Intense, political environment but great learning, resume-builder
Pros
- Incredible reputation/ brand value: after leaving you will almost always get a final round interview at any company you are interested in - Ridiculously smart people: caliber is unparalleled and I was constantly blown away by how smart my colleagues were (associate to partner) - Great training: you'll learn how to structure and quantify very abstract problems and you'll learn a lot very fast - Good salary and perks as with any top 3 firm (probably the best with work life balance) - Most collaborative, down-to-earth culture of MBB - Alumni network is really active, opens several opportunities
Cons
- Staffing is a huge hit or miss: very political and you can end up becoming an expert on a super boring topic you have no interest in - Very political and a lot of schmoozing: sometimes its fun but other times you end up going to a team dinner for optics when you'd rather go to your hotel room and relax or catch up with family - Strongest performers come from i-banking, highly quantitative backgrounds. Non traditional candidates will need to work 2x or 3x as hard to keep up - Long hours are a must and definitely a sink or swim environment- not for the faint hearted. Expect 60-80 hour work weeks to be the norm - Some offices are particularly brutal with long hours and politics - Dallas and DC in particular do NOT have a good reputation. Chicago and NJY are fantastic for Associates/ Consultants - Work/ life balance is not possible at any level unless your definition of balance is significantly skewed towards work - if you come in single, expect to stay single unless you date a BCG-er; if you come in with an SO, they should expect to see you only on weekends of which many will be spent working from home (this is not so much a BCG only issue but a strategy consulting issue) - Some clients are THE WORST: if you are sensitive or get angry easily, not the job for you. Ability to BS is a must
