Finished FLDP, now what?

Question

I finished a 2 year FLDP with one of the largest in Big Pharma that you've all heard of. I'm about 6 months in to my roll-off position and looking to jump ship Q1 2018.

I'm eyeing top of Tier 2 consulting and have started case prep. However, I wanted to take a step back for a moment to consider other opportunities before going all in on prep for this route.

I honestly am at a loss as to what a next step for me would be. What is typical for someone looking to take a next step after FLDP? I do not want to continue in FP&A which is where I'm at now.

2trickpony · Accepted Answer

When you say function, are you referring to corporate finance or just FP&A?

Coming out of FLDP, I've normally seens pre-MBA moves to other parts of a finance department or a department that looks, smells, and feels like finance (analytics, forecasting, etc.).

FP&A is not the only finance function you can be in pre-MBA, but it is the most common.  I'd encourage you to keep looking.  A lot of roles where you are close to product lines and product managers will give you good exposure to strategy and decision making that can be spoken to well in applications.

Gibbs · Answer

I "graduated" from a Pharma FLDP based in NJ and applied to various Corporate Strategy jobs and landed a CS gig with large company in the ~same location/different industry and now I'm looking to go to B School to switch over to MBB consulting. Honestly, I hated the FLDP experience - it was mind numbingly boring and there wasn't a lot of talent there/insanely difficult to move up/absurd levels of politics.

beginswithavowel · Answer

Maybe we've walked the same halls! Low probability though as the program I was in was fairly new to the company as a result of an acquisition that ignited it, but the depiction of your FLDP experience is very similar to mine.

Yeah, no desire to kill myself to get into MBB pre-MBA. I am planning to try for M7 but that's going to be 2-4 years down the road. Like you've said, I'm trying to find that "something new" to bridge the gap. Thought T2 consulting would be a logical choice for me as some graduates of my program have moved over to that.

Do you enjoy the CS gig?

Gibbs · Answer

CS is much better than FLDP, the work is much more interesting, and I get to work on projects with MBB consultants. My FLDP experience certainly did not prepare me for this job - I "self prepared." Spent countless hours reading forums, practising case interviews, reading 10Ks (Being prepared!) and applied to a LOT of jobs (in NJ/NYC/Philly) until I got lucky and got an interview. I killed the interview - was very well prepared for cases, and read up extensively about the industry.

The "Big Pharma" brand definitely helped though.

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Finished FLDP, now what?

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Finished FLDP, now what?

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