Banking, vs consulting, vs VC
I-Banking, Consulting, and VC: How They Stack up
Thinking about careers in investment banking, management consulting, and/or venture capital? The following comparisons may help you decide where you belong.
I-banking: Work with numbers.
Management consulting: Work with clients.
VC: Work with entrepreneurs.
I-banking: Make a lot of deals.
Management consulting: Don’t make any deals.
VC: Make the right deals.
I-banking: Work late.
Management consulting: Work in teams.
VC: Work alone or in partnership.
I-banking: Satisfaction comes in finding time for a nap.
Management consulting: Satisfaction comes from promoting change in client companies.
VC: Satisfaction comes from growing companies.
I-banking: Work 24/7.
Management consulting: Work seven days a week.
VC: Work five days a week.
I-banking: Variable.
Management consulting: Lots of travel.
VC: Little travel.
I-banking: Learn about I-banking.
Management consulting: Learn about several industries.
VC: Learn about several industries.
I-banking: Compensation mind-boggling.
Management consulting: Compensation great.
VC: Compensation deferred.
I-banking: No time for lunch or dinner—go to the vending machine for a snack.
Management consulting: No time for lunch.
VC: No time for lunch.
I-banking: Check out at 33.
Management consulting: Check out at 49.
VC: Check out at 56.
Source: WetFeet
on March 21st, 2008 at 12:34 am
I was in management consulting. You do a lot of random stuff when you are not traveling. When you are traveling, however, (at post college grad level) you are basically called in to do the bitch work. And it’s usually a lot of bitch work because the hiring company couldn’t find any people who would do it for them so they hire “consultants” to do the dirty work.
on March 22nd, 2008 at 8:28 pm
What about “The Track”?
(see ‘http://www.leveragedsellout.com/2007/07/breaks-in-the-track/’, hilarious…)