Hi all!!

I am trying to map out my career path with an MBA that I plan to start in 2018 ( I know that it's a bit in advance but it's never too early, right? :)

I want to work in consulting at an MBB firm. I don't have any experience in consulting. Is this a realistic goal? And if so, what schools should I target? H/S/W or something else?

Also, does anybody have any idea if it's possible to do a pre-MBA internship in consulting? I found one option at Bain but it's geared toward "diversity" building - meaning I would probably not be eligible for it. Are there other, similar options? Or something else I can do in the next 2 years before starting the MBA to make myself more attractive to MBB?

Thanks for any insight...

H/S/W or anything here, really:

http://find-mba.com/lists/top-business-school-by-speciality/top-business-schools-for-consulting

... so Columbia, Fuqua, etc.

I don't know much about those pre-MBA internships, but I know that an internship with the firm you want to work in, during your MBA program, can go a long way. The MBA - internship - MBB route is tried-and-true, for probably hundreds of MBAs per year.

Thanks for that!

The issue for me now is that I have almost two years to get myself ready, and want to do something in the meantime that will help me along this path. Do you have any ideas? Should I just go out and try to get a job in a consulting firm so that I can put "consulting firm" on my resume? I currently have a decent job with good benefits in an unrelated industry.

Obviously it would benefit you if you had some previous consulting experience, but it's not necessary. As I mentioned, people transition into MBB all the time, from unrelated industries, using an MBA + internship.

Gotcha. Thanks again.

Looking further down the road, McKinsey has a pre-MBA program that you would do the summer right before you start your MBA - that is, if you did your MBA at Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Stanford, Duke, Kellogg, or another of around 15 select school. So you'd have to get in to the MBA first.

That's really interesting to me. I just have to work towards getting into one of those schools! Harvard would obviously be my top choice but I could live with any of those to be sure.