Mid-tier Ivy MechE 1yr grad to Consulting
This is my first post here after lurking around for a few months.
My Background:
Graduated from a mid-tier target Ivy League with major in mechanical engineering, 3.4 gpa, and currently working as an engineer in the Mid-Atlantic region for a year. However, I've realized that engineering really isn't my interest because I don't like being pigeonholed into a specific low level portion of a project. Instead, I would like to be a part of the higher level business discussions. I've always loved presenting and being client facing, so after doing research about this industry, I've decided I would like to make this transition when I'm still in my early 20s 1-2 years out of college.
I'v already submitted my applications for Masters of Management courses (think Duke MMS and the like) all in Northeast or Mid-Atlantic schools.
I don't have any summer analyst experience. Instead, my undergrad summers consisted of research or engineering internships.
I'm familiar with the consulting interview process and already pick up case prep.
I know that if I get recruited from these one year masters programs, I would be in entry level analyst positions, and I'm fine with that since I'm getting into the game later.
My question is what are people's thoughts on my current plan? I know many people here use MSF and MsM programs as a second chance at breaking into the industry, but my concern is that I will be a little older by the time these programs start. Crucially I have no summer analyst experience. Ideally, I would like to obtain a full time offer at the Big 4 or similar, based on my target undergrad. Is this realistic?
bump
TLDR: While I can't comment on the validity of a MSF or MsM, I can say from similar personal experience that FT at Big 4 is should definitely be doable for you.
I'm currently an undergrad MechE from one of the state schools in the top 10 US News ranked engineering schools, with a 3.4 GPA as well. My internship experience is similar to yours; one semester at a large industrial conglomerate as an engineering intern, and one summer at a large IT/engineering consulting firm in an engineering role. I was recently able to land a summer offer at one of the Big 4 Strategy Practices (S&O, S&, EY-P) in a T1 city.
I had the same reasons for why I wanted to shift to consulting, and interviewers seemed to eat it up. I met a good amount of ex-engineers, while recruiting and interviewing, that transitioned for the same reasons.
In terms of your concerns about being a bit older, I know one guy from my school who did a 1 yr MS in MechE right after his 4yr undergrad, with a gpa around 3.3, and was able to land a FT analyst role at Accenture afterwards. I also know two different AEs from my school who worked at a well known AE firm for ~2 years after undergrad, before recruiting for MBB, and both were able to get a FT offer.
Considering that you have a "better" undergraduate name and similar background, I'd say you have a good shot at most T2 firms. For our school, MBB seemed to have an informal gpa cutoff of around 3.7 irregardless of major. I don't know how similar that is across the board or for experienced hires, so I can't comment on how doable MBB may be for you.
Thanks for the well thought post; sent a silver banana your way.
It's nice hearing that there's other people out there with similar situations and similar ideas, and that my thought process made sense.
Personally, I'm fine with the T2 firms, although I will still try for MBB and see what happens. Part of the reasoning for getting a MsF/MsM is to work hard on good grades to increase my cumulative GPA, since I know that 3.4 is decent for engineering but T1 firms such as MBB want higher. I'm not entirely certain how those firms take into account GPA when there's also a Masters in the calculation, but I doubt that it will hurt.
Even if I can't get into MBB, my plan is similar to your two AEs that worked for a few years before trying for MBB again.
You seem pretty confident in what you need to do. I wish you the best of luck in the rest of undergrad and recruiting. As a MechE grad, my only advice to you is to choose a senior capstone project that isn't too complicated, and can fit onto a standard desk top. You don't want to spend your senior year stuck manufacturing and assembling your project. The engineering professors love being able to see iterations of your design, so a smaller project is definitely advantageous.
Cheers and don't forget to have some fun once in a while.
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