Big 4 consulting firms typically pay first-year MBA grads 50% more than their non-MBA counterparts.

Why did I tell my staff to get an MBA? Would an MBA make them smarter?
No. They’re crazy smart already. I recommended MBAs because of the money they’d make.

Big 4 consulting firms typically pay first-year MBA grads 50% more than their non-MBA counterparts.

Privileged perspective #2 of 52
If you've got a ten-year runway before you up or out, even if you start at the lowest level, with promotions, that's easily $1M. (And it's not just consulting firms that pay a premium.) If you're under 35 and that million compounds in your 401K for a few decades...that MBA is a lot of NPV.

That's serious money for a sheet of paper. You don't have to be special special to get that money (if you got hired—you're already special.) You need a sheet of paper.

And, the Big Strategy firms which pay even more won't hire you without an Ivy League sheet of paper, usually.

I didn't pursue an MBA until this year because I had a family when I joined The Firm. The 80-100% travel consulting life is rough enough on a family without the consultant spending two years of weekends locked in a bedroom grinding through an MBA. I waited till my kids were up on their feet, traveling their own roads.

If you're under 30, get your MBA now.

Let's consider this Item #2 in the series of 52 privileged perspectives I committed to sharing.

Robert Synak
PwC Director, Partner Candidate, 2010-2019

#MBA #Consulting

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are Robert Synak’s, they are not presented to suggest they represent, or are endorsed or shared by, any organization or individual Robert Synak has been associated with, past or present.