The two premium organizations in the consulting world, McKinsey and BCG, are the ultimate destination of many MBA graduates and experienced technical professionals from elite institutions. It is not easy at all when it comes to choosing between the two, but some well-investigated parameters if clearly thought of casts a lot of transparency on the comparison. And I am sure it will be a real help to my readers who urged me with hundreds of feedbacks to write this one after the Accenture vs McKinsey article.

Work Pressure

McKinsey is said to have a slightly more work pressure than it’s peers in this sector and you might just be travelling a touch more. But that being said, the prestige and satisfaction that comes with working in the best in the sector undoubtedly gives you that extra energy to carry on and go ahead with what you do best. With having a feather in the cap for working in the top firm, I don’t think it would make much of an issue.

Boston Consulting Group is a very close competitor, recruiting from nearly the same institutions as McKinsey and having a lot similar strategy and work culture. But work pressure and traveling might not seem apparently as much as McKinsey.

Advising on Technical Issues

One aspect where both McKinsey and the Boston Consulting Group have a close shave is their advising ability on technical issues. Both the firms have nearly the same amount of credibility when it comes to advising on strategic technical issues. They might not be the best bet in implementing them, but surely provides a solid platform to other IT firms to start working on. Hence, with McKinsey or BCG, you need not worry on this front. Both are equipped in almost the same way in advising on technical issues with nearly the same quality of performance.

Read more: Engineering Years - The Ideal Approach »

Salary

Salary in both McKinsey and BCG vary subtly and cannot be taken into consideration you are going to choose between the two. With some of the finest brains coming into these two organizations from the elite institutions, the competition continues to grow. So the package offered for various designations remain more or less the same.

Inside Tips

With both McKinsey and BCG going neck on neck in this case, there are some tips coming from right inside the organizations which might be helpful for you. Try to build a strong reputation amongst everyone by excelling in your internship or the task assigned to you. By that you will be getting a visibility which will just provide the much-needed boost to your career, depending a lot on your colleagues and immediate surroundings and work environment of course. But the hard work will definitely be paying off in a few years with more challenging roles coming up for you as you continue to strive for excellence.