I am a Manager at one of the MBB in Australia and was told in no uncertain terms that I wouldn't get promoted to the next level, mostly for political reasons. I have a couple offers the table, and would love people's thoughts:1) Another MBB (Associate). So stay in consulting but go back one level...2) Tier-2 consulting firm (Manager-level) - one of ATK/OW/Booz, so just a notch below MBB. So keep same level but go downstream. Fast-growing practice area within the firm3) Industry (Director of Strat). For a Fortune 100 companyThoughts? Comp for all of these is same as my current level (more or less), except another MBB which is less.

Option 4 non of the above...Why not work for yourself...

No brainer - option 3 Everything else looks like a downward move. That's the only sensible option in there. Plus, let's be honest it sounds like you've hit a wall in consulting why not try industry ... Surprised you need to ask tbh ...

Manager at MBB in Australia straight to director in a Fortune 100?Is that a normal move? Seems extreme. How many years does it take to make manager?

it looks like both paying the same..so the title of director..does it really matter?

Director of Strat. is pretty typical for an EM/PL leaving MBBYou are not THE Head of Strategy, just a Director in the Strategy group.Comp for those roles is usually $145-$175K base + 20-30% bonus, so just about the same as in MBBProblem with Industry is that upward trajectory is limited. Within ~7 years, I'd rather be a Partner at MOW/ATK/Booz pulling in $800-1000K than an SVP at a firm pulling in 400-500K...

[quote]Director of Strat. is pretty typical for an EM/PL leaving MBBYou are not THE Head of Strategy, just a Director in the Strategy group.Comp for those roles is usually $145-$175K base + 20-30% bonus, so just about the same as in MBBProblem with Industry is that upward trajectory is limited. Within ~7 years, I'd rather be a Partner at MOW/ATK/Booz pulling in $800-1000K than an SVP at a firm pulling in 400-500K...[/quote]Yea, would be awful to end up a SVP on half a mill.Real world problems :-P lol

...and there's no guarantee you'll get there that fast in industry. I'd say 400-500K requires 10+ years post-consulting, vs. 400-500K in another 5 years even at OW/ATK/Booz

personally i'd tone down the expectations a little... if you're after CA$H (and lots of it!), how about a bank?

Or maybe Director of Strategy at Castle GreySkull. (you "master of the universe") ;)

Lol.......

Second BEP comment. Why do people always get so hung up on some theoretical ceiling or maximum in a particular field? Let's be honest now - it's not something most of us will ever have to worry about. Sorry folks but that's fact - hierarchies are always some form of pyramid (no matter how wonky) and income distributions have a long long tail above the median. So there is a lot of competition as you progress, for fewer and fewer positions.Is everyone like this, or is just us consultants, so used to a 'jam tomorrow' model, thinking about 'exit options', dreaming of El Dorado, that we are unable to live in the moment and evaluate something its intrinsic merits - here, now?

IMO you will NOT make partner in 7 years if you're being held back now? Surely if you're that good the current issue wouldnt arise, politics or not ...

yes, agree entirely with DCF about the "jam tomorrow" thing. this has got to be just about the only industry where people take a job and spend more time assessing the value of its exit options than the value of the job itself. no wonder this industry is full of waifs and strays