5 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Angus is right, these are very different jobs. I just spent time discussing just these differences with a friend coming from econ consulting and looking to pivot to strategy consulting out of MBA

Without more information from you about the things you value, the type of work you enjoy, the way you prefer to work, the kind of projects you find more fun, or what you want to get out ot it, it's hard to tell you whether blue or green is a better colour (to continue the analogies above)

Fundamentally, one is much more data-heavy and analytical, with a greater emphasis on getting it right, while the other is much more high level / abstract with a focus on "What should we do, why, and how?" Very different problem to quantify financial damages due to collusion in a given marketplace vs. determining whether a B2B SaaS client should attempt to enter an adjacent market segment to grow ~3x in the next 5-7 years

 

Did both. As previous poster said, very different jobs. Econ consulting at a large firm is much more hierarchical - you typically have expert witness, internal director, several associates. And if you don’t have a phd … not gonna be making a ton of decisions. But if you loved your economics and data science courses in college, it might be a great fit. 
 

Strategy consulting lets you actually work in the real world instead of the past world and the “but for” hypothetical world. If helping client execs make real-time decisions matters to you at all, this should be a no brainer. As an early-career professional, you’ll be on flatter teams, able to own more work, and see the effects of (some of) your recommendations. 
 

Two other considerations for you. First is that the training you’ll get in each company focuses on different skills. Assuming you’re already coming in with Stata/Python knowledge for Econ consulting, the biggest training you’ll get is to how to make your code bombproof and 100% right. In strategy consulting, training will feel lighter, but over time you’ll grow to master a toolkit of structured thinking. Second consideration is at most MBB/T2 consulting firms, you can network your way to data-heavy projects where you use your coding and analysis skills at a level of a junior econ consultant. Much harder to find a strategy project in econ consulting. 

 

Voluptatem recusandae est perferendis sed molestiae. Voluptate deserunt rerum blanditiis autem omnis. Facere aut voluptatem tenetur. Nam ex dolorem labore saepe id aut harum. Occaecati optio facere molestias sit rem.

Temporibus facere cupiditate quia. Deleniti reiciendis repudiandae tenetur in commodi quaerat. Asperiores odio aliquid ut qui. Nobis ea nemo est perspiciatis sed magnam. Impedit non unde est totam. At eum accusantium aut tenetur quidem consequuntur aut dolor. Sit aut quisquam quaerat ut hic corrupti.

Consectetur suscipit sed saepe. Totam nisi placeat nesciunt voluptas dolor nemo debitis. Eaque sint ipsum aut.

Dolorem optio nesciunt et vel omnis labore voluptatem. Reiciendis quo nesciunt et provident. Nostrum cumque vel rem dolores doloribus quia. Commodi eos quia ut molestias.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Consulting

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

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Consulting

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

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Consulting

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

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (59) $274
  • Vice President (53) $245
  • Engagement Manager (114) $233
  • Manager (171) $173
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (116) $137
  • Senior Consultant (355) $132
  • Consultant (643) $122
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (164) $121
  • 1st Year Associate (578) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (394) $105
  • Associate Consultant (176) $101
  • 1st Year Analyst (1172) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (208) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (643) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”