Hey NYCkiddos, sorry about the delay, but are any of these useful:

  • Answering Why Private Equity- A Complete Guide land you the job, but the wrong answer will get you dinged. Why Private Equity Career? This section is ... to shed some light on private equity as a career. For information on answering the interview question ... your due diligence and tailor a specific answer to this question. Interested in Private E
  • Why Consulting- Answering the Interview Question came here looking for an answer to the interview question, "Why consulting?". First, what not ... Why go into consulting instead of the clearly superior investment banking? Don't you travel ... more. By the end of this page, you'll know whether consulting is for you or not. Why Consulting ...
  • From Private Equity Associate to VP in Private Equity private equity is pretty awesome by most standards; that's why becoming a private equity associate is ... know is right here. Private Equity Job- What Do PE Associates Do? PE associates' days are ... to Become a PE Associate Before we tell you anything else, understand that private equity
  • Associate in Private Equity FoF- will answer questions more tradional backgrounds (oxbridge, IBD) so can answer questions from what I know of their ... a GP rather than LP, but hopefully there'll be some interest-please ask away My time is spent as ... Noticed quite a few questions regarding FoF on here recently (probably due to recruiting cycle) so ...
  • Ex-McKinsey Consultant Here Answering Questions disillusionment/burn-out. Part of it was that my young age was making my life in consulting harder than it needed to be. ... seed/early-stage. Are Post MBA Consultants Better than Pre-MBA Consultants? Definitely not in terms of raw ... private equity, venture capital, entrepreneurship, banking, etc. The first thing I focused on after ...
  • Why Investment Banking? 43 Sample Answers investment banking interview question. The Safe "Why Investment Banking?" Answers Of course, your ... 'reassuring' answer rather than the brutally honest one, even though the interviewer knows you are being ... answers and just go with what works. Here is a collection of the best standard responses to the "Why ...
  • Private Equity Interview Questions- A Complete Guide Private equity jobs are some of the most coveted positions in finance. That's why less than ... a PE Interview You can expect these types of questions during your private equity interviews: Fit ... preparation for Fit Questions Here are some examples of fit questions: Why private
  • Investment Banking to Private Equity- 6 Things You Should Know content from 2016, this one ranks #47 with 25 silver bananas. IBD PE PE Recruiting private equity banking ... 1. Why not just try to start with a PE firm? There are PE firms that hire juniors out of ... reasons stated above is why most PE shops recruit to hire IB analysts after the 2-3 year IB period. When ...
  • More suggestions...

If we're lucky, maybe I can guilt some users to help you out: Zinedine_Zidane MLCCM jakelippe1

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Generally, PE and HF's are considered the apex of finance. Very few would take a big name consulting firm over a big name PE firm if their interest is to become a professional investor.

There is a supply and demand issue - the supply of many PE roles is smaller than consulting roles, so many folks target consulting roles over PE.

That being said, here are a few reasons one may take consulting over PE.

  1. You have little to no interest in being a professional investor. The exits from consulting are broader and include marketing, ops, tech and other functions/roles with it's own corporate ladder. If you want to be a BU head at a port co, PE is a better fit. But most PE port co's are mid market; if you want to be at a market leader (Disney/JP Morgan/Google/Kraft/etc) than consulting is a better resume stamp.
  2. A good consultant might not be a good financial modeler. I know plenty of folks that stick to consulting because they don't have the modeling chops nor the desire to be as excel driven as PE requires you to be.
  3. Not all PE firms are created equal. Most PE activity is middle market. There's huge variability of firms within that space. Believe it or not, consulting can be better job security than most mid market PE. If you're counseled out at your consulting firm, you have an enormous amount of resources to keep you on your feet. If your whole PE fund goes under, it's more of an uphill battle.
  4. Big name consulting has better brand recognition than the vast majority of PE firms.
  5. PE requires a very long term time commitment if you're gunning for carry. Most people join consulting to try a lot of different things for 2-3 years before they exit.
  6. Usually it's consulting THEN PE; so it's not necessarily a mutually exclusive comparison.
  7. The path to partner is clearer in consulting and often fairer; in PE, you have to wait for a whole fund cycle to typically get promoted. In consulting, you get benchmarks every 6-12 months indicating how close you are to the next level.
  8. The feedback culture at most consulting firms is second to none. Most PE shops just expect you to perform and cycle you out if it's not working out.
  9. The majority of PE roles for junior staff are pre-MBA, with the knowledge that you will get pushed out after 2-4 years. Once out, it's very difficult to find another job in PE, including a lateral. Stepping up a role is even more difficult. If you're pushed out in consulting, lateral opportunities are abundant, and industry roles line up to recruit you at similar pay.
  10. PE culture can be as toxic as banking at many funds; since most staff are ex-bankers. This is less prevalent as consulting. It is also an old boys club, which can make things difficult for woman and minorities, and it's not uncommon for a 25 year old associate to just reek douchebaggery to new hires. Note that I am not generalizing the industry, but this culture definitely exists in greater mass than in consulting.
 

Hey-Thanks for the great insight. Will be great if you can answer some of my questions. I am matriculating at a 15-20 ranked MBA next fall and going to a school where Consulting recruiting is not that strong. I am also an international so visa is also required.

  1. Should I go for EB or BB keeping in mind growth prospects ?
  2. What about exit opportunities? Is HF possible from EB after 2 years?
  3. Which EBs are the best in terms comp and not being a sweatshop?
 

The one post above detailed it well but at some smaller PE shops/LMM funds you can end up wearing quite a few hats. My business partner used to work at a fund where he was allowed to sit on the boards of a few of their companies, assist management on the ops end, etc...

Of course there was loads of excel monkey work too but it wasn't the only thing he did by any means.

 

Hey,

I believe Management consulting and working in private equity represent career paths that enable bright and smart college students to make a lot of money right out of school. While the top firms in both industries prefer graduates of top universities I believe that none of the careers impose rigid educational requirements. This has made them attractive picks for students who want lucrative careers without being bound to three or four years of after-college experience. However, we also have to acknowledge that the management consulting industry has soared quite a lot and undoubtedly we can foresee a success there.

According to me, I shall always go by consulting because of experience. if you seek to know more about how the management consulting trends to behave, you can always look up and get a glimpse from these category intelligence and supplier information on the recent management consulting trends.

Please feel free to connect to have a discussion on my experiences for opting consulting over private equity,

Visionary | Lead | Enthusiast
 

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