Data science @ consulting companies
I’m a data scientist at Airbnb, 5 yoe. Thinking about my next move. Anyone here worked as a data scientist for a consulting company (McK, BCG, Bain...) and would be willing to tell a little bit about it?
I have done some studies at QuantumBlack (part of McKinsey) but as a generalist. Definitely apply if you’re keen - they have smart people - a lot of ex-Palantir, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge - and are doing interesting work (think RL, causal inference, fairness). Definitely a lot better than McK Analytics / Gamma etc. :)
Airbnb to consulting would be a huge downgrade.
^ I’d disagree - just depends on where you go I guess though understandably I’m very biased. I think the variety in and of itself beats being a DS chained to a single product all day! While I can’t speak for DS in mainline McKinsey, the guys at QB definitely don’t do Excel and look like they follow proper coding principles when writing code
McKinsey pay is very low compared with hours worked. Simply not even remotely in the same tier as Airbnb.
How can I become a DS at Airbnb?
If you’re trying to pivot your career it’s a great move, the name and network are powerful. That said non generalist are second class at mck no matter what anyone tells you.. so just be aware of that going in.. that said it’s not a bad decision but frankly would say try for FAANG or some other top tech co first..
Was at McK analytics. I’d recommend you avoid McK analytics and try for QuantumBlack if you can. Kevin Sneader, the new CEO, is opposed to analytics and has gutted a lot of analytic teams. QB had their COO and one of the cofounders leave recently. The lifestyle at McK analytics is that of consulting. Same grueling hours, traveling, but you will be paid less than your generalist counterparts. There is also no path to becoming a partner in analytics, so you have to lateral move to generalist if you are looking to become a partner. There is an expert path to becoming a partner, but analytics folks are not Considered experts. QB lifestyle is more like a tech company. Modern tech being used, good SWE practices, and data scientists are first class citizens. The hours are also less than McK.
This 100%
Didn’t know the McK Analytics guys had it that bad :( Sorry man! Definitely join QB if interested. If they’re able to publish papers and are bringing in ex-Google senior PMs, it sounds like they’re the place to be in the firm. I think the COO left to become the CEO of some company and I heard the cofounder wasn’t able to bring-in any clients so was let go
TC?