Comments on: Management Consulting versus Investment Banking

By: Mayank

Mayank — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:18:37 +0000

lol.. interesting set of observations..

well.. as far as sticking to a job is concerned, it is all about opportunities.. i’m into banking right now.. if you can offer me a job that is “exactly the same from the cashflow perspective”, I wouldn’t want to slough 14 hours a day!

so, looking forward to an offer.. hope to hear from you soon! :)

By: IB Analyst

IB Analyst — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:11:35 +0000

Thanks a lot for this post, its really helpful.

I will be joining a BB investment bank soon after finishing undergrad, and being an international student, the only big 3 firm that I was eligible for was McKinsey. Their hiring process dates went beyond my deadline, so i was forced to accept my offer, in the hope that I could nurture my interest in consulting over the next two years, learn modeling, valuation and soft skills on the job, and then apply to McKinsey in the future.

In your experience, do a lot of bankers go in to consulting? Is getting an MBA the only way to do this? Do consulting firms value the skills that bankers bring?

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:31:25 +0000

You should definitely be more careful about which firm and ask more questions about the future lifestyle. Travel can be a huge component at most global/leading firms.

By: Consultant

Consultant — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:36:26 +0000

You clearly mentioned that consultants spend a substantial amount of their time traveling and was wondering if this travel was typically outside the US or within the US. Personally, I am NOT a big fan of traveling by plane because it makes me feel “sick”. Should this play a major factor in whether I decide to become a consultant?

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 19 May 2009 04:35:52 +0000

Mike – absolutely agreed re investment banking and weekend work.

Consulting is a bit different – depending on firm/project, weekend interruptions are more rare and farther between. I’d say in aggregate less than 10% of your weekends will be interrupted, and less than 5% will be interrupted for a full weekend. It’s just not common (this will come back to haunt me, of course).