I have come across a few threads on here and a couple of other forums that basically just turn into arguments regarding where to get an MBA. The one thing that always comes up in discussion is consulting, and how much money it can make. For those with experience or knowledge, why is consulting viewed so negatively as far as personal life, family, etc go? I do not have any experience with it, which is why I am asking. Is consulting where the big bucks are, or is there a different path after MBA that does not provide all of the issues with the consulting world?

I can't answer your question but do wonder how getting an MBA with no work experience (yet) qualifies anyone to consult about anything? Maybe the MBA programs better prepare students than I am aware. I'd figure a person would need 10 or so years experience before consulting, but I could be wrong!

Its just like legal where you have to put in crazy hours to show commitment and make the money. Beyond all of that, one might argue that the value of the consultants isn't really there. The company is going to want a certain amount of real billable hours and if you're honest, you're likely to be working a good amount in excess of your billable.

I work at McKinsey after I got an MBA. Was an engineer in o&g before. I make $200k base and it's standard and publicized for anyone who works in any of the big 3 (MBB). It's avg 20% bump every year till you got 1MM. In 7 years you can pull in a million ez but it does cost you a portion of your life and health. I've done it for a year and with a family it's very very difficult and I'm looking to get out this year. As a single person it's okay but work becomes your identity.

Pros
- working with super smart people
- cool projects ( I haven't consulted on o&g yet lol)
- travel
- super fast promotion timeline

Cons
- travel if you have a family (4 days a week every week)
- hours I push 55-60 every week
- no schedule (hard to make small moments in kids life etc. valentines planned canceled because some nonsense meeting with svp the following day)

My experience is both in hiring consultants as well as bringing on recent grad MBAs as an employee.

From my perspective, we've had far more success in hiring MBAs into programs that rotate them through different parts of the business in 6 to 13 week segments. All of them have a preference for where they'd like to end up but we get them significant experience in different aspects of the company. Finance/Accounting/Treasury, Logistics, Purchasing, Maintenance, Sales etc...At the end of their rotation, they're a lot better prepared to apply their education experience using the actual experience gained. It makes them much more well received because they can actually view the educational experience through the lens of the team that they're working with and communicate accordingly.

The consultants usually get a lot more pushback and less buy-in.

I'll talk to you if it helps. Former consultant here.

My son is considering the newly formed "consulting track" in the Mays School. He's just starting the PPA program for Finance but the options are overwhelming. He is not interested in technology (MIS) but is very good at math and has excellent managerial skills.

I think he sees the dollar signs with the consulting track but he needs to speak with someone 5-10 years into this world.

I'm an environmental compliance guy so I have no idea where to guide him.

$30,000 Millionaire said:

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I'll talk to you if it helps. Former consultant here.

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Same. Happy to talk at some point

I made it to a similar level as $30k I think (one level before full equity partner) before pulling the plug. Each firm has its niche and unique culture, so there won't be one answer to all your questions.

I learned a lot and there were some pros and definite cons. Most firms don't travel full-time anymore since COVID, which was one of the huge downsides. I have several years of my life spent in hotel rooms and looking back it just wasn't worth it for me, but it did set me up well for my current role and it still looks great on my resume.

one safe place said:

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I can't answer your question but do wonder how getting an MBA with no work experience (yet) qualifies anyone to consult about anything? Maybe the MBA programs better prepare students than I am aware. I'd figure a person would need 10 or so years experience before consulting, but I could be wrong!

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I don't know of anyone with a real, full-time MBA that has no work experience. Every one of my classmates had at a minimum 2.5 years, but many more like 4.5 years-6.5 years. Late 20s seemed to be the sweet spot to go back. Too much earlier and you didn't have enough experience to be an asset to your class or get the best post-MBA roles, and too much later and it wouldn't make sense from a family or financial standpoint.

I might get some poo-poo, but it depends also on the level of consulting, as there are multiple tiers and why they're being brought in. I've seen consultants be brought in to help strengthen a division's strategy or support a particular CXO position. Here are how I bundle them, rightly-or-wrongly, based on my experience:

1) MBB (McKinsey, Bain, and Boston Consulting Group) - Strategy consultants - like htown12 mentioned; this is the big bucks and sexy work. MBB firms on a CV is impressive. As a finance exec, I've worked with people from MBB. They're smart people and adept at problem-solving. Huge support within their firms and they do shape a lot of company directions. This group particularly meets with CXO levels and mostly recruit from the big MBA brands. Hiring MBB is expensive and while they can be helpful, they can be at odds with the client's culture. I've seen it when they were hired to assist a young and ambitious exec who wanted to make a mark at the company. There was push back from fellow, seasoned execs, so the young exec brought in an MBB to assist in the analysis of the strategic shift in the company. It helped build credibility in the decision. MBB doesn't always execute the ideas after they've been presented or adopted by the CXO level leaders. They're excellent for taking the blame when it goes wrong, while the exec takes the glory when it goes right. There are smaller firms that also do strategy (AT Kearney is one that comes to mind), but this space is small and MBB are the large players. My MBB friends, prior to covid, travelled a lot and large distances due to their industry support experience and were at the top level of compensation. The recruitment also depends on which MBA program because saying "Top 25" doesn't really mean anything unless that particular school is known to have a funnel into any or all of the MBB (e.g. Rice, a top-30, has a way into BCG,).

2) Big-4 (consulting side of accounting firms: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, Ernst & Young), Accenture and others - Execution consultants (some, but strategy) - They're hired for big projects that companies don't have experience or support to accomplish. Sometimes they pick up after where MBB left off. One big area they service is the adoption of computer systems for company databases (enterprise resource management) that links companies together in different locations and functions (engineering talks to manufacturing talks to accounting) for resource management. I worked on two projects with Accenture support, and they're great, but I've also seen where my company leadership didn't have the strongest depth of the product we were adopting. Our project also evolved for more niceties and as a result, we were over budget and past our initial deadline. Big 4 does a lot overall in regard to services, but strategy might not be to the level of MBB. We never hired B4 for those types of projects, but I'm sure they could have. Less expensive than MBB and most of these firms are more regionally based - like I'm confident that an all-start would travel far to help, as needed, but all of our support has always been well stocked at the local offices. Their team typically speak to middle management up to CXO leader that their project was support; however, day to day is MM. This group will hire MBA grads (top-25 or 50, depending on the location) or other graduates, depending on what division they work in.

3) Boutiques - these are consultants brought in for a specialized project or support of a leader. Analyzing risk of a company, implementation of international supply chain/logistics protocols, other projects at the start-up through F500 levels. Addressing HR projects that a company doesn't have depth for (e.g. pensions or particular benefits), or bringing in an interim consultant to stand in the role/team/division/etc. because the previous one left, for whatever reason. These are typically well-seasoned leaders that, instead of going to another VP/CXO role, went into consulting because those roles are challenging to get and may require uprooting. Given the range of the projects, the expert depth may come from a particular firm in another city or may be local. MBA's tend to be desired from top 25, but this group can have seasoned (8+ years) expertise from bachelors only holders or PhDs, depending on how the firm is staffed and its purpose. They typically don't hire right out of school because the firms aren't made that way. I bundle a wide range of subject-matter experts at this level because, to me, it could be specialized outside counsel helping inside, specialized tax consultants, or engineering consultants. My friend's logistics consulting firm hires master-level credentialed and above supply chain/logistics experts with 15 years of experience. Company is going through bankruptcy? Restructuring consultants to the rescue. I've also worked as a consultant at a boutique firm before and I enjoyed it. Pay, entry, lifestyle, and work is varied.

4) Contractors - These are the workforce that are brought into complete a project, or fix something they're known to do and may be on a limited time basis. May go through a staffing firm or word of mouth, but having been in this situation before, this is the least stable environment, IMHO. It's great if you're entrepreneurial minded, but it can be quite stressful. Particular expertise may be needed or two hands, a brain, and a heartbeat may be all that is required.

At the end of the day, once you've hit a certain level, at any kind of service oriented company, there is an expectation to be able to sell. Those that can, do exceptionally well, and those that can't, tend to hit a ceiling to ride it out, unless it's a difficult culture and they leave.

one safe place said:

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I can't answer your question but do wonder how getting an MBA with no work experience (yet) qualifies anyone to consult about anything? Maybe the MBA programs better prepare students than I am aware. I'd figure a person would need 10 or so years experience before consulting, but I could be wrong!

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I could be wrong but I think you probably misread "I don't have any experience with it." I'd bet a coke that the "it" there is referring to consulting, not general experience.

There are some broad generalizations in the post, but pretty spot on in my experience.

MBB is definitely the top tier from a prestige perspective, but is also going to be more cutthroat. Each of the firms has its own unique culture as well. But there's a reason McKinsey partners or former partners have been at the center of so many of our high-profile scandals (Skilling, Luhnow, Valeant, opioid crisis with Purdue, insider trading, not to mention some of their international government engagements, etc.), The culture attracts those types of people who will push moral or ethical boundaries to get results and make themselves rich.

As with most things, it all depends on the individual person you're dealing with. I worked with McKinsey leaders who couldn't spell CAT if you spotted them the C and the A, as well as some extremely bright individuals that have gone on to do amazing things who I still call on from time to time to kick around ideas. All intellectually smart, but the first ones I mentioned lack any semblance of common sense or understanding of the realities of how businesses (and the people inside them) operate.

MBB does primarily help shape strategy, but they historically have lacked the understanding or tactical knowledge to actually be able to execute on their ideas, which is where Big 4 comes in. They've been actively trying to grow, hire experienced leaders from industry, and change this perception in the marketplace--especially McKinsey.

Big 4 consulting firms are typically aimed at CFO/COO/CIO and/or strategic and execution support for a divisional-level CEO that reports to the corporate CEO. That being said, their brand is not as powerful and ideas are not as respected. I'll also say the intellectual horsepower of the individual consultant is more variable at the Big 4 level, as they have more people sneak through the hiring process who can't cut it.

Staff turnover is high across all of these firms. It's a tough lifestyle.

Two big points of differentiation to make on your post though:

• I don't know any Big 4 consulting firms that hire outside the Top 25 MBA schools. The one I worked for recruited heavily from Sloan, Booth, Kellogg, McCombs, Stanford, Wharton, HBS, etc. As you said, these firms also heavily recruit non-MBA type experience from industry and have alternate paths for them to support the firm without pressure to become an equity partner.
• There is no regional staffing restriction in Big 4 consulting firms. Maybe there is on the tech implementation side, but I wasn't on that side. I was in M&A and we traveled everywhere and anywhere. Typically a small team from MBB would lead the overall deal and initial due diligence 9on bigger deals we would support due diligence and synergy planning), and we would lead most of the functional threads where we have much deeper expertise in executing the transaction, getting through Day 0/Day1, and then lead the post-merger integration. My primary client was typically the CFO or COO, not the CEO.

Good list. To add some color and a different slice of the consulting pie, my FIL spent years in your #3 (boutique) and I'm currently #4.

It's actually way better work-life balance for me, but that's because I'm explicitly choosing to not overcommit myself. And I do technical work mostly which means I work from home and remote in to servers most of the time. Travel occasionally for an in person meeting.

My FIL's story adds a different negative perspective to consulting. He did high level executive/regulatory consulting for a long time as he neared retirement age, and based on his stories, I'll say that another big reason consulting gets a bad wrap is because frequently you literally do nothing… which is awesome the first time it happens, but less so the 20th time. Consultants are sometimes brought in just to check a regulatory box, or appease shareholders/board members. You'll make recommendations and then come in the next quarter or year and nothing has changed. Your recommendations fall on deaf ears. You get paid to be on an advisory board, but you're an outsider and no one listens.

For some folks, getting paid to do nothing is their jam. If you have a soul, though, it does wear on you. My FIL was happy to get out of that game and completely retire. You can only take so much beating your head against a wall and seeing no change.

Thank you all for the replies. I have no desire to get my MBA (too far along in my career, family, etc.) but have a younger close friend who is debating it. Very informative.

SidetrackAg said:

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I have come across a few threads on here and a couple of other forums that basically just turn into arguments regarding where to get an MBA. The one thing that always comes up in discussion is consulting, and how much money it can make. For those with experience or knowledge, why is consulting viewed so negatively as far as personal life, family, etc go? I do not have any experience with it, which is why I am asking. Is consulting where the big bucks are, or is there a different path after MBA that does not provide all of the issues with the consulting world?

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And to fully answer your question since I realized we haven't, there are three primary money-making paths. There are plenty of other success stories and entrepreneurs, but these are the three primary routes that provide that instant prestige and salary bump for young professionals (in order of initial post-MBA compensation levels):

• Tech company / Major F100 Management Direct hire (less up-front salary, but at certain companies this is the fast track to a senior management position)
• Management Consulting
• I-Banking and/or Private Equity (maybe include VC in here too)

All of them require long hours and all require some kind of real sacrifice (and mostly that sacrifice is in time away from your family and way too many nights eating room service in a hotel working until 2:00 a.m.). Depending on where you are in your life, some or none of these might be appealing.

Not much more to add that others haven't already said.
I learned a lot during my time in mgmt consulting (I was in the same firm bucket as Buck), but I was much more junior and went in straight out of A&M undergrad. Did it for 4 years in a major market, traveled every week, and burned out on the lifestyle. Mix of my projects: 80% execution, 20% strategy.

Went back to school for my full time MBA to transition out of consulting and switched to my dream career. Comp is not as high had I stayed in the consulting grind or rerecruited consulting, but having had that experience definitely boosted my career prospects.

I'd recommend it for anyone who is ambitious about their career. You learn how to operate and succeed in a cutthroat environment, and that prepared me well for later non-consulting roles I had.

Good post. In Houston, I worked with some older Accenture people, but they were either part of the group that converted from AA consulting back in the late 80s, or were part of the AA exodus in the 2000s. They were mostly all Bauer MBAs because back then as Rice's MBA wasn't even on a radar.

From my understanding, FDD or M&A (the sexy deals) are typically chaired by people in your shoes: Top 25'ers. In the Mid-west, specifically in Minnesota/Wisconsin, their MBAs are also recruited; however, I can't confirm how they compare to the other B1G schools like Kelley, Ross, etc. I know that Gies (Illinois) is an accounting powerhouse, but they essentially only have an online MBA these days. I digress, but I think like any job, networking ends up being a key aspect if you aren't in the T25.

Consulting is great if:
- You're single or further in your career where you don't want to be a CXO anymore
- Money is good, and you are okay with that trade off for family time (have support to make it work)
- Like to travel, be it on the plane, train, or car - always visiting the client or being a text away
- Enjoy a different kind of stress: perfection for the deck, the ideation, or the implementation with the mindset for a future additional project. Don't have to worry about a company closing down or meeting payroll. What I call "The CXO Sword of Damocles".

It sucks
- If you're solo, without any backup support. When you have support, but it's just you on an engagement, it's still lonely. Team engagements can also be messy.
- Like you said, it can quite back-stabby.
- You might have the best ideas in the world and the client loves it, but they don't implement it because they shelve all the good ideas.
- If they do implement it, and you're doing the work, communication could be leaving much to be desired.
- Partners will throw you under the bus for the sake of the client relationship. I read in the "The Firm: The Story of McKinsey and Its Secret Influence on American Business" (by Duff McDonald) about McKinsey always pushing the firm, first which I agree and makes sense, but no less painful when it's your 15 minutes of shame.
- Can literally break a company - the book called "I'm Sorry I Broke Your Company: When Management Consultants Are the Problem, Not the Solution" by Karen Phelan is great for anecdotes.
- It eventually becomes a sales environment (might be good for some types, but not all).

I always thought this image was an apt depiction of the field (it's labeled for Big4 accounting, but it's applicable to the consulting ranks).

https://i.redd.it/rnj01cvh1dy11.jpg

Definitely some good money to be made in consulting.

Lot of points already made in the thread I agree with so a couple of other thoughts.

If one goes the MBA route, consulting can be a good fit, but you can also find a lot of more strategic roles/departments that companies look to fill from MBA recruiting.

Consulting has always been a good place to gain experience quickly in a variety of settings and industries. After several years, people will determine if they like that pace or want a potentially better work/life balance from a corporate role with a client or some other company.

The pandemic and influence of the new working styles have somewhat displaced the old travel-heavy, Monday-Thursday schedule. That's a good thing IMO but some people enjoyed the old work hard/play hard model and points and miles. That still goes on in some places but it's also common now to travel less but for more specific purposes like client workshops big presentations, etc.

Another good thing about consulting is you are revenue- generating for your company, which should always be valuable. Even if you are focused on something like project management you ultimately are not overhead for who cuts your check.

Also, as mentioned sales or business development becomes more important as you hit the senior manager and above ranks. It becomes critical to connect externally to bring in opportunities and internally to connect various expertises to solve problems.

The other thing that stuck out is, yeah how much can a new MBA without consulting experience being? A big part of the value of these firms is having seasoned leaders that can guide teams, as well as methodologies and collateral that can serve as somewhat repeatable blueprints.

The other negatives i typically point out are while you can get good experience, you may be at the whims of doing the type of work that is being sold. Also yes there are some projects that go sideways due to bad agreement on scope, personalities/egos/agendas, company politics, or just generally sub par work.

My experience has ranged from transformations/reorganizations, strategic assessments, to now leading a software development team and I've worked at both one of the big motherships and a couple of boutiques.

I've been in industry long enough where I don't trust anything a consulting firm says, mostly because they are PowerPoint warriors and do not have battle scars from having done anything. Yeah, I use them, but for a specific thing I need done or to use as cannon fodder. They're great to provide structure, program discipline, and to blindly execute on your instructions without having to worry about org politics. Sometimes you need soldiers.

Consulting stopped being appealing to me when 1) I wanted ownership and 2) I realized it's nothing more than pimping young people's time and pretending you're an expert. The partners at your firms are not experts. In fact, they don't know jack squat. What they do know how to do is sell, nicely package content into a story and write no duh white papers chock full of buzzwords. #2 is the unspoken truth of every one of these firms.

That said, I highly recommend everyone spend some time as a consultant because it requires you to develop soft skills and will expose you to problems at a pace you cannot get organically. The analyst through AP/MD roles generally teach a lot.

My best friend is a big 4 partner and I love how he puts it - the A people go to industry, the C people get managed out, and the B people become partners.

$30,000 Millionaire said:

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I've been in industry long enough where I don't trust anything a consulting firm says, mostly because they are PowerPoint warriors and do not have battle scars from having done anything. Yeah, I use them, but for a specific thing I need done or to use as cannon fodder. They're great to provide structure, program discipline, and to blindly execute on your instructions without having to worry about org politics. Sometimes you need soldiers.

Consulting stopped being appealing to me when 1) I wanted ownership and 2) I realized it's nothing more than pimping young people's time and pretending you're an expert. The partners at your firms are not experts. In fact, they don't know jack squat. What they do know how to do is sell, nicely package content into a story and write no duh white papers chock full of buzzwords. #2 is the unspoken truth of every one of these firms.

That said, I highly recommend everyone spend some time as a consultant because it requires you to develop soft skills and will expose you to problems at a pace you cannot get organically.

My best friend is a big 4 partner and I love how he puts it - the A people go to industry, the C people get managed out, and the B people become partners.

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Don't disagree with any of this.

Not a consultant, don't have an mba, but I've been through an SAP implementation role out (switch from Oracle) utilizing consultants and it was mostly a joke.

Also, this link reads almost exactly like what $30k describes.

https://www.accenture.com/us-en/services/sap-index?c=acn_glb_sapbgfoundationgoogle_13251568&n=psgs_1022&gclid=CjwKCAiA0cyfBhBREiwAAtStHJSs2vVas-VKgAsw1NArZzcBrr73x9eGzgccNDo3mBfJnLytbNrjOBoCNDEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Good thread. Have seen it all from the industry side and have dealt with MBB, the Big 4, and some boutiques as their customer. Was an independent consultant myself for the last two years after taking an early retirement.

It was fine but I ultimately didn't enjoy it too much. I'm fairly niche so I know most everyone in my space. Getting business not too hard as a result but It was lonely and I just didn't think it was for me even though I'm kind of built for it.

Went back to my industry late last year when a good opportunity popped up. It's whipping my ass and now im kind of wishing I could go back to my retirement. Lol.

$30,000 Millionaire said:

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I've been in industry long enough where I don't trust anything a consulting firm says, mostly because they are PowerPoint warriors and do not have battle scars from having done anything. Yeah, I use them, but for a specific thing I need done or to use as cannon fodder. They're great to provide structure, program discipline, and to blindly execute on your instructions without having to worry about org politics. Sometimes you need soldiers.

Consulting stopped being appealing to me when 1) I wanted ownership and 2) I realized it's nothing more than pimping young people's time and pretending you're an expert. The partners at your firms are not experts. In fact, they don't know jack squat. What they do know how to do is sell, nicely package content into a story and write no duh white papers chock full of buzzwords. #2 is the unspoken truth of every one of these firms.

That said, I highly recommend everyone spend some time as a consultant because it requires you to develop soft skills and will expose you to problems at a pace you cannot get organically. The analyst through AP/MD roles generally teach a lot.

My best friend is a big 4 partner and I love how he puts it - the A people go to industry, the C people get managed out, and the B people become partners.

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They're mercs and not soldiers. Soldiers (employees) you have to train the bad habits out of and make an investment into. Mercs are paid well to show up knowing what to do, or how to pretend, to the client. The client's people will smell the BS, but it doesn't matter - the leadership made the engagement and has to see it through for their own performance bonus.

I will admit, I was never a strategy consultant, but I hear the training and network is phenomenal. I have seen "exit strategy" as a Google search when I see MBA consulting, so it's a stepping stone to in office business development or similar roles.

Great thread with lots of great info. The consulting time for me was very tough and wearing, but the experience was unbeatable. Ultimately, it turns to sales and that's where I didn't see a fit for me personally. I will, however, always be thankful for that time in my life - met some great people!

can't argue with the above. no-MBA here but masters (with 0 experience) and then 9 years consulting. and now 9 years industry.

IMO, consulting throws experience at you much faster than industry. some good, some not as good. but lessons in both scenarios if you're paying attention.

left deloitte for industry… industry (nike/cricut) is a lot more fun - especially when partners you used to work for are working for or trying to sell to you.

never did "MBB"… but experienced both 1) being their client and 2) being the activation consultant on the heels of their strategy. if you want a 2nd, 3rd or 4th husband/wife it is a pretty solid career path. but if I'm being honest, partner at big 4 seems to have similar odds.

That's true. Hired guns.

$30,000 Millionaire said:

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2) I realized it's nothing more than pimping young people's time and pretending you're an expert. The partners at your firms are not experts. In fact, they don't know jack squat. What they do know how to do is sell, nicely package content into a story and write no duh white papers chock full of buzzwords. #2 is the unspoken truth of every one of these firms.

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This was the first though that popped into my head as I started reading this thread.

No experience with consulting, just an HR Pro that's been involved in some tech implementations and "project resource" to a Finc/IT/Supply Chain type project being run by the Big 4 type consultants where there was likely to be some staff change recommendations and the internal mgmt wanted an HR person to be around as a resource.

It certainly looked to me like the ideas/projects being pushed were very template driven and all of the staff/resources were there to cull through the company data to pull into the story-line/business case to justify the recommendation.

That all said, having a friend or two living this lifestyle or befriending the right project team member can lead to some nice dinners on the T&E dime.

Lots of good experiences shared here so far, so I'll add my experience.

I found consulting to be a good way to advance my career early when I didn't really know what industry and what role I wanted to target. It's a good way to see lots of things, sharpen lots of technical and people skills, and you're still transferable enough to apply later when I had a more concrete long term direction.

I consulted for 3 years at a big financial services company, then got a FT MBA from a top university, then consulted for two more years at one of the big strategy guys (tier 1). My oldest was about 2 when I got out - ultimately joining a client into an internal role I could continue to develop.


It was a lot of work, but that's what you can do in your 20's. The travel wasn't as bad as others have experienced, and it has become even less burdensome post-covid (I still hire quite a few consultants).

I worked pretty hard in the next phase too, up through becoming and executive and climbing the ladder - but without much travel at all, and very few interrupted weekends. So I could be much more present with my kids as they grew.

Now I'm the boss or the customer in about 99% of the hours I spend working, so I have a high degree of control over how I spend my time and effort, I couldn't have got here without those first two decades busting my tail.

So like a lot of things, you get out of it what you put into it. I found consulting and the MBA to be useful tools.

McKinsey Plans to Eliminate About 2,000 Jobs in One of Its Biggest Rounds of Cuts

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-21/mckinsey-to-cut-about-2-000-jobs-in-one-of-its-biggest-headcount-reductions?

I guarantee you they won't take out any consultants over 80% billable

It will be the support functions that get slashed

Quote:

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The plan is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, and the final number of roles to be eliminated from its 45,000 workforce could still change, one of the people said. That headcount is up from 28,000 just five years ago and 17,000 in 2012.

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yikes...talk about bloated

FrioAg 00 said:

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I guarantee you they won't take out any consultants over 80% billable

It will be the support functions that get slashed

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yep.

"...with the move expected to focus on support staff in roles that don't have direct contact with clients, according to people with knowledge of the matter."

Quote:

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Under a plan dubbed Project Magnolia, the management team is hoping the move will help preserve the compensation pool for its partners

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project....make sure the partners can pay for their new wings.

Diggity said:

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Quote:

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The plan is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, and the final number of roles to be eliminated from its 45,000 workforce could still change, one of the people said. That headcount is up from 28,000 just five years ago and 17,000 in 2012.

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yikes...talk about bloated

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See my comment from earlier in the thread:

Quote:

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MBB does primarily help shape strategy, but they historically have lacked the understanding or tactical knowledge to actually be able to execute on their ideas, which is where Big 4 comes in. They've been actively trying to grow, hire experienced leaders from industry, and change this perception in the marketplace--especially McKinsey.

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They over-hired trying to accomplish this goal and win market share in the execution space vs. staying in their strategy lane. Yes, this cut will impact support staff (which we all know just means client-facing individuals pick up more slack on internal projects and recruiting in addition to their client hours).

But it will also impact more junior roles that aren't 90-95%+ utilized and they will trim out many of their newly-hired industry advisors who aren't really consultants but are used to bring industry credibility and run the lecture circuit talking at industry events and conferences on behalf of McKinsey.

Engineer with an MBA. Graduated masters in 2015 and went back into engineering consulting. Usually work 40-45 hour weeks. Used it to move up in management and next step is associate/ownership.

Met with various consultants that worked in the second tier described above while doing grad school. Every guy there was a walking divorce waiting to happen. Kids at home but never saw them. Wife wasn't happy. They were only home 1-2 days a week. The sheer sadness on their faces to describe that the sacrifice was worth it was enough to turn me away from it forever.