consultant

associate

project leader

administrative assistant

executive assistant

Boston Consulting Group

It seems cliché to say that our company culture is what stands out to me, but it's true. I have made some of my very closest friends at BCG and I feel so supported in both my work and my personal life. I feel like I am learning new things and growing in my career every single day, and there are so many opportunities for continued learning and personal growth in formal trainings, mentorships programs, guest speaker series, and health and wellness programs. I am surrounded by some of the smartest and most innovative people in the world, and it's truly a global company and culture. For example, I transferred from Atlanta to London through BCG's excellent mobility program and I have developed extremely close relationships (and friendships) with people from SO many different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences that I would have likely never crossed paths with otherwise -- and resulting in an incredible diversity of perspectives. I feel proud to work for a company that aligns with my values, is uniquely positioned to help make a positive difference in the world, and has a leadership team that strives to put people first. For example, during the pandemic, our global, regional, and local leaders were extremely transparent from the outset and took every precaution to protect jobs, give people flexible options, disseminate generous stipends and extra bonuses as soon as the economic outlook improved, and also provide unique opportunities for employees and their families to learn about the benefits of the vaccines (e.g., extremely informative webinars with government officials and pharmaceutical executives who could help dispel myths and share perspectives on how the vaccines were developed in record time). Something that stands out from the pandemic is that BCG made a commitment from the outset to protect ALL jobs, including giving people whose jobs were essentially made obsolete (e.g., receptionists, event planners, travel specialists) the opportunity to reskill and take on new roles in other areas of the company. Last but not least, the benefits package is absolutely extraordinary. 

This is a place where politics drive everything, not intelligence nor performance, to the contrary of what's typically said. Harassment (yes Harassment in every form) is constant and obvious in so many ways. Though people do not report it and colleagues ignore it because they know HR will not help, to the contrary, they will take whatever it is needed to protect the good name of the company (well I guess that true in most companies anyway). The difference at BCG and other companies is that  if you bring ANY type of issue to management or HR you can be certain they will retaliate, sooner or later, sometimes much later, which almost always end with a departure, voluntary or non-voluntary (lack of promotion for many years along the way...).  Every employee that has been at BCG for more than couple months know this, it's no secret, this is why anyone is extremely reluctant to report anything or to corroborate colleagues' abuses. 
Why is BCG always so well rated, one would ask? Because they made you sign a few contracts from the day you start to the day you leave to not -EVER- disclose anything negative to the world about them. And of course, no one wants to have to deal legally with such powerful company (even attorneys are reluctant to take cases)... So, this leaves us with only people that had a good experience (BCG pays well and having BCG on your resume never hurts of course), because yes, there are some of course. BCG is such a big employment manufacturer; they hire and fire thousands of people every year (it is a small company- keep that in mind),  in fact, that's all they really do, they train people -well indeed- and ask them to spread the word around on how good they are.

In the real world, outside this obnoxious, pretentious top consulting boys club, no one really can explain what added value BCG brings to the world.

Pros
BCG promises to invest in their employees' growth & professional development and they 100% deliver. I got tons of feedback, regular reviews, and training at key points within my career trajectory. Everyone who I worked with cared that I was developing and building my skills on a case. Working at BCG was a great way to get exposure to a lot of different industries and project types.

Cons
This review does not focus on the standard difficulties consulting (such as occasionally unpredictable client work and long hours), but rather on why I’d suggest applicants specifically avoid Miami and recruit for other offices.

To quote a friend of mine in a different office – “I’m really sorry, Miami really doesn’t sound like the BCG I know.”

For context, BCG’s model of governance is federalized, placing significant control of operational and management decisions at individual offices. While this is typically a good model, Miami’s leadership has a reputation for being more inflexible than leadership elsewhere in North America. A few major examples:
-	Against North America policy, leaves of absence denied because they were not solicited 6+ months in advance, even if for mental health of family reasons
-	Staff discouraged from pursuing staffing assignments with teams outside of Miami – implicit expectation that ever incoming new hire will spend 6+ months in retail. Office leadership literally says “the model does not work when people work for other offices.”
-	Mobility options are less flexible than those in other offices – need to return to Miami for 12 months after any secondment (other North America offices say 6 months)
-	Lack of transparency in year-end bonuses and performance assessments. Top performers from one cycle to another had scores deflated without feedback on how to improve just because “we want to show a trajectory”

•	VRM – Performed Vendor Risk Management – Vendor Assessment – Infrastructure Risk Assessment
•	Capturing vendor assessment demand and completion of scoping calls with key stakeholders
to understand the service details and data managed by the vendor
•	Developed self-assessment questionnaires relevant to the service scope, data managed, data
location and legal/jurisdictional requirements
•	Collecting and archival of required artifacts supporting the completion of due diligence efforts on BCG's vendor base
•	Reviewing, analyzing and writing risk-based reports derived from the completion of self- assessment questionnaires and review of provided artifacts
•	Reviewed Info-Security Pre-Assessment Questionnaire, Identify IT Security Risks, communicated Findings and seek timely resolution. Prepared Full Executive Summary Report on Vendors and determine if compliant with BCG Minimum Security Requirements. 
•	Created IT Security Score Card and bench mark against Industry standards.
•	Reviewed Third party DR test plan and ensured that the Incident Response plan was effectively monitored  and any issues were resolved within 72 hours as per DR /Incident Response planning and complied with BCG minimum security requirements

enriching. BCG has provided me with an excellent platform to learn, grow, and develop my skills. The company culture is highly professional, and the people are friendly and welcoming. I was amazed by how supportive and cooperative the team is, and everyone is always ready to help and guide each other.

Working as an assistant at BCG has given me valuable exposure to various aspects of business operations. I have had the opportunity to work on multiple projects, which has helped me develop my research and analytical skills. I have learned how to manage my time efficiently and prioritize my work to ensure that I meet deadlines. The company provides excellent training and development opportunities that have helped me grow both personally and professionally.

However, the only downside to my experience at BCG is the work-life balance. Being a part-time assistant requires a significant amount of commitment, and at times it can be challenging to maintain a healthy work-life balance. It is important to be disciplined and manage your time effectively to ensure that you have enough time for your personal life.

I transitioned to BCG from a large, publicy-owned consulting firm where I was also in a strategy consulting role.

Virtually everything about BCG is concretely better than my experience at my previous employer. The two most visible differences to me are (1) how strongly the firm's values are demonstrated and how openly leadership discusses both their successes and where they're still working to improve, and (2) the willingness for projects to pay for reports or services to avoid grunt work and emphasize the "thinking" side of consulting. Both of these stand in sharp contrast to my prior role.

The current staffing model for North America is the only drawback I've seen, as not all staffers do their part of the job very effectively. That said, I have every confidence that feedback on this is being heard and that things will improve.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with some truly amazing colleagues at this company, and they are what make coming to work worthwhile. That said, there are significant opportunities for improvement in leadership. Leadership development and communication training would be especially valuable, as I have often seen managers struggle to engage with employees in a constructive or empathetic way. At times leaders can come across as dismissive or insensitive, I hope these challenges are limited to my home office but based on conversations I've had, it doesn't seem likely. 

When I joined, training for my role was nearly nonexistent, and I felt unprepared and set up to fail. Additionally, work-life balance is a serious issue. Instead of addressing the root causes, the focus seems misplaced on superficial perks such as in-office snacks, and social events which does little to improve the employee experience.

BCG is of course the world renown management consulting firm founded by Bruce Henderson.  It has been widely credited for founding business strategy as a discipline, not least because of the pioneering work done by Bruce in the early years of the firm.

I was recruited by the firm in Australia, having completed my MBA on a full scholarship.  I chose to join the Hong Kong office as I would like to take part in the firm's growth there.  It was a great experience working with some of the largest and most innovative corporations in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan to participate in the strategy re-orientation of those corporate giants to take advantage of China's WTO entry and e-commerce.  

BCG has a truly collegiate and open work atmosphere.  Every one of the consultants was encouraged to make their views known.  We worked very hard but also very happily as there was tremendous learning from one another.

Boston Consulting Group makes a crazy amount of money and margins that any business today would want to have. However, it comes at a cost to most employees who cycle through the company. The "up or out" culture is baked in and daily someone from your region in the company says their good-byes. Imagine if BCG tried to retain talent.
Unfortunately, that baked in culture translates to employees who did not sign on to the consulting practices.
If you like an always-on, rat-race culture, this is the place for you. If you're lucky and get assigned the right gig with the right senior people, you'll do fine. At least you'll meet some very bright people, build a solid network in the areas you work, and probably land on your feet when it's time for you to go and go you will.

A typical day for me at BCG started with hearing about any urgent issues from my coworkers and/or checking my emails for any tickets or issues. Every day was a little different, one day I might be re-imaging laptops the next I might be doing inventory for supply orders, or providing onsite support at a meeting. Day to day varied quite a bit. Having IT support in the office, when most of the office is traveling frequently, means having to balance between office and online support. For me it was great because I enjoy fast pace work and providing customer service. A great group of people both personal and professional.  Management very supportive and fair.  I enjoyed my coworkers the most, they were the best part of my day.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Consultant 129 salaries reported	$189,450 per year
Associate 44 salaries reported	$108,898 per year
Project leader 33 salaries reported	$226,561 per year
Administrative assistant 11 salaries reported	$51,545 per year
Executive assistant 3 salaries reported	$75,000 per year

Working at Boston Consulting Group: Company Overview and Reviews

Boston Consulting Group

Boston Consulting Group Ratings

Popular jobs at Boston Consulting Group

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected