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I feel that way too bud
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Depends on which org you are at, but:
1. In many organizations, the partner track has been getting harder over the years.
2. There is always a probability factor associated with making partner. The market may go sideways. A powerful partner may end up not liking you. The company may re-org or shift focus. All of this applies to your growth in the industry too, perhaps even more so, because in consulting, you may have the opportunity to switch to something else.
3. As one grows older, has a family, etc., the consulting life (such as it may get to in a post-Covid world, but some travel will be inevitable after the dust settles), consulting may not be the place to be.
4. I have seen competitive and politically aware individuals grow faster in the industry than in consulting of late, almost counter-intuitively, especially if you have good executive support AND the consulting work ethic and skills
5. The experience of needing to see something through soup to nuts in the industry may expose you to skills that you may not be able to acquire in consulting. On the other hand, there are things consulting can teach you that the industry cannot. All depends on what you want to learn / be.
P1 is spot on. I started in industry and did a few years of consulting post-mba. Now back in industry and I’ve noticed a significant split in the fortune of ex consultants at my firm.
Those that were always consulting seem to be stuck, while team members with a mix of experience (myself included) have moved up much more quickly.
Go for it, you are too early in your process. SM to PPMD is far harder than the feedback you get in first year. Anything can happen in the next 3-4 years - could be your mistake- could be business pipeline- could be a ppmd not liking you anymore.
Source: 4th yr SM and still 2-3 yrs away
Yes.
The beauty of consulting is that most SMs, regardless of their SM tenure, are always 3-5 years away from partner admission.
Ha! Isn’t that the truth!
Not a partner but you're early in your SM tenure so why not take the risk and go for it? Sounds like a great opportunity and your hesitation is bc of something that might happen several years out? Since you're high performing, your current firm will be glad to take you back if the new gig doesnt work out. You don't have much to lose. A potential delay in making partner by a couple years is very minor in the grand scheme of things. Good luck! Congrats on the offer.
Thanks D1, I appreciate it. I guess in the grand scheme of things it’s a small blip if anything at all.
Coach
Bird in hand usually is better than two in the Bush . At SM1 level - what they are really telling you is that they see you have potential . It’s too early to even slot you for an actual event in B4 setting . My suggestion is to take the industry role and gain that experience and extra $$ , get a VP title as soon as you can and then evaluate if you want to come back as a direct admit partner
Go for it and come back as a partner in 3-5 years.
And have often been partners elsewhere before
I have been through this myself when I was SM when one of my clients offered to join their org (and the same client moved on to be a CxO elsewhere and offered an SVP role after I became Partner). I have not taken any of those offers of course but she is still a client. I declined respectfully because I would be uncomfortable in industry roles esp in Tech that are in Digital or Ops or internal strategy teams vs products and go to market that drives everything (again my perspective). I made Partner after being SM for 5 yrs and loving the ability to be a bit out of my comfort zone all the time, be in the practice that is next growth engine, fortunate having right sponsor/s and working with wicket smart teams/partners. More importantly family is supportive and we have been able to strike the balance (not perfect always but we don’t take each other for granted). If you have option to move to other B4 or competitor depending on your practice area you can get similar offer. At the end, as some have said, it comes down to what you are looking to do and can achieve! Good luck. DM me if you want.
My story is very similar. Honestly you need to decide which career/role you want and then go for it. Don’t make the decision on perceived prestige, odds, etc. I have always loved the pace and change of consulting and for me going to industry and being in an eternal rotation of CIO jobs (avg CIO tenure at a company is like 4 yrs) wasn’t appealing. So I bet on myself and had confidence that I could make it to partner. If you do that go all in and make it happen. Yes timing and luck come into play. But that is more of a when thing not an if thing.
I tell everyone that the sweet spot for leaving is first year SM. You’re a living example of why. Longer you stick around, the less height off the springboard. Stick around too long and it becomes harder to do better cashwise.
There are plenty of skills we don’t develop in consulting. This seems like a good entry point and not too much exposure (not walking around with a bullet on your head). If you can combine consulting and corporate skills, you’ll be a beast.
Right on!
This comp isn’t even close. If you like your new boss I’d go.
Would you mind sharing the firm you are planning to go to? Congratulations on the offer. I would take it.
Where are you SM at 160?
You would be a director before a managing director.
Director typically moves to partner or principal. In some cases (maybe based on age or other factors) you may become an MD instead of partner. MD is just more rare is all. My practice has 13 partners and 1 MD. An MD was recently admitted as a partner though.
From a comp perspective, I wouldn't account much for the signing bonus since that's only a one time thing. Think about if you are ok with $270K total comp (which is still a very good decision to leave).
Take it
Leave the firm and get more money. You can always return at probably a higher pay.
If you are at PwC, you are likely at least 2 years at SM and 5-7 at director. Given the base, it feels like you are. In any case, you have a very healthy offer. Congrats! If you are interested in consulting for the long-term, then take it and boomerang or stay at your firm. If you want to eventually go to industry or have any doubts then take it. You’ll never know if you don’t take it.
You should absolutely leave.
if you are first year SM, no harm in going and exploring this for couple of years. This experience may help you grow as a professional. Plus might help you get a comp jump which you would not get if you stay. I have seen at least 3 SMs who did this and when they came back, they did not have to start all over again. They got back in as SM3.
I’d certainly say take it. I’ve been evaluating something similar although not at offer stage yet. That being said, while I’d say take it and you can always boomerang in a few years if you want (assuming you leave on good terms), I’d also wonder if there’s more on the table Senior Director level, sure depends on the company. But only 40k stock? Is that RSUs? I’d ask for more, is there bonus potential as well?
Yes it’s RSUs. There is another 33k potential annual bonus for strong performance.
100k sign on lol
Thanks everyone, these have been super helpful inputs. I appreciate it! Time to sleep over it this weekend and take a call on Monday :)