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And the rest is history 😅
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Chief
You are 31? Yup your life is over.
Let me tell you what you don't want to hear.
Stop winning like a 13 year old. Get hold of your self and move on. The attitude you are showing will do nothing but keep you down.
Wow here's the reason why people find consulting toxic
I can guarantee that approximately 0.0% of the population views a MBB job as success in life.
But 100% of MBA grads know what MBB is and there is shame amongst them, honestly MBAs are the worst about titles.
Chief
Get a grip man, You are 31 years young.
Your life is not over, it’s not too late to build the life you want. You are not a one trick pony, if you fail you dust yourself off and try again.
Practice some mindfulness and introspect on a daily basis rather than the needless shaming and self pity.
But then again, you're 9 years from middle age!
Not many of us live to be 100, so saying 50 is middle age, is a myth.
Get to gettin' young man.
At 70, I am looking a my Cosmic Journey more and more each day. I am satisfied with my life's accomplishment/lack thereof.
Not everyone can save the world, found a Microsoft/Twitter/Facebook, be President, or be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. So, be happy for where you are - above ground. And do not take a single day, no - a single hour, for granted, Relish everything, even the hurtful moments, because they will make you WHO YOU ARE in the end.
Stepping down from my milk crate...
Life lesson: You are not your job
Why would you go through the effort to get an MBA to work for someone else? Let’s say you get a pretty decent salary of 250k by 35. In comparison the last small business I ran was doing 1.2 million a year, 15 years ago. About 30% was profit. 400k a year at 25 without an MBA. Adjusting for inflation that’s like 600k a year now. That’s why people value education less and less every year. It’s not producing results. It is creating a debt problem. You need life experience, not more time in a classroom. The combination of the two will make you successful. So launch a business in 2023, success or failure won’t matter the experience you gain is I’m guessing the missing piece.
Hmmm, I think the lawyer comparison still has a lot of parallels with my perspective as well.
Once you pass the bar, many lawyers join law firms where they work their way from associate to partner, unless they leave to become general counsel for a firm (just as one example). There is still only one person at the top, whether an MBA or a lawyer. Someone who never becomes head partner didn't necessarily underutilize their education.
Not every lawyer will become head partner and not every MBA will be a CEO. If I'm the top guy in my organization, I'm going to benefit if my #2 and #3 have an MBA; it doesn't mean their degree is being underutilized.
Don't get me wrong, some people absolutely underutilize their MBA, but the value of my personal MBA is the flexibility it gives me to start my own company or to help someone run theirs - whichever I want during my career.
Rising Star
I’m 48 and don’t even have my undergrad. Spent 3 years in consulting and left because the travel was taking a toll on my life, I was underpaid, and had terrible WLB. No one outside of consulting cares about consulting or any perceived status it provides.
I left and went to a startup.
At the end of the day it’s just a job and a paycheck. If you’re making enough money to pay your bills, invest, and meet your savings & investment goals you’re not a failure. Focus on the things you can control and the stuff that truly matters.
I can no longer count the number successful founder-CEOs that I’ve worked with and whom are friends of mine. Despite spending more than 30 years in higher ed, I truly believe that college is not for everyone. Many people seek degree without reading that it’s the education you acquire that matters, and an education can be achieved many ways, not just on a college campus.
You’re failing in life for caring this much about a job.
I would suggest a therapist to address your self talk first.
It sounds like you dislike yourself and likely have for a long time. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody .
Also, as McK one said, strategy work sucks. You would think it’s this great mental challenge, but it’s really just playing the “what does my MDP/Manager want to hear today?” game. Constantly anxious about making any mistakes, it’s not much better.
Nokia
Ftx
Enron
BlackBerry
We work
List of firms that depended on MBB
Chief
“In what one former official described as “heated meetings” with McKinsey consultants, agency staff members questioned whether saving pennies on food and medical care for detainees justified the potential human cost.
But the consulting firm’s sway at ICE grew to the point that McKinsey’s staff even ghostwrote a government contracting document that defined the consulting team’s own responsibilities and justified the firm’s retention, a contract extension worth $2.2 million. “Can they do that?” an ICE official wrote to a contracting officer in May 2017.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-mckinsey-helped-the-trump-administration-implement-its-immigration-policies
Chief
I’ve heard many stories about people just like you who went on to do extraordinary things.
But you do need to pick yourself up and keep on keeping on.
1) I didn’t even complete my MBA until I was 32
2) I did MBB and hated it, so much happier now
3) here’s an article that basically says that people who didn’t fail become less happy https://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life
Nice, where'd you end up after MBB?
I don’t understand why everyone is hating so much. How miserable do you have to be to say these things?
First of all, it’s completely okay to be disappointed if you don’t achieve whatever target you set for yourself.
But looking forward, I would urge you to not chase some firm or some specific job. It does not define you and it certainly isn’t how people view you. Which I believe is your angle here.
I would ask you to do some introspection and come to a conclusion of what you want in life. More specifically, why you want to work in the first place. And it should not be “so that other people see my LinkedIn and be envious”. Dig deeper.
For example, I’m only working to be financially independent since my family didn’t have anything growing up. I was lucky enough to get into consulting which helped accelerate. But if I didn’t, i would work somewhere else for the same goal.
A job is a job. Your job is a stepping stone for you to fulfill whatever life goal you have. Or just simply to increase your standard of living. The job does not define your status or worth.
Bro, you are better off than >90% of the world! We all fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others at times but it’s really not worth it. Find the things that give you joy and that’s all you really need.
McDonalds workers with OT in the US are in the 99th percentile of world salary. Doesn’t take much to be in the top 1% of salaries in the world.
First, stop comparing yourself with your classmates. Stop comparing yourself with other MBA and non MBAs in MBB. You have no idea about their problems. There is no one like you in this universe and we are so unique. How do you compare a unique person to another unique person?
Second, Your life is not your MBA identity or your job.
Third, take a vacation and go to Africa, spend some time doing some charity work. Your perspective of life will change.
Forth, list 11 good blessing you have in spite of not getting into MBB or that stupid promotion. Read what you wrote few times.
Let us know.
I have a theatre arts degree, no mba. 😂😂😂
That’s terrific! Seriously. The world needs many more like you. Having studied and written about leadership for thirty years, and having been a leader for the past 13, I can say definitively that there are both artistry and dramatic components to effective leadership.
I’m also quite proud that I played the lead role in Rumpelstiltskin. Even though it was back in fourth grade. My roles on the stage since then have been smaller.
Comparison is the thief of joy my friend
Everything will be okay
Failure as a consultant maybe? But failure at life? No. As a senior consultant you already make way more than a lot of other folks.
So anyone who didn't make SC in 2 yrs with an MBA from a target school is a failure? That's overall pretty rude and mean.
I'd say you're behind already not being a senior consultant out of the gate from a good school. If you're not progressing to this point after two years then ya, consulting might not be for you. Nothing mean spirited in that. Important to ask whether you're in the right place every now and again.
MBB is not a measure of success FYI.. I know people that are at Big 4 or exited to industry and make as much if not more than they would at MBB..
You are a failure not because u can’t get into MBB, but because u think u r a failure - mbb doesnt mean anything if u look at bigger picture
Btw MBB don’t do as much strategy work anyway - ceos are from consulting background and they don’t need someone to do their strategy but do really drive changes
Getting a MBA from a top school puts you in the top 0.1% of the population. You can get to MBB as experienced hire from Big4, it’s common. I see no issue with your situation but I emphasize on how you are feeling. Just know that your feelings are lying to you. You are using the top 0.01% of people as your average benchmark, forgetting that the overwhelming majority of people work dead end jobs. You surrounded yourself in successful people, and that tricked you into believing this is the norm. It is not