<p>What do you guys think are the most prestigious firms in the business world? Goldman, McKinsey, etc?</p>
<p>most prestigious?
i'd have to say goldman and some of the other bb firms and as for consulting, you can't beat mckinsey in terms of prestige. as for other firms besides i-banking and consulting, i'd say american express is quite prestigious.</p>
<p>american express really came out of nowhere</p>
<p>so say that you are a college senior and you got job offers from both McKinsey, as a business analyst, and Goldman for an investment analyst position for relatively the same salary. Which would you choose?</p>
<p>They are in two different industries. Thats like saying you got accepted to Harvard Med and Harvard Law.</p>
<p>I wouldn't go that far. Law and medicine are completely different field. </p>
<p>We are talking about different branches of business. </p>
<p>That's like asking what field of medicine you wanna specialize in ;), maybe not even that cause chances are you will be doing something else later in life.</p>
<p>Not quite. Consulting is a different line of work than banking. You might be a consultant for a chemical company where you might be explaining the latest research in a particular method of creating plastics while in banking you are dealing strictly with the financial side of the business.</p>
<p>Even in management consulting, you will be analyzing, for example, the best ways a business should be setup to lower costs. Bankers are more interested in say cutting a deal and then taking a slice as a middle man.</p>
<p>If you would still like to make the arguement that they are similar and you were in it for the money (which describes most people) then you would be better off going into banking. Both may start in similar levels but they diverge rather largely as you reach the top of the totem pole.</p>
<p>they don't even start at similar levels. As a management consultant, my bonus will be on the order of 5-15k if i'm lucky enough to not get canned between now and june 30th. My friends in i-banking will, likely, get bonuses on the order of 50-80k (speaking of the Goldman Sachs / Morgan Stanley / Citigroup types). It makes a big difference, especially given how much time they put in. The salaries may be in the 60-65k range, but the similarities stop there.</p>
<p>to answer the question in #4, I would find the work I would do at McKinsey more interesting, but Goldman would give me better chances at joining the top firms in the finance world and making a killing before I have any gray hairs on my head. Both give invaluable contacts and entree to the top business schools, so if you want to be a CEO they're roughly comparable (with perhaps a slight edge to McKinsey). It's really comparing apples and oranges though, as mahras says.</p>
<p>goldman is definitely the cream of the crop in ibanking bb. mckinsey, bcg, and bane for consulting (edge to mckinsey). but there's always boutiques... i'd take a job at blackstone over any of those in a heartbeat :)</p>
<p>Blackstone is more of a PE shop (with a small M&A advisory dept on the side). Its harder to get in there (as its a buy side shop and its smaller) than to BBs.</p>
<p>Blackstone definitely. And Lazard is good too.</p>
<p>i would choose goldman over mckinsey.</p>
<p>its two different fields buddy...</p>
<p>I would choose Lazard over Goldman. And Blackstone over Lazard.</p>
<p>I understand that they are 2 different fields but I'm sure that a finance major attending wharton with a 4.0 GPA, leadership, etc will apply to both Goldman and Mckinsey(who wouldn't with a 4.0 from Wharton?). What I am asking is if you got an offer from both firms, which will you take, and don't just factor money(I know that an IB at Goldman has the potential to make a lot more $), but include the experience, quality of life, networking, exit opps, etc.</p>
<p>With a 4.0 at Wharton, I'd apply to Lazard, Blackstone, and other PE firms. Goldman underpays and works you to death. At Lazard/Blackstone, at least you're paid a lot.</p>
<p>4.0's at wharton are nonexistant sadly. a 3.9 every now and then, but i've never seen anybody with a 4.0 yet.</p>
<p>yeah you'd apply to hedges & boutiques, but still apply to goldman and the other major bulges... nobody's guaranteed at blackstone or lazard. mckinsey... maybe. the hours still suck (though not quite as bad as bb) but the bonuses don't compare (as was stated earlier).</p>
<p>it depends on what you want to do. i'd enjoy consulting a little more i think (who knows, haven't tried either yet... just a random guess) but i would like to get the debt off my shoulders asap. and goldman > mckinsey for mba imo. both are good, but edge to goldman.</p>
<p>I doubt you guys have heard of this company its called RiskTurk. It's a really prestigious firm dealing with the development and debt of Turkey's largest banks. Its a really cool company and very "high-class" type consulting job.</p>
<p>"RiskTurk"...lol</p>
<p>The name itself makes it less prestigious</p>
<p>well if you think thats funny ...
Booz Allen - consulting firm
Bear Stearns -investment bank (i dunno why, this name makes me giggle)
Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin - oh c'mon, this one wins on funkiness alone.</p>