I am thinking about applying to the McKinsey BTO practice but wanted to find out how the team is seen within McKinsey, do people look down on the group or are they seen as genuine peers?Thanks.

BTO?

Business Technology Office. Frankly it's not an obvious place to be doing this kind of work, and when in the context of the McKinsey brand will make you look sidelined.

Mars - interesting point, although i think it is worth noting that BTO people do not just do BTO work. I beleive they spend quite a bit of their time on non-BTO projects so develop many of the skills that generalist consultants develop?

John Im not sure of that, you could be right. But what Im pointing to is more the external perception, which while not critical while 3P may be working at McKinsey BTO, will matter a great deal when looking at exits.

If I was 3P and I had only worked on strategy projects, I guess I would just not list the BTO thing on my CV?

hi 3p; in summary you should go ahead and apply, bto is seen very positively within mck. few supporting facts that may help you. - bto career tracks are identical to the rest of the firm. - bto consultants manage to therefore do generalist and bto projects - as john says - bto folks do (and are required to do) a mix of work; the belief very much is you cant advise on IT if you dont have the supporting sector and function depth. - even within bto work there is a fair degree of variety, from IT functional transformation, to IT enablement strategy to operational transformation programmes, to strategy work for technology companies. common thread is its all strategic and on the top mgt agenda~12-13 years ago when bto started there was a bit of the phenomenon that folks are referring to - is this really mck level stuff, will you be sidelined etc. the success of the bto and the rising importance of IT on the ceo agenda has put paid to that. regarding exit strategies, bto folks have gone on to all sorts of interesting roles, both IT related and non-IT (incl, cxo roles, heads of strategy roles). i dont think recruiters hiring ex-mck consultants will look at bto vs non-bto, they'll look at the specific experience you have and it will always be a mix. hope that helps, best of luck.

SS bob - really interesting post, you sound well informed. I think I will apply. Can I ask what side of the fence you sit, e.g. - recruiter, consultant, mck consultant?Thanks

delighted to be helpful. am a bto consultant.

to ss bob:Hi, I am thinking of joining McKinsey BTO. I have over 6 years experience in MC/Technology Consulting, typically in IT strategy, etc. My peers generally have MBAs. Wondering what the levels are in BTO, and average typical salaries for London?Thanks.

BTO_Fan - what are your salary expectations?

I am currently at Accenture working in Capital Markets where I have extensive (4 years) experience with BA roles in trading systems implementation projects, working with senior client stakeholders on a daily basis. Can anyone outline if this sort of experience will prove useful when applying to the BTO office of if MBAs and PhDs are what is needed?

to Ginger - my current package is circa 80K base +10%-15% bonus. To be honest, would consider a pay cut to join McKinsey, but would like to know what the averages (or ranges) for similar grades...

@ bto_fan: levels are business analyst (for undergrads), associate (for mbas + significantly experienced hires), engagement manager, associate principals and principals - same as rest of mck. there's usually no/ very little lateral hiring beyond associate level. really sorry but can't share salary ranges on public forum. Your experience certainly sounds relevant; do keep in mind that experience is one of several selection criteria - academic credentials, other achievements and performance on cases in the interview process being others. best way to figure is to just apply.@Dave-your experience as well sounds very relevant (bto doesnt do systems implementation but obviously knowledge of implementation is important to inform strategy). mck hires from a diverse set of backgrounds and there's many experienced hires that do not have an mba or a phd. typically for your profile you'd be considered in london for a junior associate role (~1-2 year track to associate). please also see my comment to bto_fan on experience being one of several factors evaluated in the selection process.all the best !