I have been offered couple of grad roles, one in tech banking paying upwards of 45k and another in consulting tech at one of big4 at at least 10k lesser.Do you have any advice on which one I should choose and why not solely because of pay?I am interested in understanding how career progression might differ in banking vs consulting and where my career will be better off in the long term (10-20 years)

A lot if not most consultants consider switching to industry as it seems to be the promised land. Working in an investment bank would mean a great name on your CV. Again as per other grad posts you really need to make it clear where your career aspirations or at least interest lies.

Depends on the bank (at least which tier, whether retail or wholesale etc) and what area of tech to some extent.

Go for the banking position. You'll be getting worked like a horse in either role as a graduate you might as well do it for money and the better name on your CV. You'll be able to walk into pretty much any job you want if after 2 years or so you decide it's not for you.

Yeah, banks pay way more than consultancy firms. Follow the money.

[quote]Go for the banking position. You'll be getting worked like a horse in either role as a graduate you might as well do it for money and the better name on your CV. You'll be able to walk into pretty much any job you want if after 2 years or so you decide it's not for you.[/quote]Not necessarily the case. There is a hierarchy in banking, just like consultancy, and landing in a BO job with some tier 4 Bank of Azerbijan or some such is unlikely to lead to good things later on. Also many banking roles are very prescribed, so it would also depend on the breadth and depth of the role.Strong is Vader, mind what you have learned.

The bank is a global top 10 IB, reg aspirations I know that I want to work in tech and do well but nothing specific yet. The role is a rotational one on a structured grad programmeCan people in similar positions comment on possible career paths..?

Go to the bank - on rotations you will eventually find a niche you like. Once the scheme is complete you could always go and work at a consultancy if you like. I suspect you won't be so tempted afterwards anyway.

Yup...go to the bank.

Yeah, by definition that's where the dosh is. At the bank.

Technically BEP. Capital adequacy ratio requirements mean that only 6 to 8% of the dosh is by definition at the bank. The rest of it is elsewhere.If I was all "at the bank", banks would be extremely unprofitable, but on the other hand, we'd all not be shareholders in Rubbish Bank of Scotland.

BankBankBankProstitutionBankBankJournalismBankConsultancy...in that order

If you are confused as to which career option to choose from, you can start up your own small business, and can take help from AASBC aasbc.com, as they provide certification for small business owners.

And thus began confused.com

Thanks for the advice. Went for the bank. Let's see what happens in two years. The consulting firm decided to leave the offer open for an year in case I change my mind at any point.

good choice. if someone had offered me £45k straight out of university i wouldn't have had to ask a forum for their opinion ;)

So much dosh