- 6 weeks ago
NYC, Entrepreneurship, & Healthy Living
Howdy, I'm Taylor. I'm a 20 something former management consultant and ivy-league grad from California turned solopreneur in New York City, and I love making videos that follow all of the above. Stick around 😊
Howdy, I'm Taylor. I'm a 20 something former management consultant and ivy-league grad from California turned solopreneur in New York City, and I love making videos that follow all of the above. Stick around 😊
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LearningTranscript
00:00My all-in yearly compensation is 100. Are the hours really as intense as they say they are?
00:05Why do so many people quit consulting after two years? How much of a role did attending Wharton
00:09play in getting your current job? What's the difference between consulting and investment
00:13banking? This has been my biggest complaint about the job so far. Hello, this is Taylor.
00:17New haircut? Yes, stop, stop, stop, stop. Thank you for asking, I appreciate that. Okay, I asked
00:23you guys on Instagram to ask me all of your consulting questions, and oh boy, did you. It
00:28took me like two hours just to come up with themes and categorize all of your questions. So thank
00:32you for all of those. To join the fun and be part of these videos in the future, follow me on Instagram
00:37at TayKBell if you so desire. Okay, in this video, we're going to go over the following categories,
00:41and this is a video about consulting, so you best believe it's going to have an organized structure.
00:45Some administrative stuff like what is my salary and what the hours are like, and then we'll talk
00:49about exit opportunities and what my plan is, and then some more in-depth categories like how
00:53consulting compares to other Wall Street jobs like investment banking and private equity. Some
00:58questions about my experience, my opinions, and my perspective, and then lots of questions about
01:02the ins and outs of the job itself. Before jumping in, in exchange for this picture of the starfish
01:06from Finding Nemo, please hit the thumbs up. First question, a simple context question, a high-level
01:10overview slash description of your job. Good first question. I am a management consultant, which by
01:15definition is someone who works with other firms and businesses to identify complex business
01:20operational and organizational problems and define slash improve processes. We will dive into what the
01:26fudge muffins that actually looks like and means throughout this video. Also, I work for a large
01:29international consulting firm. I'm not an independent consultant. I don't own my own practice or anything
01:34like that, which a few people seem to think based off some of the questions I got, so I just wanted to
01:37clear that up. And this is my first job after graduating undergraduate university. All right, let's
01:41dive into a juicy topic, shall we? Pay, salary, money. Some of the main questions I got here were,
01:47what's the pay progression? Salary range? Is the salary enough to support your lifestyle in New York City?
01:52And I'm just going to tell you. So the first year base salary for an entry-level position,
01:56and your base salary is what you get paid, not including the end-of-the-year bonus or other
02:00employee benefits like the 401k match. So the base salary for someone like myself at my firm or other
02:06similar competing firms is right about $100,000. Then plus the end-of-the-year bonus and other employee
02:11benefits, again, like the 401k matching. That brings the all-in compensation to about $110,000 to $120,000
02:17per year. And yes, I fall within that range if you're curious for me specifically. I'm totally
02:22fine being transparent about this kind of thing. I really enjoy watching other people openly talk
02:26about it on YouTube, so if you guys are interested, I can make a video going more in-depth on the
02:30breakdown of my salary plus other income streams that I have, so let me know. Now the salary for
02:34consulting obviously goes up from there once you get promoted and you're a few years in, but I will say
02:38that the pay increases are not typically as steep as they are in other jobs such as investment banking
02:43and private equity. We'll jump into this a little bit more in a couple minutes. And is my salary
02:47enough to support my lifestyle in New York City? Yes, it is more than enough. And I'm not saying
02:51that's a brag. I think that salary is not something that should be quite as taboo to talk about.
02:55Anyway. All right, lots of questions on what my hours look like. So how demanding slash tiring is
03:00the work? How long are your hours? Are the work hours as long as you expected them to be? What are
03:04your working hours? Isn't it too much? Are the hours really as intense as they say they are? The answer is
03:09my hours vary so much. Sometimes I will work as little as two hours a day if my team doesn't have
03:14any immediate deliverables or something major that we could get ahead on. And then on the higher end,
03:19I'll work 14 hours a day. The average day obviously skews towards the higher end. And I have never worked
03:23a single weekend. Are these hours as long as I expected them to be? Yes. In fact, I almost expected
03:28them to be that long on a more consistent basis. And is it too much? Yes. Sometimes when it's two weeks
03:33in a row of working super long hours, it can feel like it's too much. But the nature of the hours being
03:38really up and down definitely helps make it feel more manageable in the long run. And having the
03:41weekends off definitely helps a lot. All right. The next category is how consulting compares to
03:45other Wall Street jobs. So some of the questions I got include, based on what you've heard, what do
03:49you think is more stressful, investment banking or consulting? What is the stress level of consulting
03:53versus other Wall Street jobs? Difference between consulting and finance and investment banking
03:57versus consulting. So I did a lot of research and I also texted lots of my friends who are in
04:01investment banking and private equity to get the inside scoop. My good friend, who is an entry-level
04:05investment banker, said that he works on the low end 60 hours per week. And on the high end,
04:10it can get to over 100 hours per week, with the average being about 80 hours per week. Other
04:14friends of mine in investment banking said that these estimates were pretty much the same for
04:17them as well. Additionally, people in investment banking will work most Sundays, although not every
04:22single Sunday and some Saturdays, although some firms do have a protected Saturday policy. So solely
04:27from an hours perspective, finance jobs like investment banking have notoriously tougher hours
04:32than consulting. Plus, typically, work on the weekends. Also, the work itself is totally
04:36different, which I didn't go over in this video, but I can in a future one if you guys would like
04:40that. Thumbs up for my Cracker Barrel shirt. That being said, of course, there are pros for
04:44investment banking as well. It definitely leads to great exit opportunities, both within finance and
04:48the broader professional sphere. And if the day-to-day of investment banking suits you better than,
04:53let's say, consulting, because we're doing this as a comparison, then that's great because
04:56investment banking is also obviously a very lucrative job. Also, like I said earlier, generally speaking,
05:01the upside salary progression for investment banking will be greater than for consulting.
05:05And a word on jobs and private equity, the hours are typically long as well, similar to IV. But the
05:09payment progression is usually even steeper than investment banking because eventually people that
05:13work in PE will get a share of the profits of the companies that they invest in, whereas people in
05:18consulting and investment banking get compensated on fixed fees. So the upside salary potential in
05:23private equity is even greater if the companies that they invest in perform well. I can dive deeper
05:27into these differences in another video if you guys would be interested, but in this video
05:31I'm just trying to give you the high-level overview. So these questions about stress levels of
05:34consulting versus investment banking and other finance jobs, just the sheer difference in hours
05:39would make investment banking more stressful to me than consulting. But of course, that is not the
05:43case for everyone, and it will differ depending on your tendencies and the kind of work that you enjoy.
05:48Thumbs up if you found this helpful so far. All right, now some questions relating to my experience,
05:52my perspectives, and opinions. The first batch of questions is about exit opportunities. So do you
05:57already have an exit plan in place? What is your exit strategy or your plan after consulting? What are
06:01some of the more interesting exit opportunities, and why do so many people quit consulting? So I do
06:06not have an exit plan in place. I'm not even a full year into the job yet, and even though some people
06:10do leave after that short amount of time, that's not my plan at this point. My long-term plan after
06:15consulting is hopefully to start some business of my own. I think that that is the path for me
06:19personally to feel as much purpose as possible. What are some of the more interesting exit opportunities?
06:23Some typical interesting ones. I know a lot of people go on to work for startups or NGOs,
06:28independent consulting work, or they may end up working for a client that they consulted for,
06:32or they can recruit for jobs in a specific industry that they consulted in. And why do so many people
06:36quit consulting? That's a great question. The average consultant leaves the job after only two to three
06:40years, which I know seems really strange and abnormal. But in reality, a consultant can usually be
06:45offered a higher paying job after only two to three years of experience. This is because consultants
06:49purportedly gain a lot of marketable skills in that short amount of time that make them
06:53suitable for top executive jobs at other firms. In fact, one partner that I've worked with for about
06:57four months now often says that one year in consulting is worth three at any other job. Now,
07:02I don't want to sound like I'm drinking the consulting Kool-Aid too much because I wouldn't necessarily say
07:06that I feel like I've learned things at such a noticeably faster pace than I would have anywhere
07:10else, but who knows? Besides this, there are some other more obvious reasons that consultants choose
07:14to leave the job after only a few years, including lifestyle change. Consulting is definitely a fast-paced
07:19job with long hours. And in the days before COVID, it also entailed four days a week of travel, which I
07:25can't even imagine as a post-COVID consultant. And that's not super sustainable to do for too many
07:29years. So a lot of consultants will leave just to slow things down a bit and get a change of pace.
07:33Okay, next section of questions is about my previous work experience and my education.
07:37Which internships have you done before? Do you need an internship at the same firm to go into
07:41consulting post-grad? How much of a role did attending Wharton play in getting your current job? Good question.
07:46Can you please share your academic journey till now? So these will go quick. First one, I actually did
07:50two internships in finance before my full-time job in consulting. One at an alternative investment
07:55management firm and the other at a large private equity firm where I focused on real estate. This
07:59helps me answer the second question. Do you need an internship at the same firm to go into consulting
08:04post-grad? No, exhibit A, you don't. Although I will say I definitely had marketable skills from my
08:09finance internships that helped me recruit for a consulting job. How much of a role did attending Wharton
08:13play in getting your current job? Honestly, I would say a huge role. I've talked about this in my
08:18previous Wharton videos. Check them out if you want. Employers literally line up at business schools,
08:23especially top-tier ones, because in some way that is a proxy for the rigor of the students that
08:28they're recruiting. That is to say, to get into those business schools in the first place, you had
08:32to have some combination stellar SAT or ACT scores, nearly perfect grades, strong extracurriculars,
08:37plus generally something that shows that you care about business. So in a lot of ways, it makes
08:41recruiters' lives easier to start at those schools because it's like a first filter. To be clear,
08:45I'm not saying that this is the way it necessarily should be, but it's the way that it is. To beat my
08:50point into the ground, if I may, I literally typed into Google, what are considered target schools for
08:54consulting? And the top response was, summary, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, where I went,
09:00Wow. University of Michigan and Yale appear to be the best overall schools when it comes to recruiting
09:04for undergraduate consulting jobs. Out of those four, Harvard, Yale, and UPenn are all Ivy Leagues,
09:09and both UPenn and UMICH have top undergraduate business schools. And if you're curious, I performed
09:14the same exact search for investment banking, and the results were even more skewed. The top
09:18colleges that came up were UPenn, NYU, and University of Michigan, which happen to be the universities
09:23with top undergrad business schools, Wharton, Stern, and Ross, respectively. I want to add this because I
09:28think it's important. For those reasons, there is an insane internal competition at those top schools.
09:34Take Wharton, for example. I think in my class, there were like 550 of us. And yes, while employers
09:39do line up to recruit at Wharton, that is still 550 very qualified people going for the same
09:45handful of consulting, finance, and tech jobs, mainly in New York City. So looking back, while I do think
09:51the Wharton name helped me get my foot in the door, getting a job felt nearly impossible because the
09:56competition was so stiff among, again, these other 550 insanely qualified people. My point is, you by no
10:02means have to go to one of these top universities to get a job in consulting or finance. Yes, I do think it
10:08helps you get your foot in the door. But if you don't go to one of these top universities based on
10:11rankings, but you still have a really good GPA, really strong leadership experience, and you have
10:16good reasons for why you want to go into consulting or finance, you could have just as good of a chance
10:20as a Wharton student, especially if you apply to positions that are not in New York City. New York City
10:25is extra competitive. And can you please share your academic journey till now? Yes, I went to the same
10:30exact school from early kindergarten until 12th grade when I graduated high school, and then I attended
10:35Wharton undergraduate business school at the University of Pennsylvania for four years. And
10:39yes, I put this picture up pretty much every time I talk about it, but hey, you asked. Now some of my
10:43experience so far, and we could do these a little more rapid fire. Is there actually a cutthroat work
10:47culture? I have not experienced that whatsoever. Long hours, yes. Exhausting work, sometimes, yes. But
10:53cutthroat culture, not at all. How's the work-life balance? It varies. Pretty much a perfect correlation
10:57with how much my work hours vary. But even with long work hours, there have been very few times where I feel
11:02like I couldn't, at the very least, step away from my computer to cook myself a meal or take a little
11:06breather. And again, having my weekends free helps a lot. How would you describe your co-workers and
11:10managers? I've really loved just about all the people I've worked with that are on my same level, especially
11:14two of them I've become good friends with. Those people that are in my same position are typically
11:18really sweet and collaborative and extroverted, which most consultants are. Then when it comes to
11:22managers and people that are several positions higher than me, I've really liked them too generally,
11:26and I would describe them all as very hardworking, very on top of their shit, which makes sense
11:30because the, whatever, 10% of people that actually stay in consulting and rise within the ranks,
11:34they're known as career consultants. They must really like the job and be very good at it because
11:38they're definitely in a minority of people who stay that long within consulting. Naturally, I haven't
11:42bonded as closely with my managers or people several positions higher than me because they're just older
11:47than me, they're in different stages of life, a lot of them are married or have kids, so just
11:51different priorities. I have received very helpful feedback from all of my managers though, which I
11:55really appreciate. Next is, are you collaborative and what has been your favorite part of the job?
11:59For my last response, I am very collaborative, almost to a fault where I really prefer to talk
12:04something through with someone, even if it's my own personal task. And my favorite part of the job
12:07has been making friends with other people that are like that. Being able to talk about the job and
12:11gossip with your co-workers is part of what makes many jobs bearable, and so that's definitely been
12:16my favorite part. Do you feel appreciated in the work you do and do you get crapped on? First part of
12:20the question, do I feel appreciated? I would say neutral, leaning towards positive. There have definitely been
12:25moments where I felt really great appreciation and it was awesome, and then probably some moments where
12:29I felt like I wanted a little more recognition, but I think that's pretty normal. But no, I've never
12:33been fully crapped on or had any terrible moments that like kept me up at night like they show in the
12:37movies. Take your little bowtie, get your sh**, and get the f**k out of my office, you understand? Get the f**k out!
12:44Fuck you, bowtie. You fucking idiot!
12:46Next question, do you get a lot of flexibility to choose what projects you're on and the industries they're in?
12:50I have not really yet, unfortunately, which has probably been my number one complaint about the
12:55job. Yes, I get to submit preferences for the projects that I would like to be on when I'm up
12:58for staffing, but I have never once been staffed on one that I preferenced, which sort of made sense
13:03when I was brand new, like naturally they're going to take consultants who had even two more extra
13:07months of experience than I did, but after nine months at the job, which is where I'm at now, I would
13:11think that I would get a little more preference, but no luck yet. I'll keep you updated.
13:15All right, maybe a tiny breather before the next batch of questions. Here, have a sip of water,
13:19you gotta stay hydrated. Okay, next batch are also on the lighter side, semi-rapid-fire form.
13:23Are there any industries that you're interested in? Yes, two verticals within consulting that I
13:26hope to work on this year are aviation slash transportation and consumer goods. All right,
13:31couple of combined questions. Do you actually like consulting and could you see yourself making
13:35partner? How do you like your job? I'm planning on going into that field after graduation. And how
13:39long do you plan on staying at your current company? I like it all right so far, but here's a caveat.
13:43At my level, which is entry level, I'm really just supporting the process. The major bulk of my work is
13:48helping build out slides, conducting research, leading expert calls, and taking a lot of notes.
13:53And then I'll have the occasional opportunity to present something to the clients, which is a very
13:56rewarding process when I do get to do that. When you get a bit more senior and actually start to
14:00drive specific work streams, I would hypothesize that the job gets one, more stressful, but two,
14:05probably a bit more rewarding because you feel a larger sense of ownership and responsibility.
14:09So I doubt that very many entry-level consultants are super passionate about the job, but largely it's
14:14because of the nature of the work when you first start out. And do I see myself making partner?
14:18It's not my goal to make partner. That's just not the path that I want to go down at this point in
14:21time, but never say never, I guess. How has life changed after you joined as a management consultant?
14:26It's changed a ton, as I'm sure anyone's life would when you go from college life to starting a
14:31corporate job. You generally have a lot less time for personal commitment, so you have to learn how to
14:34balance that. Obviously, no one holds your hand through any of it either, so that's good for personal
14:38growth. And for me, the, or at least one of the biggest changes between college life and corporate job
14:43life has been that you are now answering to someone else. Meaning, in college, if you decide not to
14:48study for a test, you're really just screwing yourself over. In corporate life, at least for me,
14:52if you mess up, you mess up for the team as well. So it adds a new level of responsibility that is
14:56definitely not the norm in college life. All right, how to know when it's time to quit your job and shift
15:01the career path? I haven't got to this point in my career path yet, but I assume that it happens when
15:05things start to feel a little too repetitive or like you've hit a plateau when you're not growing a ton
15:09anymore. Or if you're simply longing for something new or, you know, you can get a higher paying job
15:14or just a more exciting opportunity. Those are the things that I personally would look out for. These
15:17are sort of a grab bag of questions, but first... Okay, sorry, that was last time. Or was it? Are you
15:22thinking you will go the MBA route? Most likely not. I know a lot of people get their MBA because their
15:27company will pay for it and it's basically like taking two years off. And then, of course, you finish
15:31with a master's degree. It's an attractive proposition, but the opportunity cost is also quite
15:35substantial. And I, at this point, don't think I'll do it, but never say never. All right, two questions
15:40that go hand in hand. What are you a consultant of? And do you need extensive knowledge on a specific
15:44topic to work in consulting? To answer the first question, I have worked almost exclusively on
15:49projects within financial services. But again, I'm really hoping to get on an aviation project or
15:53consumer goods project this year. And second question of do you need extensive knowledge on a
15:57topic to get into consulting? No, you don't, which I know seems counterintuitive. But again, when you're
16:02entry level, you're really just supporting the process and learning a lot along the way. And
16:06the managers are the ones who really drive the process. And the partners are like the subject
16:10matter experts. So over time, you learn how to pick up the kind of skills where you actually are the one
16:14who can drive the project and eventually become the subject matter expert if you stay in it long
16:18enough. But yeah, that's how someone in their early 20s can become a business consultant. I know it
16:22seems a little confusing. I go way more in depth in this video if you want to check that out after you
16:26finish watching this one. Okay, best city to do consulting in if all were options. I get this
16:30question fairly often. And the answer is that I, Taylor, personally would base my decision almost
16:36100% on whatever city I personally like the most. I mean, exhibit A. I live in New York City where the
16:41large majority of projects is in financial services, which I don't love, and where the cost
16:45of living is quite high. So to that point, yeah, it's definitely true that your dollar will stretch
16:49a lot more in non-coastal cities as well as, you know, cities in the south generally. So that is
16:54something to consider. Next question. By all appearances, you seem to put in 110%. How slash what
17:00motivates you? Well, I'm glad it seems that way. I can assure you that there are plenty moments where
17:04I am a full-on couch potato and don't have motivation to do anything. But to answer your
17:08question, money motivates me. Not money itself, but the freedom and the opportunities that it can buy
17:13you. So that means that I try to do a good job at work. It also means that I work very hard on this
17:17YouTube channel of mine when I have time because one, I really enjoy it. But two, the prospect of it
17:21becoming a substantial second income for me is very exciting. So my passions motivate me. My plans for
17:27lots of travel in the short term and in the future motivates me, among some other things.
17:31All right. How does your time in consulting so far compare to what you expected? I could speak on this
17:35at length, but I'll stick with one specific topic that does not match what I expected. And that is
17:39the degree to which you can really jump around and try a lot of different projects in different
17:43industries. I'll speak on that more very soon. Keep an eye out, but this video, I feel like it's
17:47getting long. All right. What made you want to go into management consulting? Overall, the same reasons as
17:50most people. To gain marketable skills in business. To grow a strong network. To travel.
17:54LOL. RIP. Hopefully that will happen more soon in the future. And to work within several
17:59different industries before choosing to specialize in just one. All righty. Who inspires you in
18:04consulting and why? The people I've been most inspired by are the partners that I've worked
18:07with who seem to strike a really good work-life balance. So ones that do this job very well
18:12and also spend a ton of time with their families slash care about work-life balance for the rest of
18:16the team. That's what inspires me the most because that is the balance that I hope to achieve
18:20in the future with whatever I do. And final question of this batch. Do you eat tacos while
18:24consulting? Sometimes. Okay. Final category. Some burning questions about the job itself. What
18:29percentage of the work is intellectual and what percentage is routine? Is it technical or more
18:34theoretical leaning? These are good questions. Going back to the nature of the work that you do as
18:39an entry-level consultant, such as myself, versus someone who's a few more rungs up the ladder, I would
18:43say that my work is more routine and as you rise in the ranks, the work becomes more nuanced. And whether
18:48it's technical or more theoretical, so far my projects have definitely leaned towards more
18:52theoretical with definitely technical aspects. And then some projects are almost purely technical
18:57and for my sake, I'm glad I haven't been on one of those yet. Have you traveled internationally for
19:01work and do you think travel will come back? I have not yet traveled internationally for work,
19:05but my firm is international and I would love to work abroad, at least for a while. Yes, I think it will
19:10come back. It already has a little bit, but probably not to the same extent as before because clients may
19:14realize that four days a week was just not always necessary or cost effective. And a lot of work,
19:19now we know, can be done virtually. Do people tend to stay at one consulting firm and move up or jump
19:24around and specialize? Most people tend to stay at one and then leave after two to four years. And then
19:29the ones that stay within consulting, I've noticed a mix of ones that stay at the same firm and just rise
19:33within the ranks. And then also partners who will switch over to another consulting firm and stay within
19:37one specific area of expertise, like financial services. How many projects do you take part in on a monthly
19:42basis? Just one, I guess sometimes two, if I end one project and start another in the same month.
19:46All right, grouping some questions here. Tell us about the hierarchy slash leadership structure,
19:51aka when will Taylor be partner? LOL. Do you think there's a strong sense of hierarchy at your firm
19:56and in the projects? And can you explain how the work of a project is divided in the team?
20:00At most consulting firms, there are six main levels and the titles of course will vary firm to firm,
20:07but the first level is business analyst slash associate, whatever they call it at that firm.
20:11Second is senior analyst or senior associate. Three is consultant. Fourth is manager or project
20:17leader. Five is senior manager or principal. And six, of course, is partner. And yes, I would say
20:22that there is a pretty strong sense of hierarchy within the project and that the tasks are very
20:26clearly divided amongst the team members, which I think is a good thing. Again, I go over the work
20:30breakdown and hierarchy in more detail in this video, so queue it up if you want.
20:34How many clients does a team handle at once? Just one client, meaning one business. That can mean a big
20:39handful of people within that business, but typically only one institution at a time.
20:43How important is math to consulting? I would say it's pretty important to know your way around
20:46numbers. More so for the case interview to actually get the job than the job itself, to be frank. The
20:51case interview is all mental math, so it helps to be good and quick at it for sure. But I haven't been
20:55on a project yet where it required heavy mental math. You know, Excel does most of the work for you.
21:00Next is, is the job slash long hours still worth it now that most perks are canceled? Travel,
21:05dinners, events, etc. Fair question. I have still had a lot of team dinners and in-person events,
21:10which has been great. As for limited travel, honestly, this is all I know because I started
21:14the job post-COVID. And at this point, I'm sort of grateful that I'm not traveling four days a week,
21:18partially because that sounds like a recipe for quick burnout, but also because I simply think I
21:22would not have enough time or energy to allocate any of my leftover time to this YouTube channel if I was
21:27traveling that much. I'm very happy that I have the option to go into the office or work from home.
21:32I think that the hybrid model is ideal. So yeah, I would definitely say that it's still worth it.
21:36All right, guys, in the next consulting video, we'll go over the interview process and how I got the
21:40job, preparing for the job, and advice for someone who's just about to start, etc. So stay tuned for
21:44that. Subscribe to my channel for zero dollars so you don't miss it. And if you really mean business,
21:48hit the bell notification so you get notified when that video comes out. I hope some of these
21:52questions that we went over today were helpful. Thank you guys again for submitting so many good ones on
21:56Instagram. Give me a follow to be part of these videos in the future. If you have more thoughts
21:59or you just want to say hi, fun fact, I answer just about every single comment that I get. So
22:02leave something down below and you'll hear from me. Until next time, I'll see you guys very soon in
22:07the next video. Bye.
22:09I can literally hear my dad sneezing from the kitchen. Why did dads sneeze so loud? It actually,
22:16I don't, anyway. So blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I know it's getting dark. Sorry, good thing
22:21I have a lot of ring light. A little stretch break.
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