Hi everyone - Recently joined WSO and was asked to post a Q&A. Happy to answer anything based on undergrad, strategy consulting, working in industry, grad school, or investment banking. Here it goes! Born and raised in Upstate New York. Went to HYP majoring in International Affairs. Worked in Strategy Consulting at a top 5 shop for 2+ years (NYC) before working at a F200 company on their corporate strategy team (Dallas). At a top 10 MBA program (West Coast) and just recruited for IB - will be joining a BB this summer (NYC). Happy to dive in more detail depending on questions / comments (feel free to PM me if not comfortable asking me in a public setting).
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hey mate,
thanks for doing this. is there any reason you chose to go to IB over returning to strategy consulting?
Yeah definitely! The reason I chose to go into IB over returning to strategy consulting is three-fold. One, out of my Strategy Consulting engagements, I particularly enjoyed CDDs and growth strategy assignments. If I stayed in consulting I knew I would be limited to being a piecemeal partner rather than an adviser that owned the deals process / cycle. Two, I found myself spending a ton of time in PowerPoint in consulting and wanted a bit more of a technical experience and so wanted to learn the financial / technical aspects of business. Third, it doesn't hurt that it pays relatively more for similar hours and less travel.
Top 10 MBA program on the west coast? Assuming you're serious about top 10 that narrows it down to all of 2 options so...
UCLA (Anderson) or Berkeley (Haas)?
UCLA Anderson is Top 20. Top 10 would narrow it down to Stanford GSB or Berkeley Haas.
Hahaha - I'll let you make the guess. Not GSB but one of the two :)
Thanks for doing this! Would love to know more about your career goals as I'm in almost exactly the same bucket (undergrad at Ivy, F500 corp strategy, starting MBA business schools">M7 MBA next year with intention of doing IB).
Others have asked it but why IB--what is the long-term career goal (if it isn't to stay in IB)?
For a west coast program, did you feel TMT groups would have been easier to get into out there than for a top ranked program elsewhere in the US?
How did you find the IB recruiting at your school? Talking to many students in the IB Club from many programs, they all indicate it's similar, but did you feel any particular strengths or weaknesses?
Yeah great question (I've answered the why IB up above). Long-term, I'm not sure what's in store for me but I definitely enjoyed the client-facing side of things that consulting / IB provides. I found that in my corporate strategy function, things inevitably slowed down due to company processes, engagements became more political, and the level of analysis / depth wasn't what I was used to in consulting.
For us, TMT groups are definitely more of a play on the west coast along with healthcare if you are targeting San Francisco. The number of alumni in SF and LA is naturally higher which plays a huge part in recruiting so definitely much easier. Los Angeles is a bit more of a hodgepodge but benefits from a few firms being founded there (Houlihan Lokey, Moelis) and others retaining strong presences in the market (Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley). I would say our school placed relatively well in other geographies as well this class (8 in New York, 1 in Minneapolis, 2 in Houston) given that we are on the west coast.
To your point about IB recruiting at my school - it is relatively similar I think across programs but I think there are a few things to consider. Are you considered a "finance" school? If you are, then career services knows the way the game is played, you have a good group of peers to rely on / study with, networking is easier, and second year students / alumni are very familiar with the process. Second, being on the west coast I think gave us in some ways a leg up on recruiting in different geographies since if you made even the smallest effort (e.g., taking an early call, flying in for networking) you got a big boost vs. those located in the geography who are expected to spend their Friday's at the banks (e.g., NYU / Columbia / Stern in NY or Rice / UT-Austin for Houston)
I'll bite. Seems like you have really valuable experiences. I am heading to a BB out of undergrad and have really considered consulting many times- but didn't really have the time or stats to pursue it. Is something I might still consider if I ever decide to do my MBA instead of staying in IB (current plan).
What made you want to go into consulting out of UG? Did you consider or interview for anything else? If so, how did you make your ultimate choice?
What did you gain out of your time in consulting that made leaving for corp strat in Dallas viable- and why DID you make that exit? What did you prefer or enjoy about the new role?
Consulting -> Corp Strat -> IB seems like the inverse of a commonly followed path (IB -> MBA -> Consulting or IB - > Corp Dev/Strat). Why the switch up? What made you want to pursue your MBA and then investment banking?
GMAT Prep: Any tips or anecdotes from your experience? What did you score & how did you decide on your MBA?
Future plans? MD? VC? Back to consulting or industry?
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