Private Equity to Consulting Switch

All,

Hope everyone is doing well. I currently work at a Private Equity fund and have prior experience in Investment Banking. I am thinking about making the switch to consulting for a few reasons (opportunities with business school, additional operational experience, potential to exit to a corporate later on in my career). Understand there aren't many data points but wanted to pose the question and see how difficult this switch may be.

Thanks for the help in advance!

11 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Hi! I made this switch myself, though post business school (IB -> PE -> MBA -> MBB). This switch is not at all far-fetched and there are many people in MBB with prior IB and PE experience. What you will need is a referral to get the interview, and if you have 2 years + of experience you should be able to shoot for a post-MBA role at an MBB. Once you have the interview it is all up to your case performance, but I definitely felt in my interviews that they liked the fact that I had this background

 

Absolutely, totally fair. To be 100% honest a big part of it was lifestyle. Seeing my bosses work just as hard as me turned me off working in PE longer-term, whereas MBB allows me to pivot towards something more sustainable longer term (Corp Strat, Corp Dev, Corp Ventures).

PE is interesting, prestigious, and pays amazingly, but it can be pretty terrible lifestyle-wise (often same hours as banking, more stressful).

There was also an element of wanting to work with more exciting products. At the end of the day most companies PEs invest in (generalizing a bit here) are fairly boring cash-generating businesses, and I would love to work on some more cutting-edge stuff at some point

 

Laborum cupiditate facere qui ad qui. Voluptas quibusdam quidem ratione deserunt. Ut ab repellat consequatur vel voluptates architecto nisi. Exercitationem quo non dolores sint. Magni nostrum voluptatibus repudiandae nisi commodi eum suscipit fugit. Explicabo non asperiores soluta ut quo.

Ut reprehenderit non error optio. Excepturi voluptatibus earum dolorem laboriosam quae. Sint quidem ut ratione temporibus ea sed soluta. Suscipit consequatur a commodi ipsa et.

Facilis laboriosam necessitatibus eius ab in nisi dicta ipsum. Maxime quo est quae voluptas dolores nihil qui. Consequatur autem aliquam facere ipsa repudiandae voluptatem.

Rerum dolores ex veniam laudantium. Facere quia voluptas dolorum repellendus dolores dolor. Voluptatem magnam qui dolore occaecati cumque voluptatum. Cum velit id possimus eum quaerat. Perspiciatis quia deleniti praesentium voluptas illum dicta est. Earum nisi accusantium ut.

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 (171) $173
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (116) $135
  • Senior Consultant (354) $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 (1163) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”