Guys, posting for the first time. So forgive any mistakes! I need to evaluate between offers from an MBB (McK) in Charlotte, NC and ServiceNow in Seattle, WA. Both offers are in data science. MBB offer is in the expert track of consulting, and not the traditional strategy track. Which company makes more sense in terms of long term prospects in (a) overall compensation, (b) work culture and (c) rising through the ranks of the organization? TC breakdown for offers (Base/Bonus/Equity each year for first 4 years) TC for SNOW: 190/35/95 TC for MBB: 170/30/0 P.S: I have heard MBB comp rises steeply over time but don't know how steep. Edit: Does anybody have any idea about exit opps at expert/engagement manager level? What I definitely don't want is to exit from MBB in 3-4 years to a role with comp similar to NOW. Thanks!
You are debating between 320k vs 200k? And considering taking 200k with the hope that it will be bigger some years from now?
Yes, that is one of the things that I am debating about. What I don't want is to work at MBB for a few years and then have to exit to an opportunity I have now.
What is yoe
5. I have a phd
Check cost of living, Seattle is expensive compared to nc, does mbb need travel
yes, mbb does need travel, though about 60-70% of traditional consulting. If I rent in Seattle vs buy, is it still very expensive?
Define expensive.
Here’s the traditional compensation for a strategy role from Y1 out of undergrad for an absolute rockstar. Note most people do not progress as quickly, and there’s roughly 50% attrition at each level. No idea what the consultant route would look like. $100K/$150K/$220K/$360K/$500K/$650K/$800-$1M It would go - Business Analyst (2 Years) - Senior Business Analyst (1 Year) - Engagement Manager (1 Year) - Associate Partner (2-3 Year) - Partner
Nice post - I would add that You would have to be an absolute rockstar to become engagement partner and associate partner in 1 year. In consulting you always run into some bad project and that can screw your chances of pristine achievement and accelerated growth
what's the average progression time at McK for normal folks (non-rockstars)? Does it vary between traditional consulting and expert tracks? Also, do you know about exit opps from engagement manager level and above?
Career growth in specialist track at Mck is limited and less prestigious compared to traditional “consultant@ track. Besides why would you take $120k cut to join Mck ? It doesn’t make sense unless Mck is much for your self esteem / ego. With the rise of ml/ ai- traditional consulting is slowly being challenged and tech looks more future proof. BCG started BCG capital ventures to mitigate their risk in traditional consulting business. What’s your yoe?
yoe: 5. The offer is indeed in a specialist role at something called New Ventures in McK (which I believe is their data science/ml equivalent shop). I have been in lead equivalent IC positions in a couple of roles with significant responsibilities. I do want to go up through the management path in my career, so I guess that's one of the reasons why I think McK may be a decent path to do that.
One of my closest friends is a director at servicenow. The stock is growing faster than most FAANG companies. My friend loves it there! The Founders started Peregrine systems which was also a smashing success! Consulting jobs are brutal. They are basically glorified body shops! I have been a contract engineer for 4 years and it was pretty well paid but no career advancement and the only thing that keeps people there is the fruitless hope they will make it to the top of the pyramid scheme! the only way to make big money as a consultant is to be independent and my salary in 1998 as PhD s-corp was TC 307k in today's dollars. they will try to pay you a normal salary (which is unethical for the 60 hr weeks) and the partners will take half your salary and earn 1 million a year! The whole business depends on people quitting after 3 years!
thanks for the input Goodgulf! how's the politics at servicenow? I see some negative reviews on indeed and glassdoor about politics.
What is your degree in ? And yoe?
degree: PhD. yoe: 5 (2 before PhD and 3 after)
PhD in?
crazy that the prestige gap is inverse to the comp gap and that both are so big. why not interview more
haha! I agree with the inverse relationship.
Well I know an ex MBB engagement manager with a top tier PhD in engineering that exited to a PM role in Google. So unless you wanna rack up some mileage and sacrifice some comp, I'd go for ServiceNow. If you are charismatic as fuck and can build up a client base, then maybe you have a chance at making Partner at MBB.
What's the TC of that PM role at Google? Exit at engagement manager TC is around $260k for strategy consultants
Guessing L5 PM so yeah should be more
I love it here at ServiceNow. So many great things are happening and you’d be joining us on a great ramp up! Check out our stock the past 5 years! 💥NOW💥