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MS wrote:
Hi,
I read your blog online about consulting and what to prepare to be a consultant. I have an existing offer from both consulting firms and ibank and think it would be helpful to hear your thought on this. Let me know.
Best,
-MS
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My response:
MS,
Thanks for reaching out with your questions. Congratulations on getting offers from both consulting firms and investment banks. In the current job market, it isn’t common for people to have offers from both types of firms.
I’ve written a pretty long blog entry about the difference between pursuing the consulting and i-banking paths in the past, so I would refer you to my website archives to see that entry for my detailed thoughts. I can give you some quick thoughts in this email though. In my eyes, the decision between consulting and i-banking comes down to a few key things, including the following:
1. Your desired long-term career path –> If you want to pursue a long-term career in the Finance field or function, then investment banking is probably the best place where you could start. You’ll develop a core set of analytical skills, and understanding of finance and the markets, and get exposure to deals, all of which would help lay the groundwork for a great finance career. In particular, if your i-banking offer is in sales and trading, the skills that you’d develop would also position you well for general Sales positions (especially in a financial services setting) later in on your career. If you’re interested in taking your career in a non-finance direction, then you’d be best served by going into consulting. I view consulting to be the best possible learning lab for business and you’ll be exposed to a wide range of functions and industries in a relatively short amount of time.
2. Your current career position –> You didn’t mention whether you were coming out of undergrad or graduate school. I believe that this is an important input into the decision making process. If you’re coming out of undergrad, spending a couple of years in consulting or i-banking would position you very well for grad school and a career afterward, so you’d be equally well-positioned going with either option. You’ll always have the option of taking your career in a different direction after you leave graduate school, so you’d want to make sure you’re positioned well for those applications. If you’re coming out of grad school, you will have a harder time changing directions with your career after a few years, so it’s much more important for you to choose the option that aligns best with your longer term career goals.
3. Your preference for working in a team or working on your own –> Sales and trading positions are primarily “lone wolf” positions where you work on your own to push stock and bond offerings to potential buyers. Management consulting and some of the other i-banking fields (M&A, public finance, etc) are more team oriented. In particular, consulting is a VERY team-focused profession, so if you’re not comfortable working in teams, then it likely isn’t the right move for you.
Overall, you would be well-served with either of the two options in front of you, so you should make your choice based on what will position you well for your desired career path in the future. Ultimately, you’ve got to do the work, so don’t let anyone pressure you into going in either direction. It’s got to be all about what you’re interested in doing for the next few years.
I hope this quick response helps. For the more detailed response that I wrote earlier, please feel free to visit the archives on my website.
Marquis
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