I have a MD/PhD with few years of industry experience behind me in a technical role and recently got offers from the top tier strategy consulting firms (MB..). While I am ambitious and was hoping that MBB could open several doors in business or accelerate my career, I am not so sure after searching for ex consultants on Linkedin. You need to spend atleast 4-5 years to land up a job of Director in the Industry on the business side. Long term career as consultant is not for me because of current family and kids. I am also concerned about being away from kids most of the week and as a compromise could do couple of years most. I am told that this is an opportunity of a lifetime and should accept it. There is no difference in pay between what what I make now vs what I am being offered. Has somebody been in similar situation? Can somebody advise?

Academia.

Yes I agree with BEP. You want a job with long holidays and that allows you to spend time with the family. You will love Academia.MBB could be a very good opportunity, this site is inundated with threads about this or that person who is absolutely desperate to get into MBB. But you are already there (ie already have an offer) and I have no doubt there's a bunch of guys in here that would do anything to have the offer you have. I think Coolio is probably the best person to advise, as Bushy is more for when you want advice on clothing trends or relationship issues ;p

Yes, I'm always far ahead when it comes to fashion. I used to wear torn jeans WAAAYYY before they became fashionable.

OMG you have to spend 4 - 5 years before getting a Director level role in industry? Good grief. Well that means only people with patience will ever make it.Unless the selection process for MBB has suddenly become so long you can have kids while it is ongoing, I assume you were already aware of the travel commitments. Take the offer. Really. When they tell you it is the opportunity of a lifetime that's because it is.

HeheheTouche to Mars. Although you should remember Mars, those of us who went contracting became Directors/CEO/President/Managing Director (pick one dependent on how vain you are) wayyy quicker then the hard "4-5 year" slog that Indv is talking about. Gosh, can you imagine having to work that long! Bushy is a partner but he only got there in his late teens, he's a late developer.Indv - just so you know, a lot of the Directors in the big banks got there after a 15-20+ year career. I'm talking about the proper Directors / Execs with teams of 200+, not the ones with flashy titles who run a budget of £1m and a couple of staff.

Also remember that MBB brings with it a particular lifestyle which many might consider to be about as far from "family friendly" as it gets...

Bushy are we forgetting Bravehearted and the Travelodge? I think the MBB lifestyle will have its compensations.

I think there is a big difference between Director in Industry vs in Consulting. Directors in Industry probably don't make more than 250K including all benefits and likely to stay in that position for years or even retire. To get this job in Industry you will have to spend 15+ years vs from MBB I have seen people get it after 5 - 6 years. Regarding the job itself, is it more suited for somebody who is a fresh graduate in his mid 20's who has very limited experience to industry and is in awe of travel, lifestyle etc versus somebody who is in his early 30's, has worked for 5+ years and seen that it is 90% execution that keep the company going and strategies keep on changing but the work remains the same. What would such a person learn in consulting?

Why are you asking a question then answering it yourself? It sounds like you already have a decision - so why ask? If you dont want to take the MB offer....dont. You really dont need other people to make you feel better about it.But you are drawing some irregular comparisons here. Getting MBB on your CV has very very few comparitors - think GS, Google (in engineering) P&G (brand marketing)...so you can get a 'Director' role in industry, but after 5 - 6 years experience that will be a big titled manager in some midcap selling star wars t-shirts in women's sizes in Saudi not an actual FTSE Director role.A couple of years in MBB (which is pretty much the limit of what would work for your lifestyle I guess) will open doors everywhere - its not about what you learn (which will be quite a lot in itself) but the assurance you give to others through having made it. Very few will join MBB and choose to make a career of it. Even 1 year ticks a box frankly - maybe go in with your eyes open, see how it goes and agree with yourself to make a 12 month commitment, see how it goes? Basically you cant lose.

Mars - Appreciate you input. You are right. Two years is what would work for me in terms of lifestyle. When you say it opens lot of doors can you please add at what levels are these doors open? Are they again at entry level? I am currently an Engineering Manager and trying to figure out if all these sacrifices would be worth it?

Put it this way, it'd get you further than if you stayed in your current role for 2 years.

MBB continually hire the brightest people from the best universities and top industry organisations to work there. They all make sacrifices to do so, and in 15 years of being a HH in management consultancy I have [i]never[/i] heard anyone ever say they regretted going to MBB.

Thanks Mars. From your HH experience, can you suggest what kind of roles people get after MBB who have been in Technical/R&D managers role for 5+ years at one very eminent technology companies to the likes of Pfizer etc. My only concern is that business people may not value your technical experience very much and and the two years that you have in MBB may not be long enough to get a decent management position in Business.Your input is really valuable since you do have real experience in placing MBB folks.

Indv I think you are unnecessarily splitting your pre-MBB experience from the MBB tenure when you need to be looking at the whole. What you should be asking yourself if what will your proposition be after MBB - tying the technical and strategy experience together. So off the top of my head, you could for example work on portfolio analysis and strategy, deciding on where and how to invest in new R&D, new manufacturing CAPEX or buy/build/partner decisioning, you could be looking at new market entry - perhaps how to increase adoption in less developed countries of white label devices or meds, you could advice NHS trusts on outsourcing, the list goes on and thats just for life sciences/pharma etc. How about commercial strategy for OTC markets or even advising a PE fund with a healthcare portfolio? There are myriad options and permutations, and all of these are typical post-MBB roles. And well remunerated I might add.

Given the choice between consulting experience (especially MBB) vs no consulting experience to reach a decent management/executive level, there's no doubt, pick the consulting path to compliment your industry experience.Here are several reasons why:1. You learn business problem solving skills like no other. This is where you hear about all those frameworks, approaches, methodologies, tools, techniques, etc. It's the art and science of consulting. Most industry jobs will not teach you how to structure, solve and articulate business problems better than consulting. This may seem trivial, but it is not and is one of the reasons why our industry exists. It will also be essential to managing companies.2. You will constantly be exposed to C-suite/executive level thinking. You will begin to start seeing business holistically. Most jobs and positions, especially in industry, won't allow you to think like or understand the C-suite. Never under estimate or marginalise or under appreciate the executive agenda, challenge and pressure. You will not learn how a CEO thinks/acts in most industry, especially technical roles.3. You will continually work with bright and disciplined performers. Of course, every company has their bad apples, but generally, consulting is filled with super stars who strive to maintain a high performing culture. I believe this is important as it sets the bar for executives who want to create high performing cultures.HOWEVER, there a few things to consider and be realistic about:1. 4-5 years consulting experience (MBB), coupled with industry experience won't necessarily land you the CEO seat. You need to at least hit the Engagement Manager position before your really understand how to develop business solutions. I argue you truly don't get the most out of consulting until you hit the Principal (or equivalent) position. Senior associates or analysts don't easily transition into executive roles. You'll still be able to get a very good, high paying role of course.2. (This may not be an issue for you) You need to start focusing on industry. Can you do that in 4-5 years, especially with your entry point (which I assume is associate or senior associate level?). Consulting experience with a focus on a particular industry will help you land that industry management role much more easily as opposed to being the generalist. Again you can really achieve this in 4-5 years? Consulting path starts with being a generalist for several years than specialising.3. This is what I consider most important. You will NOT see your family. Consulting is a demanding lifestyle. With engagements, you could be fly in / fly out and only able to see your family on the weekends. Don't take this lightly. A lot of people leave this industry because it takes a huge toll on their family lives. At no point is our industry easy. There are many people in consulting who have multiple ex-wives or who have kids they never saw grow up. You have to be fully aware that you will be sacrificing several years of your family life. In my consulting life, I've done stints of several years with 100% travel and never saw my friends or family. One of the toughest experiences in my life. You need to think hard about this. There is no easy path when it comes to work/life balance in consulting.

Thank you exp-mc123 for your very thoughtful points. I have significant industry experience (~ 7 years) which means I could start focusing right away but I am not really prepared to sacrifice my personal life because of kids beyond 2 - 3 years and I am trying to question the merit of taking the MBB path only for 2 - 3 years and what I am going to get out of it. Is it worth staying put in the Industry and build on the existing career which is more Engineering oriented ? OR Get 2 - 3 years of experience in MBB and find a role which my concern is may be more of an entry level and requires rebooting your career?

I would do the 2-5 years of MBB to become a better business operator and to truly understand business strategy and management. Let me be absolutely clear about this. No other profession will teach you more about strategy and management in a short amount of time. It'll open up doors to the business (non-technical) side of an organisation This is what you are getting. I woud not go into this expecting it to open up a FTSE 100 Director position. You need to align your expectations to this. I wouldn't be too concerned about post-MBB, finding a "career rebooting entry level" type position. I suspect you may be thinking about getting some sort of mid-level Corporate Development/Strategy position that's not really a management position.You'll just have to be smart about combining your consulting and engineering experience to land the right role. Maybe that's some form of General Manager position in an engineering firm? If it gives you any comfort, I had a consulting engagement with a global engineering firm and the one thing the executives all had in common - they weren't pure engineers. They all had some form of business background (management consulting, accounting, etc.)

Hi exp-mc123, Thanks again for your reply. Your guessed it right. I am more concerned about landing up with a manager role in strategy. I am already a senior manager in engineering/development and would like to get broader roles in program management or general management. Also, how easy it is to find jobs post consulting while on job or do you have to resign and then find jobs. What I am wondering is whether recruiters are looking for you to fill in jobs or you have to find jobs on your own.

This thread is going round in circles.If you want to move into commercial / general management roles, then taking the consulting role will certainly facilitate this and will open lots of doors. It will likely set you on a totally different career path and trajectory.If you are not prepared to accept the sacrifices from a family/lifestyle perspective, then there is nothing wrong with that, stay where you are. You may manage the transition in house but it will likely take longer and your options will be lessenedSeems pretty straightforward to me...

IndvsMBB,You do realize that MB have stellar alumni services that actually help place you in senior corporate roles if and when you decide to leave the firm? I'm talking about a dedicated internal team that helps you find a role outside the firm, as well as job postings available only to current employees/former alumni.This is an aspect of MB(B) that's simply unmatched anywhere else in the the consulting industry. This is a straightforward choice.

MBB. You will always regret if you don't and go to anything else.

[quote]MBB. You will always regret if you don't and go to anything else.[/quote]Why is MBB the be all and end all?

Signaling, power of brand, level of exposure, variety of business problems, working across sectors/industries, degree of refinement of peers, exit options, work excitement, perks, etc...nowhere else will you find those things (well, except for IB perhaps, but I do not know much about it so I won't compare the two)

More importantly, what's the hourly rate of pay like and how does it compare to other options?

Pretty badly i should imagine, take the £10k extra a year, work out the extra hours you are required to work (e.g. weekends) and that's your actual reward. The subtract some for stress, excess travel, and going through the inevitable costly divorce as a result... If we are talking about doing jobs you enjoy and gain "excitement" from, I wouldn't be doing an office job...