Monkeys, I was looking at an analyst level gig at an investment bank. I was talking to a mentor of mine who opined that Management Consulting is a better career choice at the start of your career as it exposes you to different sectors. Though I am assuming that the exposure part is right, what are the other tangible benefits that it has over banking? The way I see it, banking at least gives you solid modeling skills which might be useful for other strategy roles down the lane.
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I've heard that banking offers you the corporate strategy element you would get from MC with the same exits into corporate strategy if you want. Is this true?
I don't think the exposure is particularly useful. At the end of the day its the same intellectually-questionable BS kind of job but with less pay and few (if any) opportunities to develop hard skills (i.e. financial modelling). Only reason I would do it is if you had an inkling you might prefer it long term (which is difficult for you to know now). Otherwise, banking offers better exit opps (you can still do corp dev but now buyside will take you more seriously).
ONLY EXCEPTION: MBB > any non top tier bank (basically anything other than GS/MS/JPM/CS or top boutique) SOLELY on the basis of prestige. Because the Universe is broadly retarded, such things on your resume matter (especially early in your career). I would say essentially any bank is better than non-MBB consulting.
What about Deloitte? I feel like Deloitte is more recognizable than a smaller IB in terms of prestige, especially if you're a part of the consulting arm of Deloitte.
There is a lot of potential for "what if" scenarios but dazedmonk specifically mentioned MBB, for which he has outlined a very specific reason. Prestige is not the same as brand recognition.
TheBuellerBanker is right. MBB>>>Deloitte in terms of prestige, and remember the prestige needs to COMPENSATE for the fact that you're in consulting. Any other firm and recruiters are likely to start thinking in practical terms (e.g. who will build better models), in which case the banker likely wins
Don't let this distract you from the fact that if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be entitled to financial compensation
Friggin Christ Mr Lahey
Randy, I've decided to lay off the food for a bit, and go on the booze
A few thoughts from a current consultant at MBB headed to PE next year:
Consulting allows you to test many different industry verticals and functional practices without committing more than 2-3 months to exploring each one. I found extremely helpful as it allowed me to quickly zone in on the type of work I like best.
Consulting has a serious feedback culture, which helped me quickly identify strengths to maximize and weaknesses to improve upon (+ suggestions for how to fix them). This culture of self-improvement also means that, generally speaking, people who stick around for 3-5 years become really stellar managers. As a result, I've not only enjoyed working with most of my managers, I've also been able to learn quite a bit about leadership from them
While there is less of a focus on building deep knowledge of a specific skill (e.g. LBO modeling) than there is in banking, consulting teaches you soft skills that will be valuable over your entire career - how to influence / persuade a group, how to solve a problem most efficiently with your time & resources, and how to communicate effectively.
EDIT: Also wanted to quickly address DazedMonk's post - I strongly disagree with the claim that consulting has worse exit opps than banking. Exits from consulting are extremely broad - start ups, industry leaders, NGOs, PE- but all leave to fantastic roles at top-notch organizations. Banking might open a few more doors in finance (hedge funds, some PE funds) for the 2 years immediately following your analyst tenure, but your options are far more limited outside of that space
I think this is right--you can get really strong branding and experience in both industries, however it is going to be a bit different and people will in general exit to slightly different places. That said I think there's overlap in almost everything, (including quant HF's and PE for consultants). Lots of people pick consulting over banking and vice versa.
I also think this is right. As someone who has been in banking for a while now and has worked closely with consultants on a number of projects, I would say I find junior consultants appear much more impressive than junior bankers. I presume the basis is junior bankers are essentially told to keep quiet, while consultants are put in more conversational / interactive roles.
Whether or not that means they are smarter / more effective is another story altogether, but soft skills - in the long run - are what differentiate people. In banking. there is really no difference in knowledge from one MD to another (inside the same industry / product group), but if one is much better at communicating and in dealing with clients he will invariably be more successful.
Currently at GSB/HBS - from what I've seen from my peers, consulting at MBB will give you similar exit opps into top PE funds, as well as all the other opps SFlemming1 mentioned. IT consulting at an Accenture can get you into Google, FB, etc. The only jobs that are more off-limits to a consultant is the investment management industry (AM, HF, etc) and other corp finance roles.
I realize there may be a self-selection bias here, but thought I'd mention it
IB vs Management Consulting for Start Up (Originally Posted: 01/30/2018)
Hey guys, i'm just wondering between working in Investment Banking and Management Consulting, which one would be more beneficial for you if you eventually want to start your own business? Thank you!
Either one, because front office roles in IB can be similar to management consulting.
Thank you for your response.
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