MBB NYC vs MF PE

MBB Consulting:

1. Far better culture

2. More varied / interesting work

3. Overall significantly better lifestyle

4. Higher likelihood of achieving partner / senior partner 

PE:

1. Far higher monetary upside in the event you are promoted to partner - but comparably chances of making it to partner are relatively low IMO compared to MBB

If you value lifestyle/culture - stick with MBB. If you value the (unlikely) opportunity to make *serious* money ($30-50mm+) - join PE. You'll know better than most, but partners and senior partners are MBB pull in serious comp as well (all cash). 

There's a fantastic thread on WSO from an MBB consultant who did PE and was a top performer there, but turned down the promotion to go back to MBB. Walks through all the reasons consultants will not enjoy the transition to PE. I reference it often when I think about making the same switch.

This may not be the right way to think about it but my general sense is that consulting firms are happy to have folks rejoin if they were well regarded when they left. It may make sense to try PE for a year or two, get paid a boatload of money, and get really good at excel and bossing around service providers before returning to MBB after you get burned out (and maybe with additional time off for an MBA if you can get them to pay for it). 

There's a semi-famous MBB partner who made it decently senior at a well-known PE fund before she switched completely to consulting and built their PE DD practice. She has absolutely thrived. 

Would stay in consulting. Let us know what you choose / what you’re leaning towards! Interested

I'm former MBB at a MF. I think people often lose forest for the trees here. Both jobs are tough, but PE much more brutal. I say that because you need to pick something you'd rather do 70+ hrs a week for the foreseeable future. I get grinded way harder in PE. But I'm very glad I made the switch because I never liked consulting and always wanted to be an investor. So it's an easy choice. If you fundamentally like consulting it's going to be a much easier life. PE is too hard to do if you don't actually like it. Otherwise you end up like the many associates who burn out after 2 years and feel lost. Candidly I judge those people, because it's clear that most of them were just sheep headed to the slaughter. I'm not saying you need to stay in PE your whole life, but it's a great way to become an investor. If you're not deeply interested in that essential component, I suggest you stay at MBB.

Could be completely off the mark on this (and would be happy to be corrected if false) but isn't there way more regular travel in consulting? Could be a consideration maybe as you go up the ranks and think about starting a family? Super exotic and fun in your 20's but would imagine it blends to a drag in your late 30's and you're missing little Johnny's soccer game yet again. Not saying that PE is better (it's for sure not) from WLB POV but everyone higher up than me that I work w/ always seem to be able to hit going to their kids' important events  

I wish I could find the thread that was mentioned above. I too remember someone writing a nice thread about going from MBB to PE and then back to MBB. 

I haven't been a consultant, so I can't speak from experience; however, I have worked with many and have many close friends who are consultants. Looking in from the outside my perception is always that they work hard, but not that hard. The travel can be a hassle for some and I think if you're in a major city, NY/SF, etc then it makes less sense than being in a Tier 2 city and still making the same amount of money. With that said, the folks that stick around in consulting for more than a couple of years seems to love it. As someone said above, it's a little more of a simpatico/kum ba ya type of culture. Hours aren't as bad, people actually generally respect boundaries such as weekends and holidays. It's a little more WLB focused where as PE/Banking pay more and figure that gives them the right to ask for as much as they need from you. 

In your situation, the only thing I'd mention is, will you have regrets not at least trying out PE? I'm biased but PE can be a great role from a learning perspective. The deals you'll see and do at the UMM/MF level should be pretty interesting and you'll get some insight into what it takes to be a do-er within a business rather than just someone who is consulting that business and leaving the execution phase to others.

If you have a good relationship with your group at MBB, there's a good chance you could find a way back there. Unless you're super content with your life and perhaps don't have the capacity to try something new (family, health, etc), I'd grind for another 2 years and make the leap. Worst case you, check off the PE box, realize you don't like finance, make some great money, and you can go back to MBB at ~27/28 and be partner by your mid 30s.

I'd go for it, life is too short to not try out some new things.

Consultant who made the jump to PE checking in! 

The gist is that what a lot of what people have said above is true: the least risky path is to go give it a shot, and your MBB job will be waiting there for you when you come back. Quite a few boomerangs in MBB land, and they have experienced so much turnover these past 2.5 years they'll welcome you with open arms assuming you're half decent. 

I almost cried leaving my MBB job. I loved the people, the work, the atmosphere. I found the first few weeks at my PE job depressing ...until I got the hang of it. And I wouldn't trade this job for anything else right now. How it compares from my POV:

- Hours: PE is trough-ier and peak-ier than CDDs. The troughs in PE mean I chill out for a few weeks in August, the peaks mean I do 2 am's 4 weeks straight. With CDDs, I never went past 12 am, but it was sustained 

- Content: I found CDDs interesting (hence PE!) and couldn't stomach working with a massive bank writing bla bla slides on strategic workforce management workshops for FY2035 knowing full well it's a bunch of bullshit and wasted time for everyone. I must say though, we go 3 levels deeper internally on CDD in my current PE job, and I love that even more

- Diversity of stuff you do: definitely spend more time on admin things (board reports processing, internal client reports, etc.) at the PE job than I'd like - at least for now. But you then learn that there is a whole different set of skillsets you still need to hone: modelling, FDD, and (everyone's fav) sourcing and conversion. PE is more diverse, intellectually challenging by far for me 

PE gives a mucho more holistic and real world skill set. If you buy something you’re stuck with it for years too so you better get it right. Bluntly put and a bit facetiously, MBB is focused on churning out theoretical reports largely dictated by clients. I wouldn’t go back under any circumstance 

Congrats on NMC

I’ve never worked in MBB, did IB then PE, so I’ll admit I am bias. That said, thinking as objectively as possible, I really think going into PE is a complete non-brainier, especially if it’s a solid MF as you noted. Two ways to look at this:

1. Quality of the work: while the quality of the work at MBB is great I’m sure, PE will give you a much more well-rounded experience and skill set. You learn how businesses in the real world actually work when you are the principal, for better or worse. Even when an MBB consults us or gives us a report, we still have to be discerning and can’t just do or believe everything they say. Being a principal means you TELL the CEO/CFO what to do, not ADVISE them in some slides that hopefully they’ll implement the content of. I’m not trying to minimize the work of consultants here so I apologize if it comes off that way but I am underscoring that it is just a different mentality as a principal. That obviously comes with a lot of stress too - when things go south, you can’t just walk away from it.
2. Consider the option value: if you stick with MBB and don’t go into PE, the door to PE is most certainly shut for you, at least as an investment professional. If you join that MF and it doesn’t work out or you miss consulting, you will be welcomed back with open arms. No MBB is going to disqualify you for working in PE. 

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