An MBA, is it worth getting? This is a question we are asked all the time by
both current consultants and more often by folks that are thinking about
consulting, as a part of a future career. And the question is, "Should I go directly
into consulting from where I am now, or should I think about getting an MBA?"
We thought we would address this in two parts. First of all, if you're currently
at a consulting firm is it worth getting an MBA? And second of all, if you're not
in a consulting firm but thinking about breaking into consulting, should you get
your MBA? I'm Jenny Rae, the Managing Director of Management Consulted. And of
course I'm gonna have a little bit of bias here, because I'm a former Bain
consultant and I also have an MBA from Columbia Business School. But before I
talk a little bit about my thought process, I want to break down where
people usually are when they're deciding whether or not they want to get their MBA.
One place, is that they are currently at a consulting firm. Most top tier
consulting firms, that includes the top three, Bain, McKinsey, and BCG, as well as
the Big 4, Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG. Most of those firms, if you're in the
consulting practice, will sponsor you to go and get an MBA. And there are also a
number of boutique firms that will do the same thing. However, it's really
essential that you understand that one of the value propositions for those
firms to have you go, is that you will be immersed in a
network of people that later, when you come back to the firm and hopefully rise
to the rank of Partner, and after five to seven years, will be in a position to
sell, and your peers will be in a similar position of influence inside their organizations.
That's one great reason for the firm to invest in you. Now, should
you go get an MBA if you are going to be sponsored from the organization
standpoint, there are a couple of good reasons to do it. Number one, it's free
for you! In fact, many of the firms even pay a salary on top of paying for your
school, and paying for your housing, and paying for other things while you're
there. So it's an amazing deal where you're able to get this
an incredible education and incredible experience for free. And in addition,
you're able to learn things that you don't get to learn inside the consulting
firm. Whereas in a consulting firm, you need to do things that are revenue
generating. At your MBA, you might learn about personal leadership and
development. Or you might learn about communication. Or you might learn about
modeling for corporate finance, things that you wouldn't necessarily become
immersed in inside your standard day to day job. On top of that, it's a great
opportunity for you to reflect on what you're doing. The MBA is busy but a
different kind of busy than working. So you're able to think about what you want
to do in the future. If you decide to go back, many firms have one to three year
payback periods. That can feel long for many people, but it's actually a really
short blip in the scope of your entire career. During that period you're gaining
more skills, building a stronger network, and also rising up the pay curve. So
there aren't many downsides when you're in a consulting firm to get sponsored
for your MBA. However, just as a side note, I actually was in that position. I was at
a consulting firm and Bain proposed that I go and get an MBA, sponsored by them.
And I did actually turn it down. One of the reasons for me is that I didn't want
to feel like I was strapped into the golden handcuffs of a lifetime of
consulting. And so I actually went, did some other work in business, retired once,
and then decided to go back and get my MBA for a different reason later. So it
is okay to turn it down, but there aren't a lot of practical reasons not to-
you might just be a little crazy like me. Now if you're thinking about getting an
MBA to get into consulting, that is a totally different story. Because there
are two pathways that you can use. One, is to go into the firm as an experienced
hire. As an experienced hire, you don't have to pay for an MBA before you join
the firm. So you have the advantage of just joining right away and getting
compensated for your time without ever needing to outlay the capital for an MBA.
In addition, outside of the U.S. an MBA really isn't valued very highly. So there
isn't as much of a reason to take the time and the money to go and do an MBA.
However, if you do decide to go to an MBA, you might have some advantages.
Number one. You might have the opportunity to get into firms that you would not be
eligible to get into, based on your background as an experienced hire.
The pipeline of an experienced hire is much more narrow, they're expecting you to
come from a brand name firm or a very close second tier consulting firm, in
order to get into any of the top programs. So to break in, you have to have
already done something. Whereas you could be an actor on Broadway, and then you
could go get your MBA and then he would be eligible to break into a consulting firm.
Your background matters less when you go through the filter of a top
MBA program. In addition, your MBA gives you skills that you would not have, had
you not practiced them beforehand. Let me say that again.
If you didn't have the financial modeling skills from your previous
career, you're going to get those inside your MBA. So having some ability to solve
problems and build models, you're gonna have that when you graduate from any of
the top programs. In addition, and this is always important to understand, you build
a long-term network from your MBA program. It's a different kind of network
than a network from working together with people, but it is a powerful, broad
network. And understanding that when you're able to develop that when you go
into the MBA program, you're likely to be more valuable inside the firm over the
long term, and you're gonna have a broader set of exit opportunities should
you decide to leave consulting. Overall, our general sense is that, why not get an
MBA if you're sponsored by a firm, there's a lot to gain from it and very
few downsides. And when you're thinking about going into consulting and thinking
about getting your MBA, if you don't have a consulting background. The more
divergent your background is from consulting, the more powerful and
transformative an MBA will be for you. We hope that you found this video useful
and interesting. We have a lot more content just like it throughout our
YouTube channel, so please subscribe. And also check out our website at
www.managementconsulted.com.