The real deal: What it's like to work at Bain from an AC who's been through ups and downs.
Pros
(In no particular order) 1. Prestige/Brand: Bain has a brand name that is tough to beat. It's a real advantage for MBA applications as well as other career opportunities to have Bain on your resume. 2. Networking: If you are looking for access to well-networked VP's in the business world, you will find them at Bain. Keeping in contact with current and former Bainees is easy to do and frequently a means to future opportunities. Once you've worked at Bain, getting an "industry" job (rather than consulting for the industries) is a pretty easy goal, since all of Bain's clients need smart, business-minded employees, and Bain is very good about "match-making" in that sense. 3. Education: Bain provides a great understanding of how the corporate world operates (e.g., challenges faced, internal politics of clients, supply/demand challenges). From the nitty-gritty (using excel spreadsheets and statistical tools, etc.) to the highest level (understanding growth strategies and developing client skills), Bain will educate you very, very well. 4. People: The difference between Bain and the other "big-name" Management Consulting firms is the people. Bain is far and away the most "fun" place to work, despite it being just as challenging and lucrative a job. If deciding between Bain, BCG, and McKinsey, know that the clients are the same caliber (McKinsey tried to convince me otherwise, and they were false), but the people you spend all of your time with are the consultants themselves, so choose the people you feel are the closest match to your own personality. The reputations that guide most people correctly are as follows: Bain is for fun/social types who like to work hard and play hard, BCG is for intellectual types who are comfortable in their more "nerdy" personalities, and McKinsey is for the most cut-throat types who tend to have egos and who don't mind the overly-political environment & staffing decisions.
Cons
As with all consulting firms, the quality of your experience is largely dependent on the type of cases to which you are assigned, and, even more so, on the people with whom you are working. Certain Case Team Leaders (CTL's) and Managers are devoted to developing well-trained Associate Consultants (AC's), while others are more focused on their own reputations. The worst case scenario is having inconsistent/short-lived reporting relationships and/or supervisors who are not invested in professional development. Having had both, and having seen peers with the opposite, I can attest to the difference it makes in one's ability to advance within Bain as well as one's quality of experience. The fact that an AC's assignments and roles are determined by fairly arbitrary/random decisions by the Staffing Dept makes this downside especially frustrating, as there is nothing an AC can do to impact whether he/she get's lucky or falls through the proverbial cracks. At the end of the day, even "bad" experience at Bain is considered good experience by other employers, but it can be frustrating to be in a competitive environment and feel "neglected" by your superiors, particularly when those individuals are determining your eligibility for promotions and write your recommendations.
