<p>There are lists that rank undergrad b-schools and MBA programs, but I consider your first job an extension of your education. Like your undergrad school, it plays a role in your application to graduate programs as well as your job offers and salary when you leave.</p>
<p>I don't know enough about this to do it alone and I'd like to see what you guys think. Let's show College Confidential who are the best IBanks, the best consulting firms, the best of the big 4, etc. and how they compare to each other for MBA admissions boosts and how good they look on your resume when applying for future jobs.</p>
<p>well, it depends on how you define prestige. Generally, people like to equate the size of a firm (in terms of revenue) with ‘prestige’. The same manner that high earning jobs (docs, certain lawyers, etc) are generally viewed as ‘prestigious’ professions by the society.</p>
<p>But if you would really like to see a quantified prestige ranking, the vault guides provide for it. My majors are finance and accounting, so I do happen to own top companies guide for banks, accounting and consulting firms. And here are their rankings (based on industry-wide survey. participants are not allowed to rank their own- or former employers):</p>
<p>In the Banking ranking, I think The Blackstone Group is known for its private equity division. Also I believe BlackRock is a great Investment Management firm. </p>
<p>yeah the consulting ranking is a little bit misleading because not all those companies are in the same space (some are strategy, some are implementation; some are human resources-focused, some are tech-focused, etc.)</p>
<p>and some of those entries are for multiple divisions of the same firm (mercer + oliver wyman, towers perrin + watson wyatt)</p>
<p>The guide itself explains how these firms differ in practice areas, strengths, etc. Take these rankings as a general guideline on how the public perceives the firm, but nothing more.</p>
<p>So for instance, companies with a 7.5 or higher score would be considered the most selective and competitive in terms of employment opportunities and client base. That and that alone, does not necessarily make them “better”.</p>
<p>^That would be great, but it’s pretty subjective. I like what tenebrousfire brought up. It’s good to have the consulting firms all together, but it would also be nice to see them broken down by area.</p>
<p>Here’s another couple of questions for those of you in the industry:</p>
<p>Where would you say are the significant cut-off points for prestige? For example, I know the big 4 are good for accounting and the top 3 are really awesome for consulting, but I don’t know the secondary cut-offs in either or about ibanking.</p>
<p>How would you say the numbers scale between fields? For example, would you actually think more highly of someone for getting a job at PWC or E&Y than at Morgan Stanley?</p>
<p>openedskittles. I see where you are coming from. But I am wary of answering a question like this. First, ‘prestige’ needs to be clearly defined. If you mean having a glamorous job with high earning potentials, you are probably right. But I think occupational prestige is not solely based on earning potential or brand names. </p>
<p>The highly glorified (which seem to equate ‘prestige’ in this discussion) jobs in a bank only really include I-banking, S&T and a few other divisions. So even if prestige meant nothing more than a high earning potential, you’d have to consider that most banks have operations, risk management teams and even (gasp) commercial banking division that do not make as much money as their I-banking counterparts!</p>
<p>I have plenty of respect for people who work at Morgan Stanley, regardless of what division they work in. Some people find IT or risk management fascinating and I think that’s awesome. The fact they work at MS alone does not sway my opinion of them one way or the other.</p>
<p>Putting things into perspective, people at big 4 audit and tax services are some of the most talented and accomplished individuals in their respective industries. Lots of people choose careers in accounting/consulting for a variety of reasons, and most PwC and EY professionals are certainly not Goldman rejects that settled for less. </p>
<p>This is why I think you should be careful to say that one industry or profession is more ‘prestigious’ than another. A lot of people would be outraged to hear such statements, and rightfully so.</p>
<p>I apologize for the vagueness and realize there are talented people in each field.</p>
<p>What I meant was prestige for resume building purposes more than anything. If you were being hired for a corporate position vs. someone with similar accomplishments in a different company/field, who would be more likely to be called in for an interview? If you were applying for an MBA program, which would give you more of a boost? Also, I realize there are people who work for Goldman for dozens of positions that don’t go to top grads, but for the sake of this comparison, we will assume they have all landed dream jobs for the industry.</p>
<p>I think it also depends on what field you’d want to go to. Its hard to bunch them all into one comparable industry. I mean you obviously can’t compare an accountant with an IB candidate or IT with Marketing. I would imagine it really depends on where you stand in your respectable “major” and career track when talking about MBA’s. It would also be hard to compare similar industry candidates. Lets take an analyst for Goldman Sachs and another analyst from Perella Weinberg, they’ve probably had different experiences based on the size of their firm, how closely they worked with clients on deals, and how closely they worked with Partners (managing directors), VP’s and so on. Of course being a college student, this is all my opinion.</p>
<p>I’m sure there are some industries that give MBA candidates slight advantages (based on how hard it is to break in to those industries). Especially the bulge brackets and/or Private Equities such as Blackstone or Carlyle but if you bring nothing to the table from your experience in your interview…why would a top MBA admit you?</p>