Exit opportunities from MBB consulting to FAANG (or other top tech)

Dec 4, 2019 35 Comments

Hey everyone. Looking to get some information on what are the typical roles/positions that people go into in top tech after spending 2-3 years in MBB consulting straight out of undergrad (~25 years old). I have lots of tech interest but no actual coding experience so I would be more leveraging my MBB strategy consulting experience - what are the typical roles and starting salary from this type of background? Also, any insights on the recruiting process would be highly appreciated.

comments

Want to comment? LOG IN or SIGN UP
TOP 35 Comments
  • Airbnb
    hhehehehe

    Go to company page Airbnb

    hhehehehe
    Product management
    Dec 4, 2019 4
    • Thanks for this answer! I took come CS in highschool but I plan on doing coding bootcamps if I decide to go this route. To your knowledge, can you give examples of big tech companies that hire non-technical PMs?
      Dec 4, 2019
    • Airbnb
      hhehehehe

      Go to company page Airbnb

      hhehehehe
      It depends on how you define non technical. If you can code, even poorly, you’re not nontechnical. It depends on what your product is, and for which business outcome you are responsible. It’s more important that you can intelligently communicate with engineers and provide clear, actionable requirements, than being able to reverse a linked list in assembly language.

      The shorter answer: Amazon, and most larger tech focused companies whose main product is not tech. (Like us, Uber, etc. NOT like AWS, Dropbox, Cruise Automation, whose core offering is technology - those PMs tend to be much more technical).
      Dec 4, 2019
  • Facebook / Strategy
    UncS60

    Go to company page Facebook Strategy

    PRE
    Facebook
    UncS60
    Lots go to grad school then become a product manager, business Ops, product strategy, or corporate dev/m&a. Grad school optional
    Dec 4, 2019 7
    • Facebook / Strategy
      UncS60

      Go to company page Facebook Strategy

      PRE
      Facebook
      UncS60
      Worth noting that RPM is one of the few that don’t require a technical background
      Dec 4, 2019
    • @cb3v72 for reasons we can debate another time - I’ve pretty much decided I don’t want to do an MBA. I went to a top undergrad business program and tbh I feel like I would only be doing the MBA because it’s free. I won’t be learning much new stuff and I get the networking aspect but I already have that from my undergrad business school and MBB/IB experiences. I don’t wanna waste two years “on vacation” when I could use that to explore a different vocation
      Dec 4, 2019
  • Facebook / Strategy
    UncS60

    Go to company page Facebook Strategy

    PRE
    Facebook
    UncS60
    OP what is your long term career goal? Money? Title? That might help narrow down what you can do
    Dec 4, 2019 2
    • I don’t care as much about prestige or money (if not I would go to PE/VC/HF). I’m looking for a same/preferably better pay and less work than consulting. I have previous experiences in investment banking so I already know the finance route is not for me. And I’m not going to say it’s 100% but right now I don’t think I want to stay and grind to make partner (although I love my office and culture so it’s not off the table). The thing with Bain is if I go off and try some tech company for a couple years and I don’t like it, they’ll take me back. So I’m considering trying something different for a few years (or longer if I end up really liking tech). My ultimate end goal is to own my own company but i wanna explore more before I go down that route again (I have started a company in the past)
      Dec 4, 2019
    • McKinsey
      luvBigTits

      Go to company page McKinsey

      luvBigTits
      You sound like me, if you can pick up some basic system design skills and you’re not afraid of getting technical (albeit without training) you could probably get in anywhere as pm except google (I think they make you code..?) you’ll want to get creative with your experience to show there is some relevance to the role you’re applying for..
      Dec 4, 2019
  • McKinsey
    luvBigTits

    Go to company page McKinsey

    luvBigTits
    Not pm, go for bizops, operations, strategy, account management etc gigs

    Going through this now and without good previous pm experience you will face a challenge breaking in even if you are MBB.
    Dec 4, 2019 6
    • @dr.savage can you give some examples of said companies?
      Dec 4, 2019
    • Amazon
      Dr. Savage

      Go to company page Amazon

      Dr. Savage
      Any PM job description that doesn’t require a CS bachelors degree would be a good start. That removes Google from the list and certain positions at Amazon. Facebook, Microsoft, a bunch of recently IPO’d companies also don’t require technical product managers such as Uber for the majority of positions. The gist of it is that not all PM roles are equal and if you have a technical product, you should be technical like for ad tech. But say doing a delivery app, it’s more execution-based.
      Dec 4, 2019
  • Sorry to hijack this thread, but if you’ve been at MBB for 2 years, top tier CS / Eng ugrad, have workshop papers at ML conferences, and code regularly/read ML papers on the side, do you have more of a shot at Google/FB?

    Should I apply for an APM position or straight PM? Happy to take pay cut to new grad pay (don’t care about the cash as long as I can live)
    Dec 4, 2019 3
    • Awesome - ok will give it a shot.

      Would have loved to do PM out of ugrad (had a PM internship at a startup) but visa issues meant no one ever considered my application. Looking to try and head to the US now via McK and convert to a PM position somehow :)
      Dec 4, 2019
    • Facebook / Strategy
      UncS60

      Go to company page Facebook Strategy

      PRE
      Facebook
      UncS60
      Good luck!
      Dec 4, 2019