Bain & Company Would you always take the MBB offer?
Mid thirties, got a McKinsey EM offer as an A&M Director.
Currently contemplating pros and cons:
+ similar total comp, but higher fixed
+ brand
+ likely slightly more interesting projects
+ better learning curve
+ exit options
+ benefits
- more hours (let’s assume 60-65 vs 50)
- more traveling
- need to build up network
- similar total comp now and in the future
Thoughts? Thanks!
McKinsey & Company Boston Consulting Group Bain & Company Alvarez & Marsal
Hard pass. As a tenured EM I legit do not see how you’re set up for success at McK unless you’re working your ass off at 70+ hours a week
Maybe awkward to really ask if they could connect me to a direct hire and then expect these to openly tell me that it’s a struggle, but I see your point!
Congrats on your offers! I’m surprised to see a lot of people saying they’d pass on MBB. I faced a similar decision - Mck vs AlixPartners (a firm quite similar to A&M). While AP/A&M are excellent firms, I feel I made the right decision given what I was trying to solve for. May be different for you, but here’s why I’m glad I chose McK (as well as some responses to factors you or other people noted):
- scope and breadth - I have a number of different areas I wanted to explore, some of which are fairly niche (like cell and gene therapies within the biotech industry). McK touches every industry and function you can think of, and then some, and allows me opportunities to explore of all these while I figure out “what I want to be when I grow up”
- while ap/A&M have fantastic people, the MBBs have a track record of hiring the absolute cream of the crop. I love the fact that I’ll be working on a study and one of my partners will be considered one of the foremost experts *in the world.* Having colleagues that are reliably sharp as a whip pushes me to be my best self - I love having teammates who are both interested and interesting
- anecdotally from friends at ap/am, I have not heard of a big diff in work life balance - we pretty much all work anywhere from 45-65 in a given week. I’d actually say I have slightly better work life balance - since we have a greater variety of projects, it’s easier for me to optimize for WLB, where as there is less ability to do that for them since their projects are scoped within narrower confines
- it’s good to be aware that the MBB’s don’t measure utilization, while AP/A&M pay bonuses off of billable hours. Having started my career at a firm that measured utilization prior to joining mck, I can say that having to worry about it is a b**** and a half, especially at the pre-director level, when you’re not even the party responsible for bringing in work. It just adds an additional component of politics to your job, since you have to worry about constantly keeping yourself staffed.
- I would hypothesize that tying bonuses to hours billed incentivizes people to work really long hours - I don’t know if this is actually the case though (someone from A&M can speak to that)
- I very much disagree that experienced hires have a hard time succeeding - they’re very much set up for success at mck, and actually have a set of resources explicitly directed toward building off your prior experience while learning the “mckinsey way” (source: am experienced hire)
- MBB still has a bit of a “prestige” edge on these other firms, which does influence the exit opps. That doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve similar exits at those firms, or they can’t provide you great opps as well - but between the alumni network, the name, and the places that like to hire from MBB directly, I think the exit opps are generally broader
- finally, keep in mind that if you do plan to stay in consulting for the long run, MBB still charges a premium for their services, so it’s easier for partners in MBBs to reach the higher end of the consulting earning potential than at other firms
Let me reiterate that you really can’t go wrong here, both great options. Best of luck in whichever you choose!
Try to find people on LinkedIn that made this exact move and ask their perspective. They will be your best source of experienced based answer.
I second the hard pass. Lateral hires - especially EMs and PLs - structurally have difficult time succeeding at all MBB. Not because they’re bad performers but more because they haven’t come up in the culture and don’t have the network. So you have to risk adjust the offer for the ~60 to 80% chance you won’t promote at the new firm vs the ~80% chance you will move up if you stay at A&M.
If this is a step back in level definitely don’t do it. It will be annoying and could be difficult to explain/ limit your exit options if you get let go from McK in a couple years.
Why are you not trying to do CDD/strategy work at A&M?
Got a Bain offer as A&M Manager, turned it down, happy with my choice. Better WLB, basically no travel, same (better?) pay, maybe a little more stress around staying billable, confident it was the right call.
Also, honestly pretty surprised A&M Director is comparable to McKinsey EM. Directors in PEPI are making like 475+ (with plenty clearing 550). Wouldn’t have though McKinsey EM got up that high.
Which group are you in at A&M?
I’m trying to leave mbb and never look back
Samee!
Hours at McK for EM are easily 70+, so far the valuing experience seems like lip service and the reality is the tenured folks don’t appreciate hot shots coming in from outside that could take their spotlight
It feels like 2/3 of the time I hear experienced hires struggling, 1/3 that they bring extra value and can use their experience. Didn’t expect it to be as cut throat as you describe tho …
Wow I am impressed by all of your swift and detailed responses, thank you!
I am still really struggling with the decision. For me it boils down to top-notch brand/ learning vs WLB. Also, what I now understand from your responses that I haven’t talked about yet, I would move from Transaction Advisory/ FDD to Strategy/ CDD, something I would also enjoy more.
I am still really torn tbh and constantly worrying about making the wrong move.
Congrats on landing that in the first place. Haven’t heard a lot of ppl out of FDD do so
What division are you in? PEPI? Also depends division and industry...
Any insights on M and D salaries range on CPI, CRG and Rx? Thank youu
DM for crg