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| +29 | Nervous about MBB - incoming BA | 18 | 1d | |
| +11 | Premed to MBB Recruiting | 2 | 15h | |
| +10 | Chances at MBB - Reality Check | 1 | 1d | |
| +9 | Lateral to MBB from Investing Seat | 1 | 10h | |
| +6 | How much do your MDs make? | 1 | 4d | |
| +5 | Restructuring market | 4 | 1d | |
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The one thing I learned quickly after joining a firm is to not try to look 15 years ahead until MD (or 10, or 20, whatever). Wait and see if you like it first.
A&M is a good firm but it is not considered T2. T2 would include LEK, OW, Parthenon, ATK, Strategy&, Deloitte.
Don't worry about prestige. It doesn't matter once you're there. What matters is if you like the work and you like the people. That makes it more sustainable than anything else.
Besides, if you're in it for the prestige and money, you should have just done banking.
Well now that I got hit by monkey shit I realize I was too bleak for consultants and I forgot to include that yes A&M is a great firm, you'll have the experience of a lifetime, it'll be everything you ever wanted and more.
Hey, I heard really good things about A&M from colleagues. Their restructuring practice is market leading and their consulting (both corporate and private equity) teams are trying to build their reputation in the market. Solid growth, hiring former MBBs, industry operators and top talent from Big 4. Things there were mentioned to me several times - great culture and great bonuses.
Making Gravy - can you go into more detail as to overall, what you've heard good about A&M? I appreciate any insights as I am fairly new to this industry and there doesn't seem to be a huge article or deep white pages that show how exactly working at A&M is like from an outsiders point of view.
Would you consider A&M a Tier below L.EK, OW, Deloitte S&O?
It's an excellent company and has excellent clients for the business it does, and like JohnnyForeigner said, its restructuring business is unparalleled. I don't know anything about bonuses, or about who they poach talent from, but you can find that on LinkedIn by searching current company = A&M, past company = MBB/ATK/etc. etc. and see how many results come up for each. It would be important to keep in mind employee # when doing this exercise if you are interested.
Tiers are dumb. They don't matter and I stick by that. They are loose guidelines that tell you very little about a firm except broad strokes. Comparing A&M to MBB is useless because A&M has an incredible restructuring practice and so that information is lost if you simply say "oh it's not tier 1 like MBB". It's kind of like US News rankings. Harvard may be #1, but it's not #1 for every subject ever. Let's say Emory has the #1 psychology program in the world (who knows if it does). Someone comparing offers between Harvard and Emory, who wants to specialize in psychology, might get caught up in the #1 Harvard ranking even though Emory is right for them. Similarly here, getting caught up in tiers is just not useful.
As a side note, one of the girls in my rotation works at A&M so I'll probe her some more (lol) on that subject.
What else would you like to know that I might be able to help with? Not sure if I am getting to your questions. I truly encourage you to stay away from "tier" questions and instead focus on the details that matter. Considering things like whether you are satisfied with 1) compensation 2) work life balance 3) the work you do 4) exit opportunities 5) the people there; etc. etc.
You are asking great questions, keep asking more.
Thanks a ton for putting these guidelines into perspective. You've made me understand and change my thinking, which I definitely appreciate.
First off, it's definitely encouraging to know that A&M has an amazing reputation based on what I've read on here. I come from a very "Keeping Up With the Jones's" lifestyle, that constantly over-shadows everything I do. And since Tier shouldn't really matter, it's still nice to hear that it's a firm that's capable of doing amazing things and has very respected practices.
Secondly, I appreciate your openness and willingness to provide insight as I am still new to navigating the consulting world/landscape.
With that said, I do have additional questions:
What would prevent an individual from coming to Alvarez & Marsal compared to another firm? Let's say for example, same job title, same job responsibilities, same location, etc.
What are the perks that make A&M stand out? I know bonus is a huge thing like previously mentioned. But anything else? E.g. networking, meal and travel stipend, hot girls, client-base, etc.
Why do you believe A&M has a smaller workforce compared to other groups like Deloitte? Is it because of quality control?
Thanks Making Gravy
Tier 2 is an easy way to lump the firms together that compete with MBB in more than one practice area and are generally aligned at junior levels in terms of compensation, leverage, years to partner, staffing/promotion model (up or out), etc.
What that means is - if you are interested in a specialty (i.e. restructuring), than going to a specialty firm can make more sense than going to a tier 2, even if it pays less/has a longer partner path. If you're not set on a specialty, the t2's generally pay more, are better regarded for a wider variety of exit ops and usually provide a broader range of experiences.
I agree that it's foolish to unilaterally claim that being in a "tier" makes you better than another firm, but I also think it's an easy way to gauge the broad opportunity if you're not interested in specific aspects.
JohnnyForeigner
Thanks for the information - it definitely looks like they recruit top talent from state schools which I appreciate, as well as, Big 4 candidates that's shown immense promise.
Do you think A&M could reach the Deloitte S&O, OW, and those folks in terms of better reputation one day?
Looking at how they perform in the market (work they pitch for, type of projects they deliver etc) as well as the treatment they receive from recruiters, I personally think they are already there in T2. Even though they are smaller than OW, ATK etc. I definitely think they are up and coming. All the people I met from A&M were absolutely top notch consultants that could be employed by any of the leading strategy consultanies.
Reputation, especially outside of MBB, is very subjective and differs from person to person. It seems that you can get to be a part of company that is growing, in terms of both revenue and reputation, and you will get to deliver interesting projects across strategy & ops, private equity and restructuring.
I fully agree with Making Gravy about the presitge comment. Once you get in what matters is type of projects you will get to deliver and on that front, in my opinion, A&M already competes with T2 and any other top players.
JohnnyForeigner
Thanks for the encouragement and information! Could I ask what your background is?
I went through few firms - big 4 strategy & ops team and T2 firm and currently working in restructuring.
Gotcha. Would A&M help transition into a decent MBA?
A&M culture is performance based and focuses much less on style/flash relative to its competitors. This very much stems from its position as a leader in the restructuring space. They're very lean and very selective in who they bring on - so you should be proud of yourself. The building/offices aren't nearly as flashy and you'll probably fly coach. That said, this allows them to financially reward their top performers. If you do well, you will be compensated/noticed. There's enormous mobility/
Thanks Esuric - I appreciate your insight. When you say A&M runs lean, is this company specific or does it span across their competitors in the same brackets like FTI/Alix, etc?
Additionally, what would a meritocracy based company like A&M deem as a top performer? Is it billable hours mostly? Not sure how a partner can spot a top performer in their Associate level folks.
And finally, can you expand on what you mean by, 'there's enormous mobility'?
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