Hey WSO Consulting Forum,
First post here at WSO, excited to be a part of the community. I was very hesitant about posting this question on the forum, but I have to decide by tonight and am still torn. Would love to hear some opinions and any information I may have glossed over in trying to decide.
Just graduated from a decent school with a fairly low GPA. Managed to network my way to offers from ZS Associates and PwC for management consulting. Both offers are in New York. The ZS offer is substantially higher (~$15K). I am absolutely torn.
My reasoning has been this: PwC brand is probably a little better, and I will get exposure to a broader range of projects. It may be a better start to my career if I want to apply to B-school or shoot for PE/VC or even try and get into a MBB firm. While ZS salary is higher, I don't necessarily want to get pegged into their niche (sales and marketing for Healthcare industry) so early on. However, after talking to PwC'ers, it sounds like you get assigned to an industry vertical and solution area very early on, so ending up in a niche may be inevitable.
Which one would you guys take? I know prestige is a big deal on WSO - which one do you perceive as prestigious? How much does prestige matter, especially between these two? What are some of the exit options, or opportunities to go to B-School from these firms? Any other advice, tips, or comments?
Thanks! Looking forward to reading your posts.
Ignore the prestige, it won't get you anywhere in life other than magically finding a stick up your ass.
Hmmm, you have a lot there. I think your concerns about the different range is valid, as even if you are in the job for 2 or 3 years, you want to be at least somewhat happy. I'll try to go through the other things listed.
Prestige: PwC is a bigger name, but similar prestige in the business world. ZS does a lot of sales and marketing and focuses in HC/pharma, so it's good that you're working in their core area. MBB: You probably won't be able to go directly from either to MBB, so a wash there too. PE/VC: Just like MBB, would be tough to do that lateral right from these positions without bschool or lots of experience Bschool: Very similar work experience, basically a wash.
Exit opps are similar for both. You'll be in a huge industry at ZS, so it's not like you're pigeon-holed into the aluminum auto parts industry. As for PwC, even though it's a full service company, you'll probably be working in one vertical or horizontal there. I believe most big 4 advisory are not like MBB where college graduates are exposed to strategy across different sectors, but rather settle into an industry.
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ZS exit is big pharma, or b-school (range anywhere from H/S/W to top 15). If you really want to work in pharma, ZS is the way to go. If not, go to PwC. PM me directly if you want to talk
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