From tier 2-3 to Bain but reduction in salary and level
Hey guys... I am faced with an interesting decision. I am currently working for a tier 2-3 Life Sciences consulting firm (Trinity, ZS, IMS, Clearview but not OW or LEK). I am currently a first year manager (3 years post-MBA). I applied to Bain and got an offer as a Consultant (entry level post-MBA).
My base salary would also be cut by $20K.
I wouldn't mind staying where I am at for another 4-5 years, but the allure of Bain is definitely attractive
What would you do in my case? Let me know what you think.
This a throwaway account as I generally post here and didn't want to raise any flags.
Personally, I'd take the Bain offer. Will open lots of doors for your future career prospects, which could ultimately make the 20k pennies on the dollar in terms of career earnings down the line because of Bain's spectacular name brand and exit opps. That said, I get that 20 grand is 20 grand, and if you have student loans or other financial obligations then the immediate hit to your cash flow situation is certainly something to consider too. All in all, this is a good problem to have. Good luck!
You'd be crazy not to imo. Top brand and exit opps. Also fast salary progression I've heard, so your earning potential goes up exponentially long-term either way. Losing out on base might be a bit painful at first but you'll probably make up for it within a year. Are you sure all-in comp would even suffer? I've heard Bain has a generous bonus pool.
I’m not too familiar with consulting world outside of MBB’s and tier 2s/3s, but I think $20k (which is really just ~60% of that post tax) is not the biggest factor and negligible (unless you’re living by paycheck). I would weigh things like whether the new role would open more doors in your career and overall trajectory a lot more. Think longer term.
Some things I’d consider:
If you stayed where you are right now for 4-5 years, and then wanted to move to Bain or other MBB’s, (1) how difficult / plausible is the move? And if possible (2) would you still have to take a discount once you’re more senior in consulting (or would the discount be even greater)?
I’d also think about how quickly your total comp would ramp up at Bain vs your current shop - because if the Bain comp climbs faster, the 20k difference now will be negligible.
How difficult is it to climb back up the ranks at Bain vs your current shop? Do you have a general idea on the difficulty? Can your addition experience help you stand out and does Bain allow for rapid promotion and recognition of meritocracy? Or will it be tough to rebuild goodwill as a new guy at Bain?
Overall, I’d think about what you’d get from Bain vs your current shop and how valuable that is to you. In the form of career trajectory and experience development, optionality (do you want exposure to other industry sectors, markets, geographies and would Bain give you that option) brand recognition and whether the exit opps are far greater because of all these factors.
Bain, for all the reasons mentioned above.
$20k is a noticeable amount of money, but in the long term it's not "that much". Due to Bain's salary progression and high bonuses you'll recuperate that in 1-2 years.
Plus, $20k doesn't paint the entire picture. Is that 12% of your current salary or 30%?
And I may be wrong but isn't Bain Consultant-level salary hovering around $150k base?
Yep. Bain post-MBA associates start at ~$150k with a maximum bonus of ~$40k according to management consulted (which is relatively accurate). That'd put his current comp at ~$170k base with an unknown bonus.
It's pretty reasonable to guess that he'd make back any difference in two years or less.
https://managementconsulted.com/consulting-salaries/2018-management-con…
Yes I am currently making $170K but my bonus ranges from 10 to 15%.
Thank you all for the responses. It seems like it is an obvious yes.
I am still a bit nervous about losing my title. If I don't get to stay at Bain post 2 years, how this would look like to other employers.
You’ll just have to just jump in with confidence and conviction in yourself that you’ll kill it. There’s always a risk, but don’t go in thinking there’s a possibility you’ll fail (otherwise you’re doing yourself a disservice). Think more about what your extra experience can do to make you stand out.
In the worst case scenario of it not working out - people will understand that you took a title discount to go to a bigger platform and global brand. In an up and out scenario, maybe you can chalk it up to culture of a specific group or whatever. But don’t think about possible failure before starting. It’s not like you’re jumping into a role under experienced.
You'll have Bain on your resume to open doors that are firmly closed now. And you get to use their resources such as search time when you get managed out or want out.
Do you really think you'll under perform as an analyst when you have manager level experience? The only thing I would caution is to avoid stepping on toes.
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