2-3 years MBB or straight to industry?

In UG heading into IB so this is pure opinion- take it for what you will.

I feel like the smarter move would be pharma if you want to end up in that industry. If you want to go to a different industry, aren't sure of what you want to do, or really want to try and make partner, consulting becomes the obvious choice. To try and turn that into a more specific answer for your question- based on intuition, and your anecdotes, I think you'll be slightly behind the curve if you go consulting to industry as opposed to starting in the same industry, so if you want to work in healthcare my bet would be go right there. Again: in UG going into IB so I have no actual experience with this- take it for what you will.

In a similar situation--PM for some offline discussion.

I think the main issue with consulting (esp MBB) is that your industry focus will be limited, as these firms push you towards a generalist route.

Limited data sample (N=5), but for those who left at engagement manager/project leader (N=3) or principal/associate principal (N=2), they went onto Senior Director or VP position at F500 (different industries). Tenure at firm ranged from 4-8 years.

Look at your alumni's linkedin profile, and check his/her connections. Let me know if you find more anecdotes besides your two alumni you know of.

Also, I would just check job postings for Director positions in big pharma, see what the requirements are. From postings at companies I looked at, some have preference for management consulting.

Great info! Based on the above post and some web searching, it looks like to get the full benefit, one would have to make it to at least the engagement manager level.

Usually companies don't post their higher level positions for access to the whole internet, but its worth a search. I'll take a look into that in more detail tomorrow and see if I get generate some trends, especially in the industries I'd like to target (automotive and pharma - I know, very different, but two areas that really interest me)

The other data point I have is my internship company - it's a F500 heavy construction machinery company. I don't think any of the director or VP level folks I've interacted with came from consulting. Some senior management folks were pulled from the auto industry, but that's about as much external recruitment as I've seen. This company mainly recruits straight from undergrad, very sporadic MBA recruiting, and some poaching higher levels from other heavy construction/automotive/occasionally aero.

Thanks for that above. I was going to hit that research tomorrow, still will do some more digging, but that's truly helpful.

The Pfizer role seems like exactly what I would hope to find after a few years at a MBB firm if I were to get out. Again, I think my goal would actually be to shoot for partner. That's at least one more data point that shows that opportunities are generally in line with what they tout.

It also just hit me that our program maintains a very comprehensive database of alums with many profiles that include direct LinkedIn connections. A little research shows that a significant amount of people from '05-'09 did go to MBB and about 1/2 seemed to stayed in and reached a high level. As I examined those currently in industry positions, all of those who showed MBB as their post-MBA start point were at least at a director level - though this trend seems to happen only for specific industries. As significant number of '05-'09 grads who were directors in pharma and tech appeared to have spent at 2-4 years consulting first, though about as many directors went straight into industry. I did not find a single instance (of linkedin profiles that were available) of alumni in aero, automotive, or heavy manufacturing at high levels and went into consulting first.

So, it looks like the answer to my initial question is "it should be fine." Will still do more research over the next few days. Question now is really - do I want to do consulting or pharma?

Cool. That makes sense. Director is pretty decent position, so I would think you need at least 3-4 years experience post MBA.

You may get a head start in pharma with the rotation program, but MBB may just be better from a network standpoint. 5 years from now, your next position will probably be through contacts. I would think with such high turnover, you're more likely to run into a fellow MBB alumni, than whichever pharma you may join now.

For me, would also depend on which pharma it is. Probably won't miss too much by going to MBB for 3-4 years (and you can explore auto industry), unless your offer is with a really up and coming pharma/biopharma, such as Regeneron (leading on PCSK9), Gilead who dominates infectious diseases, or even BMS who is in the lead with immunotherapies (CLTA-4 recently approved, leading on PD-1).

Good luck with your decision.

i would say go pharma.. there is a clearer view of your end goal and you are going into a rotational program. Its less of a gamble than going into MBB, hoping you survive the up and out policy, hoping you get staffed on pharma projects that you can relate to a pharma interview that you hope you land after 2 years or so.

Have you worked in pharma before? It is a totally different animal compared to consulting.

Either way, you cannot really make a wrong decision GSK Espirit Program (I'm assuming) vs MBB

PM if you have any specific questions, worked in pharma and have talked to many ex-consultants in pharma