Educational Leaves at A.T. Kearney

Question

Hello everyone!

I am currently interviewing with most consultancies and recently received an offer at A.T. Kearney. As I liked the atmosphere a lot I am really considering to start my professional career there.

Just one thing which I forgot to ask and now would like to know if anyone here can share some information: are educational leaves at A.T. Kearney common? and do you get supported financially if you decide to pursue a Ph.D. / MBA?

On a different note: what do exit opportunities look like? is changing to MBB possible?

Many thanks for your help!

Answer 1

Hi,

- Sponsoring the MBA is defintely not a common practice in that firm. However I know some people who did it, and I also confirm that there will no difficulties for you to get at minima a LOA (in case you are not sponsored
- to your second quesiton, yes switching to MBB is realistic. I don't count the number of time I have been directly approached by Mcksinsey or BCG when I was at ATK. However from a personal stand point once you get in the firm and have created your internal network, I don't really see the point to move to another firm. It may be more "chiny" from the outside, but in the end the day to day job is the same, and if you're happy with your situation and perspective you should think twice before make a move.

BEst

Benjamiin

Answer 2

Hey anonymous,

No, in most of the countries (at least in Europe) it's not common at all for AT Kearney consultants to take time to get an MBA, especially because again in most of them the company will not sponsor its consultants. The only countries where I've seen consultants doing PHDs were Switzerland and Germany, and as far as I know it's shorter-term PHDs, because no company (not even MBBs) will sponsor someone to leave for 5 years!

About exit opportunities, you can always try to move to MBBs but it's really difficult. Easier path is after doing an MBA.

Best

Bruno

Answer 3

Hi,

Educational leaves are quite common, but getting the sponsorship is tough:

They definitely don't sponsor PHD
They sponsor MBA only partially and it's not a general rule. So you have to negotiate directly with the office managing director

Best

Answer 4

For Germany, Austria, Switzerland Master/MBA/Phd sponsoring is possible. Got it myself :)