Hi All,My first post on this site. I graduated 2.5 years ago, and have been at my first job as an analyst at Accenture for 1.5 years. I believe I will get promoted within 0.5-1.5 years to consultant level.I want to make the step up to an elite MC firm (bain, mckinsey, BCG) but I do not have an oxbridge degree, instead have a 2.i in engineering from another reputable UK university.Should I stay on at Accenture till i get promoted and then look to try the elite. Or am i better off going back to uni and applying at oxbridge for a years masters degree, and then apply to the elite graduate programWill the experience at Accenture be welcomed by the elite firms or seen as a negative factor?Or basically what is the best route for me to get in?Many Thanks - Appreciate your advice in advance!YM

Just out of interest (on the side - Cool will prob answer your question and do it well) can you tell me what you did for the 1year?You said finished uni 2.5 years ago but worked at your first job for 1.5 years? What about the 1 year in the middle?And please don't say "finding myself" as that may then already answer your own question about being able to go into Bain!

Why do you want to join MBB? Any I've spoken to and met most layers of these firms over the years, and elite is not a word I would apply to them anymore. The world has changed and they are not the best of the best in all situations anymore. OP on the basis of what you have described about yourself here you don't present the MBB profile. The 1 year not accounted for isnt itself an issue - taking into account start dates for new intakes being frequently deferred, applications etc, its easy for a year to be whittled away. A 2.1 in Engineering from a reputable Uni will get you into ACN and the like, but you will be really pushing it to get as far as MBB...you will be competing with the very best grads from Oxbridge, Imperial etc, each of whom would come on here and detail how they were Captain of the 1st XI this, started that society, climbed this mountain, cured that disease. That's what you will be up against. A year Masters at Oxbridge isnt going to radically change the mix at this point.Best advice is knuckle down and do well at ACN. It's a good firm. Not everyone can make it into MBB, and frankly many people aspire to get there without even understanding why or what it will entail. They dont hire good people who decided to step up a few gears to get in (not at your level of experience anyway) they hire people for whom MBB (or GS or whatever) is almost expected. You have to be too good for MBB to be good enough is the mantra. Lots of people aspire to get into MBB really as a way of proving they can achieve something remarkable, a way of testing themselves. Try a triatholon or taking the Royal Marines entry test or something. Or be a parent. There are many ways of proving yourself to yourself.

yeah i agree with mars, try and carve yourself out a career at ACN. they are a nice company for young folk and you have the protection of being able to lose yourself within large projects and big teams so you're not quite as directly exposed to the white hot wrath of clients paying large fees like you might be elsewhere

[quote] the white hot wrath of clients [/quote]love it

[quote][quote] the white hot wrath of clients [/quote]love it[/quote]Wish I could avoid the white hot wrath once in a while!

Hi,For that 1 year in the middle I was working as a chef and managing a restaurant as it was always something I wanted to do, and I eventually want to go into setting up my own bar/restaurant.I then decided that in order to do this I needed...... MONEY! So I utilised my degree and went into consulting not quite knowing what I was getting into.But now that Im in it, I enjoy it and want to be the best I can before I eventually go into business when I have saved up enough and feel I have a plan B in terms on having racked up a decent enough consulting career if I ever need to get back in.At accenture there is just too much influence on technology, even though I have been on a decent MC project. I want to go to a good pure MC firm. I dont enjoy technology.

Thanks for your response marsdays:I want to apply to MBB as all the best graduates seem to go there, the training is immense, they are pure MC, get the best projects, and so many board execs and CEOs started their careers there. And apart from that it is a challenge upon myself to better myself and enjoy what I do. I work with a fair few from the oxbridge crowd at ACN and I know I am equal to them if not better so I want to go to MBB, do my time, learn as much as I can, get it on the CV, its great as a plan B (see earlier post).Do you actually think MBB isnt all its made out to be?And you think at this stage getting a Oxbridge masters wont make me 'one' of the Oxbridge crowd in the eyes of MBB? I was under the pretense that 2 years at ACN plus oxbridge masters would give me a decent chance? Is it really that hard to get in.Im also lookin at ATKearney as a pure MC firm? What say?

Thanks for your reply.Im getting bored of ACN and feel that it is not challenging me enough. Teams are massive, work isnt that hard, and its boring.Id rather get the wrath of a client and give them some back!

If I didn't know better I'd think Mars was a management consultant! Ask him how best to go about buying a blue tie and he tells you you don't want to buy a blue tie, you want a green cravat, and here's how to buy one.I'd never do that! I always answer exactly what people ask me....:-)Great spot on the missing 1yr on the CV though Mars! You should work in recruitment..My 2p....Leaving now could make you look like someone who had a go at catering then had a go at consultancy then had a go at a masters. That CV wouldn't even make it past the MBB receptionist, Oxbridge or not.Better that you stick it at ACN (perfectly reputable name), save your pennies and then if you are determined to join MBB, go to a TOP B-school and do an MBA. It needs to be top 10 (in the world) - that means ONLY INSEAD or London or a US school (winding up the spanish a little!). Then when you get there you need to graduate in the top ten of your class.Can't really see any other way to do it other than being very, very lucky. (lottery winning lucky)Don't be afraid of the heat from clients. It gives you a nice cosy warm feeling after a while.

Should clarify - you will almost definitely need to get that promotion to get into a decent B-school. They don't take analyst oiks, even if they can afford the fees. LBS and Insead both prefer you to have at least 5 years good quality work experience (and a second language for Insead)

[quote]Thanks for your response marsdays:I want to apply to MBB as all the best graduates seem to go there, the training is immense, they are pure MC, get the best projects, and so many board execs and CEOs started their careers there. And apart from that it is a challenge upon myself to better myself and enjoy what I do. I work with a fair few from the oxbridge crowd at ACN and I know I am equal to them if not better so I want to go to MBB, do my time, learn as much as I can, get it on the CV, its great as a plan B (see earlier post).Do you actually think MBB isnt all its made out to be?[/quote]Errm well exactly. The best grads do go there. If you couldn't make it before, a couple of years at ACN won't mean the difference. Blue tie anyone? Great plan B? Wonderful. Good to have that level of commitment when you are trying to find a reason to keep going through the beasting. And no I dont think MBB is quite all its made out to be. Great yes. But not as omnipotent as their reputation suggests.Now can I interest you in a green Cravat?

Maverick,You could stay at ACN and build some sector experience, and then try to make the switch in 2-3 years (though you would be on a specialist track). I should note that this option is limited to a few niche industries (e.g., O&G, life sciences) If you intend to remain a generalist then the advice given previously would apply.

Mars, is the cravat a sage green paisley pattern? I've been looking for one to wear when I get home in the evenings. I always like to take my tie off, but feel an open-necked shirt looks slovenly with a winter cardigan.Sage green would match my slippers.

Cool I've been known to rock the cravat occasionally. Bottle green with a burgundy foulard goes well with the unicycle and shotgun combo as I chase p(h)easants off the estate.I can only suggest you need new slippers. In bottle green perhaps.

Should I wear a cravat when I'm on my conference call / on the throne (same thing)? After all, I would not wish for anybody to get the wrong impression. I am, after all, fully subscribed to the concepts espoused in that management classic, "True Professionalism". I like to multi-task in this manner in order to ensure that clients obtain maximum ROI from their investment in consultancy time. It also means I can spend less time when at home on chores such as taking a dump (since said activity shall have been accomplished during work hours at no extra cost to the client), and more time watching edutainment such as Border Control UK and the like.

Conference call? Wearing a bottle green cravat? It's not a conference call anymore, it's a gathering. A collective. Dare I say it, an event.

THANKS ALL! for your views.So it seems either:a) stick at ACN or similar consultancies/big 4 - the more comfortable optionb) or do a MBA at a top school and break into MBB - the pricier optionc) save up an go into the business - the REAL option!?thanks!

andd) get a cravat

Thats not an option, that is a priority.

Good man!