Prestige: MBB vs APM at Tech
What’s more prestigious for new grad? Analyst at MBB = McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group APM (Associate/Rotational Product Manager) at Facebook, Google, Microsoft
Who cares about prestige?
APM no question
APM easily
APM is the best option. Consulting is stringent and very inflexible. APM offers a Longer term career path considering its big tech. I started as an APM in big tech and the learnings & projects you get access to are top tier
Stringent yes, inflexible no! There are a bunch of super interesting projects (arguably top tier as well), but far worse WLB and way more stress :)
Probably interesting but total compensation isn’t anywhere close. Also long term stock appreciation, in comparison with the stress from consulting. Yeah APM all day
I disagree with almost everyone here. Consulting is better to build a base of knowledge and then you can move on easily to basically whatever you want. Especially if you choose one of the three firms you mentioned. Those are pretty much the best way to start your career IMO
This
Doesn't really apply if one kinda already knows the industry on what they want? In fact based on your argument above what about the risk of working on cases in industries that you have zero interests in e.g oil and gas or energy because you don't get to choose. As much as I agree the selling point of consulting as a starting career is about large exposure to multiple industries it comes at a huge opportunity cost cause Tech TC is top notch. You win some you lose some
If it’s google or fb apm, def that but if it’s Microsoft pm, I’d take MBB. the google and fb apm programs are unrivaled vs. Microsoft pm program isn’t as highly regarded
👆 if you're associate at mbb. For an analyst, MSFT is still better, though less than FB/G ofc.
APM from a military perspective. Many junior officers go to MBB, few get into APM.
Huh?
@Robinhood I was a military officer, it’s very common for junior officers (1st Lieutenants or Captains) to get out, go to b-school, then go to MBB or tier 2 firms for consulting. Very few go into tech and even fewer for APM. From my perspective APM (at a good company) would be much more prestigious than MBB
No one in tech cares about consultants
First of all, prestige doesn't matter. That's not important in the long run If you are set that you want to do tech, APM is the way to go. If you're still not sure and want to be able to explore your options, a consulting firm is the option.
This is the most logical response. Think about where you want your career to take you. Both are top tier options but for different paths.
personally I will definitely pick APM. Simply the number of APMs at FAANG < number of fresh grad MBB analyst
How many APMs are there at FAANG? In North America there are roughly a thousand analysts at Bain, McK, BCG. I would guess that the starting classes across tech are larger. I mean, fuck, I bet Amazon alone hires as many as MBB.
Amazon hires are not equal to APM. We're only talking about APMs here. E.g Uber hires less than 10 APMs a year? At Facebook I'm guessing less than 50. Same for Google