Recently got an offer from one of the index/risk firms and was happy to join.
The other day a recruiter contacted me asking me if I’m interested in one of MBB.
My career goal is hedge fund/private equity.
Also, I’m Just out of college and I don’t have experience.
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Hey congrats on the offer!
I am currently at a MBB and have friends in finance (not at index/rating firms though) so take my advice with a grain of salt. Here's my thoughts:
1.) Definitely interview for MBB-- Not everyone gets hit up by MBB recruiters and gets a chance to interview right out of college. The interview experience in itself will be a good experience and you never know how your opinions might change after you have the offer in hand (salary, benefits, office location, people you meet during interview process, etc.). Plus I just think MBB is a great place to work and start your career. If you have specific criteria you are evaluating against (WLB, salary, prestige, exits, etc.) I can elaborate more.
2.) The one criteria you mentioned is an eventual career goal in HF/PE. I would MBB to PE is definitely possible from any of the 3 three firms; as they all have PE Due Diligence projects for MF/UMM PE firms but it will definitely be more difficult than from banking. Also MBB --> HF is pretty rare from what I know. I think index/risk firms is the way to go if you want to work in finance the whole time before HF/PE (MBB will give you a broader experience in non-finance consulting projects), or if you want to do HF. Another thing to consider is that you can probably get broader exits in HF/PE if you do index/rating firms --> IB --> HF/PE but the same can be said of a MBA pivot which MBB will probably be better for.
Hope this helps a bit and you should try searching for this thread "Global Credit Rating Agency ---> Backdoor To High Finance" on WSO.
Thanks very much for the very informative advice. My country is not super international/educated, so I think I have less competition. Will definitely take the interview.
I have a few questions if you don’t mind answering.
It seems that the salaries for these positions, at least at entry level are not that different if slightly higher at MBB.
Two things that I care the most are
1) international mobility
2) salary
In that order.
I’m hoping to move out of my country hopefully to the US or Western Europe.
I’m not necessarily dead-set on finance, so consulting looks interesting. My biggest concern is work life balance
I’m totally fine with checking/replying emails at home 11pm or answering calls sometimes on weekends(or sometimes working, ideally from home on weekends), but I want to avoid working until super late at night at office.
It might sound too student-ish, but I really need enough sleep to function the next day.
Could you give me your thoughts about work life balance at MBB?
Also, is international mobility high? Hoping to relocate as quickly as possible.
Thank you for your time!
International mobility is high in consulting relative to other jobs, but don't expect it to be necessarily easy
WLB will vary dramatically based on your country, but in general in the US you could expect to work late M-Th, end Friday not too late, and not work on weekends
No need to apologize-- these are valid questions!
I would agree with the commenter above in regards to the US offices, however keep in mind that that MBB office WLB will vary a lot by office and by country.
In regards to the things you mentioned:
1.) International Mobility-- I would say MBB is better for this. In MBB-internal threads on Fishbowl (an app similar to WSO), there have been multiple threads of people asking about office transfers into the US or other offices. I would say that after 1-2 years it is doable. There is no guarantee and you have a better shot if you have a compelling reason (family/boyfriend/girlfriend in that area). MBB has a bigger global footprint and benefits from international diversity in teams/offices so I believe you will have the highest chance from MBB. Also MBB typically will reimburse MBA so you can use MBA as a way to move to the US/Western Europe (i.e. apply for MBA there and ask for an office transfer after you complete MBA).
2.) Salary-- I wouldn't know the specifics based on your country but I would be surprised if Rating/Risk firms paid more than MBB at the entry level. At least in the US, MBB pays $110-130K all-in out of undergrad and I don't think firm likes Bloomberg and S&P are paying analysts that much. Plus MBB has other perks like uber/food reimbursement, travel, grad school reimbursement.
3.) This wasn't listed but you mentioned work life balance. I believe the Rating/Risk firms will be better since they are not client facing(?). You will probably work 50-60 hours in MBB (again depends on office though). I would say that MBB work life balance is still pretty good though, you probably work from 9AM to 9 or 10PM Monday thru Thursday and then get off at 5 or 6PM on Friday. In the states, weekends are 100% protected. So getting enough sleep shouldn't be too big of an issue for the most part.
Hope that helps and good luck!
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