Related Posts
Conversation Starter
Is the SAP practice in India at PWC any good?
How is Customer experience BU in Cisco?
Hi Sharks, I have an offer from Pwc SDC bangalore and they are providing permanent wfh. But they have not given this in writing. can anyone whi is already working at pwc tell us ? Are they gonna cal to office next year or not ? Since i might need to shift location !!! Which will be hectic !! PwC PwC India Pwc AC
Hello fishes,
Need help.
YOE: 10.5, java
Offers in hand:
Evoke technologies - 28lpa
CDK global - 30 lpa
Ness technologies -30 lpa
All are fixed components.
Which one to choose?
I prefer to have WLB, job security, decent hikes to stay long term in the company.
Cognizant Tata Consultancy Evoke Technologies Ness Digital Engineering CDK Global Inc Infosys
Rising Star
Chief
More Posts
Any tips on apple technical pm interview?
Thoughts on juice cleanses?
Additional Posts in Consulting
soo my sleep schedule is effed up, i keep trying to wake up early-ish (7am) but i’m lacking motivation and i wake up tired 😴
i stumbled upon this article that talked about this book. we always hear about the “secret” of strong leaders is that they wake up early. has anyone read this/tried it out?
5 AM Club, The: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1443460710/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_n2GdFbJJEFKSN
New to Fishbowl?
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Rising Star
Yes- crazy to pick between the two for prestige as they are essentially tied.
While every individual is different, my sense is the two have materially different cultures.
Neither is good for WLB, frankly WLB is hard to find in consulting overall- maybe slalom
Not from the US but across Africa and Europe they’re definitely tied
Yeah to be honest McK has a bit of an off putting pretentious “we’re the Harvard of consulting firms” vibe, not necessarily a bad thing when it comes to bringing in great clients but it does percolate to the business
Woah let’s calm down a bit here
Idk if this can be of any help, but so far between those 2, only BCG people are willing to talk to me and not judge me entirely by my school name. McKinsey people I reached out to just entirely ignored me or even refused to have a 15 minute chat because they don’t know me or we didn’t go to same school (note: the BCG people didn’t know me either. But a few even offered 1 hour case practice with me after reading my resume and encouraged me to apply.)
That may indicate 1 of these 2 things or both: 1) BCG may have a better WLB because most of those I approached still have some time to talk to a stranger who genuinely wants to learn about the firm.
2) BCG people may be just a bit nicer or less judgmental overall.
BCG8 threw a whole story telling arc in there. Impressive.
Find a couple people you like, ask what the typical clients/projects are in the office, ask how they’ve handled covid.
Also, good luck with WLB.
If you truly cared about prestige you’d go to Deloitte
Pro
Congrats. McK values prestige above all else so if you're not from an ivy or Stanford, be prepared to feel left out. There are also some partners there who are bats**t crazy.
Same here been at the firm for over a year and come from a no name state college, people genuinely don’t care. Also it doesn’t effect making friends and developing relationships. Like any other place your personality is what makes or breaks you
This kind of decision became so much harder to make because of COVID, since you cant really see the people in person.
If long term you want more international cases, travel around the globe all time, Mck’s global staffing model may be the way to go. BCG does have lots of international cases and international rotation programs, but staffing starts regionally first.
However, because of COVID, you’d be for sure work from home for your internship.
In terms of people and culture, through the interview process, I felt much more comfortable and happy at BCG and that was the reason I decided to come to BCG.
So far, I’ve been working with the people I really like and have no complain at all.
But to be honest, anywhere you go, there would be bad guys, it’s important for you to navigate through that and build the network of people you’d like to work with.
It took some time for me to accomplish that.
Congrats! I had to choose between all three; found it super hard and the lobbying efforts to convert were uncomfortable from some of MBB (not all). I’m super happy with my choice, but if I’m honest I’m pretty sure I would have been super happy at Bain or McKinsey too. So in the end don’t stress about it, go all in on whichever you feel is right, then focus on doing well when you start as that will have a bigger impact on your quality of life than the firm
I do not have experience directly with working at McKinsey, but one of my best friends works there and we chat weekly about the differences in our firms. One of the themes of those conversations is around promotion and performance pressures. In my opinion, BCG’s relatively standardized (non comparative) promotion timelines yield much less pressure to try and compete with your peers. McKinsey is somewhat similar, but there is some opportunity to be promoted quickly or more slowly, which causes pressure and some higher degree of peer competition.
And for what it’s worth, I’ve absolutely loved my time at BCG. There are tough weeks, but most of the time I enjoy my peers and my partners—and in times where I’ve needed flexibility in my work life balance they’ve accommodated.
Knowing what I know now, I would probably choose McK.
These general descriptions of the cultural differences between these two firms mean nothing - it’s 3-4 people you will work closely with will define your experience as a consultant. You will never know how lucky or unlucky you might be with the people you end up with so it’s essentially tied.
McK enjoys slightly better prestige globally and has a much more structured and open approach to alumni management so you will be better off as a McK alum for your own career’s sake.
Two factors to consider: based on my experience and the experience of friends, I think BCG culture is more nurturing/friendly. People who pick BCG generally pick it for the culture/people
However, McKinsey also has a much larger alumni network by virtue of being a larger firm and being around much longer. There’s a significant difference when you look at the top McKinsey alums out there, especially in tech/politics (C suite at Google, Facebook, DoorDash for example). It’s something to consider- ultimately you will likely spend more of your life as an alum than you will working for these firms. Prestige is the same, but the McK alumni network is definitely larger
Go with McKinsey - they are both excellent firms. But the alumni network and exit ops from McKinsey are unparalleled. As someone who used to work at one of the Bs in MBB, I’ve been blown away by what I see the McKinsey network able to do — and every once and awhile slightly regret I didn’t go there.
However, you’ll be fine at either firm!
Chief
If you want a work life balance, then don't go MBB.
Regardless, going MBB is great for your career, even if it's just 2-3 years. .. you can use it to leverage yourself into a great position with much better pay AND WLB
@BCG2 why not? ignorant questions hoping to avoid this issue in future
Wouldn’t be crazy. McKinsey is the Harvard of consulting and so is the most prestigious, especially overseas (this is from a Princeton alum). But the difference in the US is very marginal. So it should be a tie breaker as opposed to the whole basis of your decision
Rising Star
Unpopular opinion but the prestige between the two is not the same. BCG is an incredible place and a top shop but McKinsey truly is in a league of its own when it comes to market perception/brand
Had to make a similar decision and it came down to culture for me, I personally just got along better with the people at McK (am not from an ivy). Definitely a personal decision
I’d generally say go with the people you like more. Personally, I’ve worked for both McKinsey and BCG and much preferred the McKinsey people, values, approach to problem solving, and career progression. BCG has a more generous travel policy, however. Others I know who moved from McKinsey to BCG felt similarly. Having seen how the sausage is made, so to speak, I would be unlikely to hire BCG and more likely to hire McKinsey.
Chief
I feel the exact same way. I’m seriously underwhelmed with BCG’s problem solving and I find the recommendations rather unoriginal and obvious.
The MDP teams seem to have only a superficial knowledge of the industry and no actual management experience.
After I switch to industry, I would not hire BCG for anything.
McKinsey is pretty immoral. I'd go with BCG
I believe there are two organizations that show deep commitment to alumni by activating the network with continued employment opportunities across industries: McKinsey and Yale.
If you make it to “manager” level in McKinsey and then exit, I believe you will have ample, highly desired positions available to you throughout your career. I also believe there is a quid pro quo where you hire McKinsey for work, so when you need a new opportunity they are willing to activate the alumni network on your behalf.
Do other Business Schools like the M7 not offer similar camaraderie?
Both have prestige, and you’ll be able to exit perfectly fine from both (although McK probably has an edge).
What you really need to ask yourself is which people do you want to be working with on-site (post-COVID) at midnight? I was consulting pre-MBA at 2 Big 4 firms, and I definitely liked one firm’s people more than the other. Working late is miserable, and working late with people you don’t like is even worse. The firm I liked more has less prestige, but the partners and managers cared about my development and made me better for exit. You need to find the right fit for you. Think of this decision like how you would have decided between Harvard, Stanford and Wharton if you got into multiple programs — all are great but offer different cultures that might or might not align with what you want.