Consulting is highly underrated...?
Hi all. First-time poster on this forum, so go easy on me.
I'm currently a sophomore at a LAC majoring in STEM. Academia is a huge no-no for me, and I wanna obviously pursue something more applicable. So many people at my school glorify certain finance positions. Being the free thinker that I am lmao, I decided to do some research on this forum, on youtube, on google, to see how these different jobs compare.
At a quick glance, I realize that consulting is perhaps one of the most under-appreciated jobs there is? Emphasis on the question mark, as I'm curious about what other chimps have to say.
I mean it seems that there is better sustainable work-life balance, being treated like an actual human being(to an extent I'm sure), actual exposure to clients, travel perks (could get old quickly), above-average pay(no elitism here), a solid skillset for someone like me who wants to eventually go into CorpDev and start their own business, and of course exit opps.
At least at my school, consulting seems to look upon as the little brother of all the big rah rah jobs out there. Why the stigma?
I agree that it may be underrated, and whilst WLB is better (although regularly getting up at 4am for a 6am flight sucks as much as leaving the office at 2am) I also think that grouping all STEMs is a bit misleading. If you're a mathematics, physicians, engineering or econometrics genius it makes sense to go to finance - it is more numerical, more aligned with structured thinking (common in those STEM subjects) and pays better in most cases. Also, you don't have specific consulting firms for people that come from those subjects, maybe with the exception of economics because you can land roles in places like CRA, NERA and The Analysis Group. If you done anything remotely biology related, I would strongly recommend consulting simply because there are dozens of reputable life sciences consultancies out there that actively look for PhDs. In summary, it may be an underrated field but finance makes more sense for some STEM subjects.
I am actually a mathematics major, but I don't think I'm a logical thinking genius. I love the problem solving/creativity side of things and humanities, I just so happen to be a little more mathematically inclined.
And can I ask, if finance jobs are more aligned with structured thinking, what are consulting jobs more aligned with? I don't think I've seen a specific major that more often than not goes into consulting from my school, while everybody and anybody who majors in Econ seems to drift towards high finance.
It depends by firm, but I've seen a fair amount of people with liberal arts/humanities backgrounds go into consulting. This could also simply be a function of my firm.
Disclaimer - I haven’t worked in consulting myself (only IB and then PE) but from what you’ve said it sounds like you would be quite suited to finance.
Sure, as an analyst it is mostly grunt work - building models and creating PPT slides, but that really just serves as a good learning curve.
By the time you get to an IB associate/VP or PE, you are obviously still focused on modelling - but your role is much more about assessing “what the numbers mean” and how they fit into the bigger picture, rather than generating the numbers themselves (which is what analysts mainly do).
It is very much a problem-solving role - especially in a competitive bid process, it often feels like a game of 3D chess - eg you might have a way to juice the bid and get better numbers/bid price, but then you also have to consider if that aggressive cap structure is a sound idea (at least on the PE side). Also you have to fit the quantitative numbers together with the qualitative - eg lawyers will give you advice on legal risks etc, which your job is to somehow quantify and fit them in with the numbers. So an example in PE might be is it worth going for a higher bid if it means your lenders’ lawyers have inserted a number of tough bond/financing covenants? It’s your job ultimately to quantify that, at least as you move up the food chain. Assume the same applies in IB at VP level but on the seller’s side.
Anyway sorry I know that doesn’t answer your question on consulting, but just wanted to chip in my two cents in case you thought a career in IB/PE is just a lifetime of “crunching numbers”.
This is mainly an IB forum so it will be underrated on this forum. Overall, I think it is properly rated. In terms of your school, I think IB recruiting is a lot more predictable, so a school would rather push IB knowing they can get kids in and then flex in on their employment stats. Also with IB, there are more top tier firms IMO. Consulting definitely has some pros and some cons vs IB or other high finance careers and I would say it is one of the better first jobs out of undergrad especially if you get a MBB/T2
This might be an unpopular opinion but imo I would rather work till 12-2am and then go to my own bed in my house to sleep. people talk about the work life balance in consulting but they only look at the hours in the office. As a consultant in the pre-covid era, you would be traveling to and from airports, checking in and out of hotels, etc. Once the initial novelty of traveling subsides, I think that would become so cumbersome.
Hey, different strokes for different folks and all that but to me it seems the hours are pretty similar (MAYBE better for consulting depending on project/team) during the weekday, but in 95% of cases or so you have weekends totally to yourself other than potentially late flights on Sundays early Mon.
IB you will be working every single weekend. Maybe not until 2am but you will not have weekends off at least that's my understanding although I've never done it.
I'll gladly take sleeping in hotels/traveling if I actually am able to have a life outside work which IMO you can't have if you are working 7 days a week. Still a tough WLB in consulting but better than IB. All my opinion of course. If you disagree vaya con dios
That’s another really good point. When I was in my early 20s, the idea of travelling to different locations seemed pretty glamorous/exciting. Personally though being 30 now and having done my share of (much more limited) business travel in IB/PE - the novelty wears off very quickly.
It’s nothing like the “House of Lies” show with Don Cheadle - instead you’re crushed against multiple deadlines and know you have to deliver something unrelated before catching your flight, meaning you’re almost always late and never have time to use the airport lounge etc. When your plane lands 2hrs later you have 30 emails/updates on various projects to go through, meaning your evening consists of going straight to the hotel and working all evening. Then you have to get up early for whatever meeting etc you took the flight for in the first place.
At least that was my (admittedly non-consulting) experience. Like I said I wouldn’t have minded in my early 20s - but by the time you reach 30, scheduling time to see your friends etc is difficult enough given a lot of them have families now. If you add the fact you’re away a few days every week - forget it. Also imagine how difficult it will be to date - even in IB/PE you have at least a chance of managing to squeeze in time to maintain a relationship.
I’m saying this as a single guy btw - can only imagine how much harder it would be with a wife and kids....
As someone who interned at BB then made the switch to consulting I agree/disagree in a few ways. I think finance in general gets the bulk of attention because at the higher levels the paydays are multiples of anything you see in consulting. But also, while it may not get a lot of attention publicly, consulting is still generally pursued by more people at top targets than finance. For exactly the reasons you mentioned.
On the point above about traveling, yes this is clearly the worst part in terms of making it a sustainable career. If there were little to no travel, the job becomes that much more attractive.
IB and Consulting are very different and lead to very different outcomes. Think about what you want to do and choose a path more likely to drive that. For those that don't work their way up to IB MD or MBB Partner, what do you want to do. HF, Corp Fin (treasury, M&A, etc. Even CFO), PE then go IB. Do you want to be in Corp Strat, Head of Ops, CEO, etc go consulting. Not only do they build different skillsets, they build vastly different networks. As an example, oldest brother was an MBB and then a leader in the life sciences business. He knows most of the major players in that industry globally. Works with them, advises them. He told me the biggest advantage he has from his MBB network is he can get info or an answer to a question from a thought leader on basically anything he needs anywhere in the world within 24 hours. Makes doing business in different countries a lot easier. Most of his former MBB colleagues are running businesses.
Have a buddy who was a senior person of a BB, much higher than MD. Ran a vertical. Worked on some of the biggest deals on the front page of the WSJ for many years. Met with F50 CEOs all the time (but specifically about M&A, not running the business, solving problems, rolling out new tech, etc). Fairly narrow focus.
One is not better than the other. Ask yourself what you want to do.
IMO consulting is being seen more favorably recently and I know a few people who recruited FT for consulting after not liking their IB internship experience. My school sends about 25 kids to MBB each year and I don't think MBB is underrated at all. Maybe tier 2 firms deserve a bit more recognition.
Even at HYP they give offers to less than 5% of kids for MBB, while hundreds apply.
Who's saying consulting is underrated? Maybe on WSO because this is largely a banking forum. Head over to MBA subreddit and see how many "do I have a shot at MBB" threads they have every day. That and FAANG product management is hot right now.
LMFAO @ Consulting.
Really depends where you are coming from. HSW MBA? Probably overrated compared to some other options on the table. Humanities PhD? Probably your only shot out of poverty
LOLOLOL
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