| Topic Name: |
Bain vs BCG |
| Message Name: |
more thoughts |
| Date Posted: |
01/18/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
The Bain offer is for Boston, while the BCG offer is from NY.
I am inclined towards Bain from a culture point of view (liked the people better), but there are a couple of concerns, which I would like opinions on:
1. I've heard that Bain ACs get less client exposure than BCG associates, thanks to the 2 case model at Bain and the fact that Bain has more ACs than Consultants, which is not true of BCG. Should I be concerned?
2. The comp at BCG is about 15% higher - (there may not be a difference at the entry level, but given that I'm not straight from school, the offers are not standard analyst offers.) I believe that such a difference is only a rounding error in the longer term. Am I thinking straight here? |
| Message: |
I agree with everything that's been said so far.
1. On client exposure. This is just my experience, but when I was an AC, I had a huge amount of client expsoure. There were a few days that started with meetings at 8AM and ended at midnight, most of which was spent either with clients, on the phone with them, or sending them email. My first client meeting was my second day post-training as an AC. I have known personally of multiple situations where senior clients (CEOs, CFOs, business unit presidents) ask for specific ACs to stay on their cases because they've been so impressed with the AC's work.
2. On comp. BCG and Bain over the long run will pay about the same. I've seen analyses of the comp, and over the course of 3 years at the firms, the total comp difference is within $1,000/yr at Bain, BCG, and McK. (That said, BCG a few years ago was noticeably higher than McK and Bain, but that might have reflected BCG's attempts to stem a loss of talent as their market position looked weak.)
It's also important to consider retirement (such as Bain's guaranteed 401k payment), technology allowances, health care benefits, target vs. max bonuses, etc. If you believe that BCG has a much better deal, then please speak with someone at Bain and walk through each element of your offer. As long as you do this in a mature way, it won't be interpreted negatively. Usually, however, the three firms pay about the same.
Bottom line: go where you enjoy the geography, people, culture, and work. Trust your instincts.
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