COMPARE Consulting Career: Columbia MSOR vs Stanford MS&E

[lvmhung]

Hello,

I haven't heard any decision from both schools yet but just want to gather more opinions and informations.
My background is an BS in Electrical & Computer Engineering with minor in Computer Science and Management. I want to have a career in consulting with firms like McKinsey or BCG, which program is a better fit between Stanford MS&E and Columbia MSOR.
I know Columbia OR is famous for their quantitative financial engineering and very reputable to Wall Street firms but I know nothing about how consulting firms' view on a Operations Research program? Is it what they are looking for?
I also want to take into account their campus city: New York vs San Francisco environment .

 

[atreides]

McKinsey, Bain and BCG at their core are strategy consulting firms. The are probably the top players in the strategy space. So the easier way to get into these firms would be through the MBA route. A top 10 MBA would definitely buy you some face time with their recruiters. That said, if you're coming from industry and you are a subject matter expert (SME) in your area of expertise, a technical masters could also suffice. I know McKinsey is very famous for hiring PhD's and MD's.

If you're interested in going into the technology consulting space, you have IBM, Accenture, Deloitte, (maybe PwC and KPMG) and then the indian shops (Wipro, Infosys, Satyam, Tata)

Going into consulting without any relevant experience, depending on how you make your case, you would most often have to start at the bottom or close to the bottom of the ladder, even if you have a masters.

Then again, without knowing your work experience background, a technical masters may or may not open doors for you in consulting.

 

[lvmhung]

Unfortunately, I am just recently graduated with no work experience. I was hoping to get into a good consulting firm after getting my technical master then hopefully get into a top MBA program in several years.

From my point of view, I think MSOR of Columbia is very technical and focus a lot on the quantitative skill, while MS&E is more as a technical MBA. But then, getting MS&E might become redundant if my aim is to get an MBA eventually. This is my dilemma.

 

[financeguy]

atreides is right. You don't typically go from a technical masters (like OR) into Bain/BCG/McKinsey. They recruit at top undergrad colleges and take more English majors than engineers. MBA is also a good route into those firms at a slightly higher level.

 

[lvmhung]

Yea .. I figured my chance is still low.
How about IBD jobs doing LBO, M&A or private equity firms ? I guess in that case Columbia's MSOR is clearly the better choice because of NYC?

 

[goodstudent]

Yea .. I figured my chance is still low.
How about IBD jobs doing LBO, M&A or private equity firms ? I guess in that case Columbia's MSOR is clearly the better choice because of NYC?

I would say MBA is still the best degree for IBD. And Columbia isn't definitely too much better than Stanford, since SF also has a lot of those opportunities. If you do Columbia, you got a ton of competition. But if you do Stanford, your only main competitor is Berkeley.

 

[lvmhung]

Now that I got in Stanford and most likely Columbia as well, it's a tough choice to make. Since Both programs cost the same and living in Stanford is as expensive as NYC, money is not a factor in my decision.

I am an international from VN and got two internships in research firm and no job experience. My ultimate plan is to get an MBA at top 5 programs.

It seems that Stanford MS&E is kind of a substitute for MBA program and I am not sure whether th MBA adcom would see it as a redundant and reject my MBA ap in the future.

I am trying to look for international student placement at both programs to compare but it seems at least 80% students at the Columbia MSOR are international so I think competition is going to be extreme.

Also, is it harder to land a job in Boston or NYC from Stanford?

Thanks everyone for giving me advice and insights.

@financeguy: since you are just graduated from Columbia MSOR with the same goal of not wanting to go to traditional quant job, could we exchange over emails or messengers regarding the Columbia program because I have tons of questions to ask .

 

[Andy Nguyen]

If you haven't already, financeguy's review of the Columbia MSOR program is here
Review of Columbia Universitys Operation Research (MSOR) program | Quant Network