ZS Associates Business Operations Associate vs. Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory
Hey Everyone,
I am a former Air Traffic Controller and Air Force veteran who will be graduating from the University of Southern California in 2021 with a dual degree, BS in Business Administration and MSc in Industrial and Systems Engineering. I currently have offers from both Deloitte in their Risk and Financial Advisory [internal audit] division (in LA office) and another offer from ZS Associates as a Business Operations Consultant (in NYC office).
I am really struggling with what I should do here as Pharma/Life Sciences doesn't seem too interesting to me, but I haven't worked in the industry before. ZS definitely exceeds Deloitte in terms of pay, but I also know ZS works you much harder than Deloitte. My end goal would be to end up doing strategy/management consulting at MBB or Deloitte S&O/Strategy&/Parthenon. Here are a couple of burning questions that I would be very grateful to whoever could answer them:
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What specific roles firms outside of MBB would a ZS Business Operations Consultant exit to? Would I only be limited to "Business Operations" roles or would I also be considered for Management Consulting roles etc.?
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Because I am currently based out of LA, would I be better served to take the Deloitte offer and continue to recruit in LA for a role at Deloitte S&O or other consulting firms? I didn't make it past Bain first round.
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Is there any possible chance if I took the ZS gig that I could switch gears and exit to roles in finance or PE? I am just wanting to know what options I will be eliminating if I chose ZS.
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Is the ZS New York office more "prestigious" in terms of work and will it look better on my resume than Deloitte LA office?
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What are the most important transferable skills I will be attaining at ZS vs. Deloitte?
I have plenty more questions I could ask, but just wanted to get the discussion started. Any information would be incredibly helpful!