How much worse is IB than MBB
I am in PE now and the ex bankers always have a chip on their shoulder and think that banking had much a tougher/bad culture and was in general much more difficult than consulting.
I never was in IB but I also found MBB very sweaty if you were in the respective verticals (e.g., mostly strategy/PE related work). Also found it much higher table stakes to be pulled constantly into meetings (in person) with senior execs while you have relatively little clue about a industry/market but still expected to fully carry the presentation on your deliverables in front of those clients.
I feel like most bankers who left as analysts did the most cookie-cutter/mundane type of work over and over with little ambiguity vs. in consulting it went from "hey lets do a growth strategy for this niche biotech startup" to "lets build a market model for this blueberry producer and apple farm in New Zealand". And the partners would always expect from you very soon that you would own/carry all those workstreams with little guidance.
Also observe this in how they work in PE now. They are so process/execution oriented but thrown off the rail with ambiguity, problem solving or PortCo related work.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, the comparison between IB (Investment Banking) and MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) consulting often boils down to the nature of the work, culture, and skillsets developed:
Work Nature and Ambiguity:
Culture and Expectations:
Skillsets and Transition to PE:
Perception of Difficulty:
Ultimately, both paths are demanding in their own ways, and the perception of "tougher" or "worse" largely depends on individual experiences and the specific challenges faced in each role.
Sources: WSO 2022 Investment Banking Work-Conditions Survey (Part 1/3), What’s Harder? MBB or EB/BB, What’s Harder? MBB or EB/BB, Why do MBAs seem to favor consulting over banking nowadays?, Investment Banking Hours - What to Expect?
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Seems to me you have a chip on your shoulder to be posting this here. Banking is worse in terms of sheer hours, toxicity, and unpredictability if compared to consulting (this is also bank dependent but let's just say the top 3 BBs and Ebs as benchmarks). Yes, I agree that cookie cutter BB analysts didn't have too much of responsibilities, but not the same for EB analysts.
To be very frank, ex-consultants are better fit for PE investing then ex-bankers. Modelling / valuation work stream aren't THAT important at the end of the day and, generally speaking, getting a conviction around business model, market position, growth trajectory, etc. is more critical in a deal underwriting process (ofc, all of these are better learnt at your typical MBB vs a BB/EB)
I‘ve worked both with bankers and consultants and time and time again former bankers were sharper, grinding more and less entitled. Most consultants can barely navigate through a P&L and tie 3 statements.
Also, the „thesis development“ part that you‘re describing is quite easy and you learn it with a few reps. Takes more common sense than anything else.
Well I think the main USP to hire bankers into PE is that they are indeed less entitled and much more push-overs when it comes to go on the knees and take in everything that the MD's shove down the throat of the working teams.
At MBB there is much more push for lifestyle and people actually decine projects with partners known to grind the teams .. so no wonder it makes you feel "they are more entitled". LMAO
Well, you kinda answered yourself. In banking, the mundane grind is just the cost of a junior seat. At the senior level (depends on the platform), it’s mostly cranking deals and stacking fees. No one’s pretending you’re “creating value” - you’re running processes, fulfilling mandates, and trying to win the next one. But let’s not kid ourselves: there’s no fucking way that’s somehow worse than consulting.
Along the way, you actually absorb a ton of industry nuance - how to price risk, how to value the weirder corners of the market, what levers actually move shit. If you’re grinding out 100-hour weeks on a model, you’d better be picking up something more useful than just carpal tunnel.
Consultants also do exactly what you said: butter up C-suites and talk circles around topics they admit they have “little to no (*definitely no) clue about.” They’re basically ass-metal shields for middle management, making sure the board doesn’t fuck anyone when the plan blows up. Half the deck probably got thrown together in the Uber on the way to the client (Googling buzzwords between red lights) or hammered out at 35,000 feet, hunched over a tray table like a lunatic.
And as for “problem-solving,” spare me the catshit. Both jobs are mid when it comes to actually figuring out how to fix a business. Consultants just layer on more jargon (or OxyContin, if you’re McKinsey) and call it strategy.
I am a very mellow person typically but consultants make me seethe with rage
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