Silicon Valley vs. Consulting
I'm now a senior in college double majoring in Computer Science and Economics. This past summer I interned at a Google/Facebook/Twitter in a business intelligence/analytics role and got an offer from them.
Now while I thoroughly enjoyed working at the company, I was initially planning to go into management consulting given the breadth of experience and rate of progression in that industry. Silicon Valley work was very very intellectually challenging and my coworkers were all Ivy/top-10 grads, including a few PhDs. But the downside is the lack of real world interaction which would help cultivate people skills etc. Also, I'm a little scared of being pigeonholed in the industry whereas post-consulting you can move into practically any sector. But then they are also paying me significantly more than any consulting firm would, and I really did like working there (although this point is moot, since I have no other frame of reference), so I'm really confused.
Long term, I most definitely intend to go to business school, so I'm not sure which route is a better bet from that perspective. I have the tech offer in hand, whereas I'd have to interview again in Fall for consulting, but I'm confident I'll be able to land one of McK/Bain/BCG/Monitor.
Any advice?
Well, you have the return offer, so you're in the best position possible. My advice to you would be to pursue the hell out of the consulting offer. You recognize the beauty of their offer ... you get phenomenal experience, a very transferable skill-set, and if you commit to 2 years at the firm after b-school, they'll fund your MBA. As you said, the career advancement opportunities are phenomenal as well, and you have the option of going industry at virtually any point as well. You can still even hedge your bet by taking advantage of a program like Bain offers with a 6-month externship at a company of your choice to see if you like it without hurting your progression with the consulting firm.
Since you're absolutely adamant about your plans for b-school, consulting is basically the path to follow. You'll get tremendous assistance with your application process (they bring in reps from the M7 schools to walk employees through the application process, have essay coaches help you, and you'll have your pick of people to recommend you) and that can't be overvalued.
Don't be cocky about it though. Practice, practice, practice your case interviews. Dominate it.
Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear enough in my OP.
I have an offer from the silicon valley firm, and it's valid for another month. If I were to decline the offer, I'm confident that I could land a similar role at one of the other companies or a start-up, but I'll have to start consulting recruiting from the ground up.
I think it really depends on what you are doing at those companies "Trio." As I am currently working full-time at a "Trio," I can say that I've developed more "people skills" there than while in consulting.
I don't think you will like working at those other places after working at a "Trio." A lot of people from the consulting firms you named ultimately end up at a "Trio" anyway. My manager, his manager, and his manager are all from McKinsey. From what they have all said, it doesn't really matter where you came from but what are you doing lately in your current job.
Ultimately, you should do what you love to do.
The big question is whether or not taking the Silicon Valley gig is the best option for business school, and based on the other comments, it seems like it isn't. But at the same time I have friends at GSB/HBS who are now working/interning at the new age tech firms in the bay area, so there's clearly something to them. The quality of applicants for my role was quite ridiculous so I was shocked that I managed to land it in the first place.
I guess it really just comes down to exit opps. As a last resort, I could even try to move within the company to a Biz Dev role after a year or two in this role. I went through this thread - //www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/exit-opportunities-google-vs-mckinsey - but I'm pretty sure the role I'm being offered is a better one than the dedicated client services role being compared here.
I'm leaning towards the "trio" gig but am worried about the exit opps, people skills aspect and pace of growth.
consulting is probably better, depends where u can get into, mbb for sure is better, deloitte, booz, etc probably better too, others closer to about same
Just curious, what is the comp range for entry-level positions at Google/Fb/Twitter? And what's the interview process like for us non-engineers?
If you have any contacts with the consulting companies, email them and explain your situation with the exploding offer. MBB all have accelerated interview processes that they can use in these situations if they like you, so that you don't have to walk away from an offer before you've landed another job.
Those 3 companies are really hot right now for bschool admissions.
Go for the industry position and do a kick ass job...solid GMAT and essays will get you into the top schools....there are quite a number of MBB folks who did not get into HBS and Stanford (admittedly they were second round applicants) simply because there is an overabundane of applicants with consulting backgrounds. Go were other's aren't..learn a business from the inside....you will get into top schools...if you want consulting you can do it after b-school..though frankly if you know what you want and you have solid anlytical skills/business judgemnent..the consulting experience can be overrated..the best typically stay only 2 years..those who stick around for the most part do not have a viable alternative (when considering all the tradeoffs...eg income, interesting work, relevant skill set, etc).
So the debate is an intellectually challenging and stimulating job that you seem to really enjoy vs. a less intellectually challenging job that you may enjoy but just as easily could be miserable in.
If you go back to where you worked this summer and do well, then I assume that there's a path for growth, at least up until the point that it would make sense for you to go back to business school. Being successful and showing progression in roles and management responsibilities is what they care about in MBA admissions. Do well there and you'll be positioned just as well as or better than you would be working at MBB.
Do you think it'd be a good idea to ask my SV boss about the possibility of a lateral move from the technical role to a business development/business strategy role after about 18 months?
Technically possible, realistically rare for people to move from tech roles to strat roles. Wouldn't hold my breath, even if you perform well - let's be honest, if you're awesome at tech, makes sense to keep you in tech!
^^ That's actually really good advice.
Don't confuse your experience in case interviews and with people you've met at the firm with what the day-to-day of the job actually is. Case interviews mimic the high level type of analysis that you perform at the start of a case, and they're a moderately useful tool in evaluating how candidates structure their approaches to problems. The day-to-day of a consultant, especially at the most junior level, does not involve much of this high level thinking. As a new consultant, you may spend most of your days:
That's not to say that you don't do interesting work in consulting... there are a lot of engagements that are full of interesting work for a client that wants and needs your help. But there are also a lot of engagements that are awful experiences. This can happen for any number of reasons. A few examples:
These are problems that are unavoidable at the junior level, as you typically have little control over what you get staffed on. Add in the fact that cases can range from a few weeks to 6 months and much longer, and the experiences that consultants have can vary dramatically, even for people that sit next to one another at the same firm. Obviously, I'm highlighting the bad, but mostly to play devil's advocate.
I wouldn't recommend this, as it could very easily be interpreted as you not being interested in the job, and he could question your commitment to the job. You'd be better off asking what the path and progression has been for other kids that have come into the role you'd be going into. While I assuming that some of them have progressed and been promoted within the group, I also assume that some of them have made moves into other roles within the company or taken positions outside of the company.
Offer deadline in about a week. More views/advice would be greatly appreciated. :)
Also, is it a good idea to negotiate the SV offer?
Always negotiate every offer. Ask for more money. They never take offers away for negotiating. At worst, they they might find you a little annoying. At best, you get a higher salary and they see you as assertive.
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