Is the McKinsey Implementation role considered less prestigous than the General strategy Consulting role?

Question

I know McKinsey Implementation is a relatively new initiative. Anecdotally people tell me I should stay well clear of implementation consulting as it's not regarded as well as Strategy consulting at McKinsey? Is this a growing area or is it likely to collapse leaving implementation consultants at McKinsey jobless thinking about that next 10-20 years?

Answer 1

Hello!

Totally disagree with that.

Mckinsey Implementation is still below the McKinsey brand, which is what counts here.

It´s just a more especialized branch that has always existed and has always had demand, but now fully branded, with a name, etc.

Exit opportunities are influenced by (1) the power of the brand and (2) your specific footprint in the firm -types of engagements, industries, clients, etc-. Hence, it only affects the 2nd.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 2

It is not less prestigous, it's the same. Lots of generalists do implementation/operations these days also, so honestly nothing to worry about. Also while at McKinsey after 6 months you can always switch – as long as you perform well, switching the function/practice or choosing an additional function/practice is not a problem at all.

Answer 3

Hi there,

in general, compared to a generalist position, in the implementation practice:

the majority of the projects are related to implementation/operations
your exit opportunities are more limited to sectors related to the implementation

Whether the choice of the implementation practice is positive or negative really depends on your goals with your experience at McKinsey; if you are looking for implementation-related jobs it is better, otherwise you should stick to the generalist track.

In terms of future evolution, I agree with Alessandro, the practice is growing a lot, thus you don’t really have to worry it will disappear any time soon.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 4

I won't address the prestige point as it 100% depends on type of exit opportunities you want (e.g. wouldn't be as good for a corporate strategy role, but would be arguably better for an implementation role).

As for your second point (if its a growing area) - implementation work is growing massively and increasingly becoming part of the work of the generalist pool (sadly less and less of the work in consulting is strategy and more is becoming transformation / implementation / PMO). So I would not worry in the slightest that it's an area within McKinsey that is likely to collapse or leave anybody jobless.