Aspiring consultants are perennially interested in BCG Careers. For decades, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has been one of the most successful and high-profile consulting firms in the world. Given its prestige, name recognition, and the sheer size & international reach of the company, it makes sense that so many talented people would be interested in working there. But what does it actually mean to be a consultant at BCG? What is the life of a consultant like? What specific benefits and opportunities are available in BCG Consulting? This article will lay all that out in detail, so you know what you’re getting into before you apply.
Life At BCG
What Does a BCG Consultant Do?
In order to answer this question, let’s take a step back and ask, what is BCG? There are many different jobs and roles within the BCG environment, but the company’s fundamental business model remains unchanged. BCG provides consulting services to businesses around the world. That means working in a project-oriented capacity to help clients respond to their own unique challenges and find new value-creation opportunities. So the most basic function of BCG careers is to serve in this capacity. BCG consultants usually work on one project at a time, helping clients meet their needs and recognize new growth potentials.
What to Expect If You Work at BCG?
The details of the work you’ll do will differ depending both on the individual consultant’s profile and the nature of each project. This means that a BCG consultant’s job contains a lot of variety. There has historically been a great deal of travel involved, as consultants move between project locations, but with COVID-19, who knows how much this might change in the years ahead. BCG consultants would traditionally expect regular three- or four-day trips to ongoing job sites, typically returning to their home office location by each Friday.
Future consultants should expect BCG to value them for their specific skills and expertise, as evidenced by high BCG salaries. BCG employees are regularly challenged and stimulated. They are also encouraged to grow and evolve with everything they do. This involves ongoing education and evaluation, in both continuous informal capacities, as well as regular formal capacities.
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BCG Culture, Benefits, and Reviews
Is the Culture Hierarchical or Flat?
BCG careers promise a dynamic work environment that utilizes the best of both hierarchical and flat corporate cultures. Project teams are open and collaborative. Consultants tend to be valued for their unique contributions and perspectives and operate within a meritocracy. At the same time, there is a formal hierarchy which helps with project organization and offers opportunities for advancement.
Within the BCG consulting path, the hierarchy includes such roles as (in ascending order) associate, consultant, project leader, principal, partner, and finally managing director. As employees ascend the hierarchy, they take on more responsibility overseeing project operations and client communications.
Further, BCG consultants may work in both a generalist capacity or a specialist/expert capacity. Generalist consultants apply a diverse array of business knowledge to help clients meet a broad range of needs. Specialist and expert consultants bring more industry- and discipline-specific experiences to their work with clients. Some of the specialist consulting disciplines include finance, people, IT, marketing, business management & operations, legal, and risk.
What Are Key Benefits of a Job at BCG?
A highly competitive salary is only the first of many benefits available when evaluating BCG careers. In addition to the generous compensation for BCG jobs, employees are eligible for performance bonuses and profit sharing. Former employees on BCG Glassdoor have raved about the extremely comprehensive health coverage, which includes dental coverage and massage therapy, and has such low copays that “people talk often about being able to have a baby for $20.” This also feeds into the generous family assistance benefits associated with BCG careers. In addition to adoption assistance, new parents are eligible for two months of paternity leave and four months maternity leave. This time at home can be extended for many employees with flexible career stretching, work from home opportunities, and unpaid extended leave.
Employees cite flexibility as one of the most popular BCG benefits. BCG groups their flexible work arrangements according to three types: FlexTime, FlexLeave, and FlexPaths. FlexPaths in particular encompasses one of the most popular benefits associated with BCG jobs. Employees are encouraged to constantly grow personally and professionally. They are offered many opportunities for career development and education, from regular in-person training and events, to a 1,200-module learning platform, to a mentor and career advisor. BCG careers even involve funding for advanced professional degrees as well as opportunities for working abroad and Secondment. Secondment involves taking time away from BCG to work with a corporate partner, which gives you the chance to learn new skills and industries from a different angle.
BCG Job Openings
After reading all that, we’re sure you’re eager to find a job at BCG. Luckily, with more than 90 locations across more than 50 countries, BCG is always hiring. Click here to see the latest postings on BCG Glassdoor, which includes more information about benefits and employee experiences. You’ll see that the range of BCG career opportunities goes beyond just consulting. Be sure to also look into BCG Digital Ventures, an investment and incubation firm that works to develop startups with some of the world’s most powerful companies. Also be sure to check out BCG Gamma, a technology- and data-oriented wing of BCG that uses AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics to help clients succeed in the changing marketplace.
Additional Reading:
- BCG GAMMA
- Bain & Company Careers: 10 Reasons To Work For Bain
- Deloitte Careers
- McKinsey Careers: How to Land an Offer
- McKinsey Careers vs working at Bain or BCG