MM PE Analyst vs Non-MBB Consulting FT offer

First of all, congratulations on your offers. Like you, I was an analyst at one of the Tier-2 consulting shops and eventually transitioned into a well-known MM PE shop.

Rather than directly answering your questions, I would reframe your decision in broader terms - where do you see the arc of your career taking you and what skills do you hope to pick up along the way? If you are 100% committed to private equity, particularly in the strategy and industries that the PE firm invests in, then I would suggest taking the PE analyst role. If, on the other hand, you think that you may have other interests outside of PE (e.g., product management, corporate strategy, the public sector), then I would highly recommend consulting.

I would also recommend consulting if you want to develop a broad range of general management skills. When I was a consulting analyst, I was fortunate enough to be exposed to a wide range of problems, from M&A due diligence to corporate strategy and finance all the way down to operational improvements and organizational restructuring. You might find some non-investment topics uninteresting (I certainly decided that I would avoid repeating certain types of projects when at all possible). On the other hand, I am now a much broader and more complete business thinker than I would have been had I gone down the investment banking or PE route out of undergrad, and in retrospect, I'm very glad to have started out in management consulting.

It all depends on how you evaluate those dimensions and what your personal preferences are. I don't think you can go wrong here, but I would encourage you to think beyond the recruiting mindset and instead reflect on your goals and aspirations over your broader career.

Good luck!