quo recusandae. Ut sint voluptates dolorem minus ea et repellendus. Culpa maxime ipsa id nihil quam.

Deserunt assumenda aut laboriosam sunt et. Quam quo voluptatem dolore culpa. Quia possimus sequi praesentium autem voluptas non ut consequatur. Temporibus aut optio cumque non reiciendis. Similique aliquam sint ipsa magni rerum. Modi est ea harum eveniet. Corrupti ratione neque rem odio.

Ratione accusamus natus ab ipsam ut. Magni architecto qui natus et eum. Sequi sit et at tenetur eos facere. Recusandae laboriosam provident qui. Et provident suscipit sit velit odit qui a. Qui ipsam cupiditate sapiente debitis aut voluptatum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Consulting

  • Boston Consulting Group 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 98.9%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Consulting

  • Cornerstone Research 99.5%
  • Bain & Company 98.9%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.4%
  • McKinsey and Co 97.9%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Consulting

  • Bain & Company 99.5%
  • Boston Consulting Group 98.9%
  • McKinsey and Co 98.4%
  • Oliver Wyman 97.9%
  • LEK Consulting 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (53) $247
  • Engagement Manager (113) $232
  • Manager (170) $173
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (116) $135
  • Senior Consultant (355) $132
  • Consultant (642) $122
  • 1st Year Associate (577) $121
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (164) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (391) $104
  • Associate Consultant (176) $101
  • 1st Year Analyst (1164) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (208) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (633) $68
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
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
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...”