Supply Chain Management vs Boutique Consulting offer
TLDR; Need professional advice on evaluating top-tier supply chain management vs sector-specific boutique management consulting as career starter
To give some background - I'm graduating from one of the best Indian engineering target schools for consulting with a great GPA (>9/10). Most of my profile is a mixture of consulting internships (Boutique), entrepreneurial work and a whole lot of academic research work.
Recently interviewed for M but could not make it past the last partner interview (BB chose not to hire through campuses this year; didn't have the connects for a partner referral). I've ended up with an offer from a big supply chain firm (think, biggest worldwide) for their flagship management role (call it O1), and also an offer to join a Boutique consulting firm (call it O2 - Tier 2.5-3, mostly focused on Japan and just 1-2 sectors, one of which I have a degree in).
I've enjoyed my consulting experience and the structured thinking aspects of it, and I do think it is a career I can play out till my early 30s - however I'm not sure which offer to continue with. I've listed the pros and cons that I see, and happy to get more perspective on this:
O1:
Pros - Huge brand, leadership role, better WLB, role/location rotation (international possible), exit to consulting post MBA
Cons - Factory posting, no previous exposure to supply chain, probably not the most exciting/forward-looking sector
O2:
Pros - Management consulting, in-line with my profile, international clientele, cutting-edge projects (Japanese expectations)
Cons - Limited scope / lower ticket-size projects, only one-two sectors, may have to exit to T2/T1 consulting for more learning
A few disclaimers:
1. I will try for an M7 MBA down the line, for international exposure, economics/finance background building and better access to leadership roles. I am not over-indexing on this as a decision-making factor, but brand-value, the bias for consulting (not sure how much, in my case) and leadership experience become frequent thoughts. I am aware of a bias for female candidates in operations management (O1) for M7 MBAs, however I do not doubt that I can be exceptional with time.
2. I spent a good chunk of time and effort trying to get into M, and would love to give M a try again post an MBA (given their hiring model, only option that seems realistic).
3. Even though I would love for my professional profile to compound, I'm not a stickler about becoming a sectoral expert at 25 vs at 35. Diversity of exposure and learning are my priorities.
4. Alums have made it to M7 schools from O2, but mostly after a few switches to T1/2 consult or BD roles. O1 is a popular school for M7 due to brand.
5. I find most corporate work boring so I'm less picky in terms of operations management (O1) vs management consulting (O2) as fields, and feel I can adapt to whatever's served for dinner if it's worth it.
I would love to hear from ex Supply Chain Management leaders; I know consulting is full of them.
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