Hello. I was wondering if you all wouldnt mind giving me your opinions. I want to work for one of the big 4/5/6 big full house consultancies. I think you know who they are. But I wanted to ask this. Which in the long run (systems integration vis-a-vis strategy) will open up doors and rewards better financially. I also plan to do an MBA in 4-5 years. Would either stand me in better stead? I would also like to work in investment management/fund managementinvestment banking in the future too, would either particularly help me in terms of looking good on my CV or equiping me with skills for the job?

Janet - strategy consulting pays bigger bucks and opens more doors later in your career, without question. Which also means it's much the harder of the two types of work to get into in the first place... Tony

Thanks for that Tony. One of the threads said that strategy consulting at the big full house firms wasn't 'pure' strategy when compared to the likes of Bain, BCG, McK etc. Does your answer still stand if I worked in the strategy arm of one of the big full house firms, or does your answer refer more to the 'pure' strat firms?

Janet - my answer still stands. The strategy arms of the big full service consultancies are not seen as quite as prestigious as the pure strategy firms, but the work and client list doesn't differ enormously between them. Good luck