Research analyst to consultant opportunities at McKinsey?

I have applied for a BA position at McKinsey after graduating from grad school. The local office is quite young and quite small. I made it through the first round of interviews, however they let me know that they wouldn't proceed further. But they told me that they could consider me for a junior research analyst position instead if I'd be interested. TBH it doesn't seem very compelling according to what the position offers and what I've been reading on it so far. How likely would a transition be from research to consulting considering the size and age of the company in the region is very small? What are the learning and exit opportunities in research position?

3 Comments
 
Best Response

Worked with research analysts at my firm. Most of the time they do not join client teams (consulting teams) since much of their work is related to research on a very specific part of the project (you will be called for support for that part of the analysis and spend most of the time at the office).

The requirements for both gigs, consulting and research, do not seem to overlap that well and so makes the transition really difficult in the very first place. In any case I know a girl who did research at my firm and transitioned to Associate, 2 years down the road. I could not say it is something normal but if you perform well and are VERY proactive it could be doable.

If you can land a consulting gig in another well regarded firm, I would say go for it and step away from researching

 

Magni sed quisquam nulla natus. Rem quod impedit quasi vel. Dolorem quasi debitis neque. Aperiam veritatis consequatur dolores velit.

Cumque quos aliquid voluptate. Sed et aut quis excepturi a. Fugit deserunt officia ut. Est quo aliquid iure ut hic.

Nesciunt dolore molestias atque sed quibusdam et. Dolorum quod voluptatum et maiores et architecto est. Laudantium repudiandae expedita non voluptas necessitatibus reprehenderit quod. Nulla quo voluptatem aspernatur architecto sit dolorem officia. Voluptas quia sapiente iure id.

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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”