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What is Bain SAC comp these days?
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McKinsey & Company Does level and/or office matter for referrals at McKinsey & Company? A friend is willing to refer at the Associate level in my target office though I did not get any traction w/ the referral last year. I'm a Veteran so I also recognize there may be a resume translation issue despite the prior version getting me interviews with BCG and Bain. I have updated the resume since - though still wondering if there's anything else I can do to strengthen my case. Thank you in advance for any advice.
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So what’s the new McK comp breakdown?
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Yikes. Where are you hearing the 80-90? I’ve been working decent 50-55 (i have low expectations, 55 to me is pretty good). I’ve heard of peers with 70 once a month but it’s not a weekly expectation.
Depending on geography, ~ 70h average can be the norm on some projects, e.g., in Germany
Mentor
You will not be working 80-90 hours at MBB. It’s probably more like 60ish hours. Also, it’s hard but you set boundaries and as you progress your career you have more say in what’s important to you. Also, Bain’s pretty flexible with travel which really helps with family and sustainability.
My hours here suck similarly to when I was at EY. Honestly not much difference in hours. The difference is I waste less time on admin/lower value-add tasks here than I did there (something well-documented in other threads).
I was a senior at EY. Wasn’t a direct move but went EY -> Boutique -> McK
80-90 extremely atypical. Most people do 60 with very little deviation (rarely less than 55 or more than 65).
Whoever tells you something outside that range is an outlier, believe me
60-70 is pretty normal. You can probably get away with 50-55 pre-manager easily. Problem is you are always on - there aren’t boundaries in client service unfortunately.
In London we average ~55h a week. Some do 50, some do 60. I’m currently on 60-65 average the last couple of weeks, but the 6 weeks before were ~55
Sorry, not a clue, don’t anyone there and haven’t looked at those cases lately
I have young kids and was definitely worried about this going in. Have been solidly in the 50-60 hour camp with a strong emphasis on creating sustainability from leaders at the firm, being there for my kids events, etc. I drop my kids off at school a few times a week and get some pretty good time with them throughout the work week and all day on weekends. Will try hard to stay off M-Th travel cases, but think generally it will be sustainable.
Do you have kids now?
If so travel will be a bigger issue than hours. It’s not back to where it was in 2019 but is certainly picking up. Depending on kids ages when you are gone puts a lot of work on your spouse as well.
What country are you from? MBB hours vary drastically by geo
60 happens but not often. Typical is more like 50 + travel time. 12 hour days Mon-Thu, 7/8 hour day Fri, but one night off and light Thu night for travel. For those who travel Mon morning, it’s more like 45 + travel time.
It can feel like more because the working hours are very intense and travel can eat up 10+ hours a week.
Working on a plane is some of the best, uninterrupted work time you’re going to get. No meetings, just head down time to work.
I don’t work in cars, but airports, planes and trains for sure.
More than 70 hours means the case was badly scoped or something has gone sideways
Haven’t ever work 80+, had a few weeks in the 70s here and there. My average is like 55-60 fwiw
I would plan for 60 hour average. Peaks of 70-80 only really in strategy/DD in crunch times. Bain model is a bit different to Mck/BCG as well.