Originally Posted by Flailey
Hahah. Calm down, son. You'll figure out soon enough why your comment about a "well known consulting firm" was pretentious and hilarious. Much as your walking uphill both ways and paying for school by shoveling coal story is.
The very young McKinsey consultant crowd is hilarious, it's a breed, I've seen a lot of them and you just can't help but be amused. I'm not changing the world or washing the feet of lepers either, but the self-importance of the McK kids on day one is breathtakingly out of whack with what their jobs actually are, which usually involves writing long reports about how if we moved all the copiers at Acme 20 feet to the left we'd gain .003% in hourly productivity. Sorry, don't get me wrong... enjoy it kid, there is good money in it. I hope you like staring at a computer screen.
By the way you couldn't help yourself from saying "top firm" again at the end there. Damm you kids are funny, it's like an epidemic. You do realize that for the purposes of any discussion "consulting firm" or "firm" is a very good substitute for "well known firm" or "top firm" right. That's what my supermodel girlfriend told me at least. ;-)
This is an excessively paternalistic response, but I think that the topic at hand deserves comment. I have several close friends that are working at McKinsey right out of college. Heck, I interviewed with them and got to the final round before they axed me. And I wanted the job.
The truth is that McKinsey romanticizes the work that you will be doing. Right now it sounds like all fun - expense accounts, trips to various cities, big name clients, smart co-workers, the ability to influence another company's operations, the list goes on...
Let me tell you, none of this is as sweet as it sounds. As an analyst, you will travel frequently. Chances are that you will travel to the middle of nowhere, where major companies are now establishing their HQs (it's cheaper than cities - one of my friends spent 6 months in small-town NJ). You will stay at the Hilton (the nicest place in town) for your six month stint, returning on the weekends for a couple of nights in your own bed. You will stay up late at night, alone in your hotel room, crunching numbers and prepping reports. You will wake up at the crack of dawn to report to the client for more number crunchin. You will spend the little free time you have with the .........s that are part of your consulting team. Rinse and repeat - these are the next two years.
I am telling you this because I was disillusioned by McKinsey too. I really thought the job would be something that it isn't. Think to yourself about the grind that is McKinsey, and if you'll really be happy there.