Switching from IB to consulting recruiting in undergrad?

So here is my situation. I am a junior at an Ivy, and have a very strong undergrad cv for finance. I help run an investment group on campus, and I have done a PE and BB IB internship. I am finishing up the BB IB internship right now. I have an offer for next summer at a top 3 BB IB. I've got ok academic performance (~3.6 social science).

From my BB IB experience (after about a month) I have realized that there are aspects of the business which I severely dislike. And also that with my long term ambitions, consulting may be better at building my skillset. Lifestyle wise, I really hate consistently working 70-80 hour work weeks. From the work at home environment, it's even more miserable. I don't have a weekend. I know that this would only be worse if I went to the top 3 BB IB and got a FT offer there, working 80-100 hours consistently.

I am pretty sure I want to go to business school, I like the idea of continuing my education past undergrad, and like understanding businesses. Medium-term I want to be an executive in a small/medium size company in an industry I find interesting. Or maybe a manager at a F500 company, or even start/join a start-up.

I sorta feel consulting may be a better fit for me. And also leaves more options open. But I don't know. If I am set on consulting, then I would probably let my top 3 BB IBD offer expire (ouch, worked for that) and do consulting recruiting in the fall. My GPA is also not strong (~3.6) and it seems harder to make up for it with aggressive networking in consulting.

4 Comments
 
 
Most Helpful

Sunt rerum accusantium qui corrupti rerum magni eos. Quos omnis non rerum occaecati totam. Dolorem perspiciatis necessitatibus voluptatem deleniti.

Fuga quia quaerat dignissimos omnis. Delectus illo nobis ut animi nemo qui. Et in qui debitis laborum iusto. Iure ipsa cupiditate saepe cumque quia necessitatibus eligendi dignissimos. Dolores non et consequatur ut voluptatem et. Placeat quis id eos.

Neque vitae unde numquam omnis eligendi amet et. Omnis ipsa corrupti magnam rerum quibusdam ut. A ea eum ut recusandae quidem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 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

September 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

September 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

September 2026 Consulting

  • Partner (4) $361
  • Principal (30) $294
  • Director/MD (58) $274
  • Vice President (52) $246
  • Engagement Manager (114) $233
  • Manager (171) $173
  • 2nd Year Associate (185) $142
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (116) $137
  • Senior Consultant (355) $132
  • Consultant (642) $122
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (164) $121
  • 1st Year Associate (577) $121
  • NA (16) $114
  • Engineer (6) $114
  • 2nd Year Analyst (393) $104
  • Associate Consultant (176) $101
  • 1st Year Analyst (1164) $90
  • Intern/Summer Associate (208) $83
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (640) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
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...”