Hi all,first time poster here. I am an undergraduate finalist in engineering with a 3.6 GPA at a top tier technical university in the US (think Stanford, CalTech, MIT) who is thinking about consulting next year. I believe I have a very solid CV and extracurrics. Having gone through the recruitment rounds, I now have an offer in hand with a respectable firm (think LEK/OW/Booz) for a large office on the East Coast. I was rejected after reaching the final rounds in two of the MBBs for the same city, which was a disappointment.My question is: do you think it's worth doing the gig I have an offer for, for someone with my profile? I can't help but feel like it would be a compromise, given how I was confident I could land MBB, and many of my peers did so. I perceive the prestige gap and differences in exit opportunities to be quite large. My goals are to leverage consulting for a top MBA (H/S/W) and exit into industry, specifically energy.Alternatives are: do a PhD or masters (would have to pay), try and get into an industry graduate program, or reject the position and try again for MBB next year (was advised to reapply). I realize it's very late in the recruiting season, and I'm feeling pigeonholed.I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this.Many thanks,engineeringkid

You're concerned about taking the role (with a very good firm) because you think you're better than that firm (due to some extra-curriculars and a University name - both of which will mean nothing when you get there) and your friends have went to better firms? My word.Take the job. If anything it'll provide a much needed reality check.A quick note - you were advised to reapply to MBB? Why? Why wouldn't they take you there and then if they seen something in you? And what would you do for a year?

You have an offer from LEK/OW/Booz type...and you are sulking because you didn't make it into MBB?? Someone really swallowed the brochure didn't they...The firms you mention are as prestigious as MBB in exit options. You will be a generalist in any of those firms so a none of them will give you a specific advantage in a move to the energy sector in due course (and you wont need specific energy sector experience anyway unless you are working upstream in a very technical position).You haven't even started your career yet, and have a phenomenal starting point waiting for you. Don't be an arrogant fool blinded by MBB marketing and blow it all.And btw - not everyone in MBB is brilliant.

So.....You have an engineering background, but want to go into MC? Then, do MBA and exit into industry?By the time you finish your MBA, a number of your peers (the ones who go into proper engineering/software/tech) would be multimillionaires. You will end up regretting your move.Don't you know? Even MBB are taking on more implementation projects. Analytics is big business. There are new paradigms, e.g. SDN. If I remember right, there's this SDN startup, came out of stealth on Monday, sold for s**tloads on Wednesday.

Fully agree with what has already been written - take the job and tone down the 'is this good enough for me?' questions when you start, or you may struggle with what is about to hit you. Pretty much everyone where you are going will have equally good backgrounds and many will have better. And all of them except those starting with you will be far better at getting the job done. Get use to the notion that for some time now you are going straight to the bottom of the pile - albeit a very prestigious pile. Do it for a few years until you are fully trained on the data analysis/Excel/Powerpoint stuff (forget advising/meeting CEOs, that just won't happen), then find a cool role doing something else for a bit (start-up etc) and then apply to the top business schools. Or alternatively just decide that the MBA is not necessary/worthwhile at that point and stay where you are.The additional experience after consulting may be important to maximize your HSW chances - these schools are just as competitive as MBB if not more so and, as your experience so far has shown, you are competitive but not stellar at that level.After that, your longer-term goal is easily achievable, and that would be the case with all of the next tier business schools (Kellogg, MIT, LBS, INSEAD, Chicago, Columbia) as well.In summary, don't sweat it, you're in a good place

Agree. Take the job for the reasons above.Also - mars is right - not all MBB are brilliant. I have an "MBB" team working for me right now ( and not for the first time) and I'm having to kick their butt all over the place to get what we need from them. They work 14 hours a day while I do 7 and other than the partner, I earn more than all of them.There's more than a dozen of them on the team and I can assure you that at least 10 will have burnt out within the next two years, ending up in middle mgmt jobs at ex-clients.If you are brilliant, a workaholic and slightly psychotic, MBB is a great career vehicle. However at your career stage, I would not worry about which exact firm it is that gets to chew you up and $hit out the husk.

LOL @Cool - that last sentence has got me :D

:-)

A perfect example this article is so true.http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/09/why-generation-y-yuppies-are-unhappy.html