Rising Star
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I hear Bain and better WLB
Has*
I think McK has better 401k, faster promotions and likely still the bigger brand.
WLB is obviously always case dependent but might be a touch better at Bain + I personally like the home staffing model a lot (though there are downsides to it).
I would recommend going with your “gut” feeling - both choices are great
Pro
I think our European ACs don’t get as good of a package either tbh; not quite sure though! Definitely best in North America
I have a lot of friends at both Bain and mck. They’re fairly similar across most fronts.. the main differences I’ve seen are in staffing: that you can do PEG (private equity group) rotation in Bain, which is a popular option since they’re strong on PE, while you get more staffing choice at mck (although that can be a good or bad thing based on whether you enjoy staffing yourself). My Bain friends seemed to actually have worse WLB although I think that was driven by the PE work.
Despite this, there is more of a culture of hating the firm at mck than at Bain, and my Bain friends seemed happier w their job overall
Rising Star
Any McK fish want to chime in?
Hard to compare Bain vs McKinsey unless you have good friends in both / have worked at both places. From friends at Bain didn’t observe any substantial work life difference. McKinsey has a wider alumni network so helps with finding jobs (if and) when you want to wrap.
My two cents:
- Comp: At Bain there is less variation on comp based on performance and tends to be simply more tenured based, while at McK if you outperform if you likely progress and have higher comp than at Bain, while if you underperform you will lag behind (higher risk, higher reward but more stressful at McK)
- WLB: really depends on work / industry / people. Overall I would imagine it is the same at both places
Retirement & health: Fairly certain McK has a more generous 401K and healthcare / dental plan
- Non financial: Can only speak to McK, but most of the more attractive benefits (& where McK is significantly better IMO than other MBB) is at the pre-MBA level. Once you join McK post MBA the expectation is that you are there for the ride until partner. While there are internal rotations available to Associates, the externship programs, school sponsorships, open offer to return for 5 years if you leave, etc are only for BAs. You do get “Search” benefit where McK will keep you on the payroll for 2 months + 2 weeks per year of tenure, while you job hunt — and McK has resources for resume prep, internal job postings, etc
If you have specific questions happy to answer them
Pro
I’m curious - what are the pre-MBA benefits that are significantly better at McK than Bain/BCG? My understanding was that all of them offer sponsorship (for which I’ve actually heard Bain has the most generous offer), externships, and offers to return.