Should I take a 50% pay cut to join MBB?

Question

TLDR: corporate lawyer with 2yrs work experience considering whether to take a 50% pay cut and accept an entry level role at MBB.

Hi - would really appreciate some advice on whether I should take this job offer to join MBB at entry level aged 25.

As background I’m 25 and based in the UK. I’ve just qualified as a corporate lawyer in our equivalent of US Biglaw and earn £120k (≈$150k - UK salaries are lower in general but as context this is on the higher end of law salaries). I’m a high achiever and well liked by my team but I don’t find the work interesting. I have a total of 2yrs work experience.

I had applied to MBB roles such as McKinsey’ Junior Associate, BCG’s Senior Associate and Bain’s Senior Associate Consultant - so one level above entry level. The only offer I have received is from one MBB for the BA/A/AC role (ie undergraduate entry).

I’m excited about joining MBB but am worried that this role is too junior at this stage in my career. The comp is around £60k (≈$70k) and the average age of my peers will be 22 so I will be three years behind and taking a 50% pay cut.

My long term goal would be to make it to manger-level at MBB (or consultant/associate at least) and then consider next steps. I’m worried also that joining at a more junior level just statistically increases my chances of being CTL’ed before that given the number of promotions it’ll take.

Is it madness to turn down the offer or should I consider an alternative route? Is there anything I can negotiate?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi,

congratulations on the offer. The paycut is of course somewhat of a downer. If you include the consulting bonus the number will increase somewhat of course but you also might get an additional bonus at your current firm. Given the setup, it looks like you would even have to take a paycut if you entered consulting one level higher than undergraduates - so overall, it can hardly be avoided in the short-term if you want to make that transition.

You already decided for yourself that you do not like the kind of work you currently do - therefore a change makes sense. If you have a 5-6 year plan for consulting, you will likely come out on top financially. If you only end up staying in consulting for 2 years (e.g. because you end up not liking the type of work or the day-to-day grind either), you will lose money in comparison.

Before accepting the MBB offer though, I would try to understand why they would only offer you the entry level and how they factor in your previous experience. Any chance to enter one level up? Or at least get a bigger signing bonus to compensate a bit for the financial hit. Those are some things to consider.

Best of luck

Answer 2

Hi there,

Several reflections on your message:

I never recommend salary as the only decision factor to take a job, specially in a case like yours where you are considering a major career change. Your decision should be drive by what you want to do in the long term (law vs consulting)
Junior Associate (and equivalent positions) can be access with at least 3-4 years of experience (exact number depending on firm, geography and office) so I see you profile without the required number of years of experience to apply to these roles
If your next goal is to be a manager-level at MBB, in your particular case it is going to be faster (and probably easier if you are a high achiever) if you join any MBB as BA rather than waiting another 2 years to apply to Junior Associate and grow from there

Happy to keep talking about this in private, just send me a message.

Best,

Alberto

—

Check out my latest case based on a real MBB interview: Sierra Springs

Answer 3

So do I understand correctly that you have passed the interviews and have an offer on the table?

If yes, and you do want to be in consulting, it rather makes sense to take it and have the long-term view in mind.

If you have experience and maturity and you're a good performer, you'll get fast-tracked promoted anyway. So, in the long term, you'll catch up with others who have joined earlier.

Also, not everybody joins at 22 as a BA. I joined at 25 after I had finished a 4 year BA and a 2 year Master. Honestly, I did find it frustrating back then that colleagues of mine had entered with a 3y BA, 1y Master and 1y of work experience directly as Junior Associates, but the time difference got compressed quite quickly.

In general, I advise people who go into consulting to go in with the long-term view in mind. If you want to stay at least until EM, then killing yourself to get promoted one cycle earlier is never worth it.

Good luck!
Cristian

Answer 4

Hi there,

The pay cut is the cost of a career switch.

You are also only 25 years old. There is no “this point in my career” for you….you are super young and really do not have much sunk cost.

You have to ask yourself: Where do I want to be in 10-20 years?

It sounds like it's definitely not law. It sounds like it's probably consulting. MBB is the best you can get…you won't get paid more at another consulting firm, so this is the best pivot you can make.

The real question is: Do I want to work in consulting or law? If consulting, probably take the offer.

(By the way, you can probably negotiate here)

Answer 5

Hi,

To be honest, 3 years is really nothing in the grand scheme of things. The key decision you have to make is between the path of law versus consulting (and business in general).

MBB will open up more opportunities for you in the mid to long term. It's not that its impossible to pivot out of law, but it is alot easier with MBB on your background to try and do different roles (even different from corp strat).

In terms of salary, again, in the mid-long term it really doesn't matter.

Figure out what type of work and growth you'd like to have in the next couple of years, and prioritize based on that.

Answer 6

Hi there,

Congratulations on the offer! In terms of your question:

1) My long term goal would be to make it to manger-level at MBB (or consultant/associate at least) and then consider next steps. Is it madness to turn down the offer or should I consider an alternative route?

Given your long-term goal is to get to manager-level at MBB, I would take the offer:

Short-term, the decrease in salary should be compensated by the opportunity to reach your goal, which with your current job is impossible to achieve. The only exception is if you really need the extra money short term for personal reasons.
Long-term (10-15 years from now), the current difference in salary will become irrelevant. So if you think long-term, that actually doesn’t matter.

2) Is there anything I can negotiate?

Normally the base salary for a given position is fixed for everyone. What you can usually negotiate is:

The signing bonus
The relocation bonus
The seniority you join

For other questions please feel free to PM me.

Best,

Francesco

Answer 7

Hi there, from what I hear you do not plan to stay in the law arena. Hence, I'd recommend taking a paycut now and rather look at it from a lifetime earnings perspective. MBB accelerates your career and personal worth for future employers 10X. Hence, a few years in pay cut will quickly be paid off in the mid term. Warm regards and congrats, Freddy

Answer 8

That is an entry level salary, probably not including bonuses. But you'll have yearly increases of ~30%. Meaning that in a few years not only you'll be at the same level, you might even be above.

Of course, I don't know how the curve would work for a lawyer. But the point here is that you will not have to wait that significantly until you are at the same level.

If you want to change your career, to be honest, this is likely to be the best option you'll get.