Dilemma

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Firstly, congratulations on both offers!

Let me guess... Big Daddy Deloitte? If so, Deloitte's consulting division (Strategy and operations), along with PwC's after they acquired Booz, are by far the most established. Deloitte S&O is somewhat perceived to be a very strong Tier 2 firm closely after MBB (IN THE US), so choosing them will garner you some prestige points on your resume.

Local bank MA programs may struggle to compete with BB so I am not sure if joining one, especially if, like other posters mentioned, you get unlucky with rotation cycles and end up at HR or FO in a sales role.

Check out Wall Street Oasis, there are some very similar threads there that may be of more relevance in terms of the Big 4 MC branch in London.

Cheers

Hi

Thanks for the response. I'm aware of the exit opps and the career track in London and in NY. However, there seem to be very little discussion and resources on consulting in Singapore. Moreover, it seemed that the big 4 do not recruit many fresh grads MCers (excluding tech), so it is difficult to track career paths even from linkedin.

My real purpose for starting the thread is really to find out more about the consulting scene in SG as SG is where I see my career developing in the future.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi

Thanks for the response. I'm aware of the exit opps and the career track in London and in NY. However, there seem to be very little discussion and resources on consulting in Singapore. Moreover, it seemed that the big 4 do not recruit many fresh grads MCers (excluding tech), so it is difficult to track career paths even from linkedin.

My real purpose for starting the thread is really to find out more about the consulting scene in SG as SG is where I see my career developing in the future.

Ah, ok. No problem, happy to discuss your situation. You're right in saying that the big 4 do not recruit many fresh grads into their MC division, anywhere between 5 and under 10 new hires per year as an estimate. [source: I was recently in the recruitment process of several big 4 firms and spoke to a few hiring managers].

I've been to several networking events and the MC practices in the big 4 have a good mix of local students and foreigners, whereas the Tax and Audit practices are largely saturated with local hires. As far as I am aware, the career paths of current Associates or Business Analysts (BA) (being the starting undergrad positions) should be quite similar to those overseas. Whereas there may be more traveling in the US/Europe, most of the engagements here will be in the home country, or around the region. Hours vary depending on the nature of the engagement and the client, of course, so you could be getting off work at 5:30pm for one project and stay till midnight daily on another [based on what current MCers here say]. Therefore, how long you stay really depends on what you want to do and your end goal be it b-school after 2-3 years or joining F500 strategy for example. Some MCers leave after a few years to go into industry or get a postgrad degree and come back to make partner later on. Try searching Deloitte Consulting/PwC Advisory or MC on LinkedIn, there are several relevant profiles there.

Just for some context, I am a big 4 Consultant. All the best.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Ah, ok. No problem, happy to discuss your situation. You're right in saying that the big 4 do not recruit many fresh grads into their MC division, anywhere between 5 and under 10 new hires per year as an estimate. [source: I was recently in the recruitment process of several big 4 firms and spoke to a few hiring managers].

I've been to several networking events and the MC practices in the big 4 have a good mix of local students and foreigners, whereas the Tax and Audit practices are largely saturated with local hires. As far as I am aware, the career paths of current Associates or Business Analysts (BA) (being the starting undergrad positions) should be quite similar to those overseas. Whereas there may be more traveling in the US/Europe, most of the engagements here will be in the home country, or around the region. Hours vary depending on the nature of the engagement and the client, of course, so you could be getting off work at 5:30pm for one project and stay till midnight daily on another [based on what current MCers here say]. Therefore, how long you stay really depends on what you want to do and your end goal be it b-school after 2-3 years or joining F500 strategy for example. Some MCers leave after a few years to go into industry or get a postgrad degree and come back to make partner later on. Try searching Deloitte Consulting/PwC Advisory or MC on LinkedIn, there are several relevant profiles there.

Just for some context, I am a big 4 Consultant. All the best.

Thanks for the response! Thats really informative.

If you don't mind, just a few more questions.

What about the consulting scene in singapore? Is there an increase in the number of work? Do you see more hires in consulting in the next few years?

At least in US and Europe, the advisory arm is quite well respected across industries. With PWC, Deloitte and EY acquiring solid tier 2 firms, they also have a much stronger visibility. However, IMO the big 4 as a whole do not enjoy as strong a reputation in Singapore due to the low barriers to entry in audit and tax. Do you think that theres a knock on effect on MCers working in the big 4?

Definitely MC in London, the exit opps are clearly much better.

The fact is that the local MAs would not guarantee you a slot in FO. In DBS MA, the vast majority won't be heading to FO. Even if you do get FO at the end, I would still think that the opportunity to work in MC in London would put your career in a better position.

For me, the ranking would be MC big 4 London = MA FO >>> MA whatever you end up in

Does anyone know the number of places in the big 4 for Corporate finance and MC?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Does anyone know the number of places in the big 4 for Corporate finance and MC?

I'm a first year business student in a local uni, and am interested to know about this as well.. But I heard for CF, there's a maximum of 10 per big 4 per year? --> I'm referring to CF in general, and not specifically to the 'IB/M&A' division (i.e. include capital markets, infrastructure, DD, etc.).