Associate consultant

Bain associate consultants (ACs) are the heart and soul of our organization. At Bain, you will be our frontline in developing powerful insights as well as driving results for our clients. We invest heavily in our ACs. That investment pays off, not only for Bain. A large number of our ACS become business leaders inside of our firm and across industries.

Responsibility and learning

As a Bain AC, you get the chance to make an impact right away. You're the one who finds the critical information, develops high-quality analysis and assesses the most pressing issues our clients face. You also share your insights and recommendations with your team and the client. In short, we expect and need you to make a difference.

Throughout your time as an AC, you'll learn, be stretched, and grow at an incredible pace. In addition to hands-on experience during client engagements, regular, worldwide, formal training programs will teach you the broad skill set you need to succeed as a business leader.

But perhaps the most profound learning experiences come simply from interacting with your colleagues. Bain people represent the best and the brightest of the consulting industry. Working closely alongside your team and benefiting from informal mentoring, you'll quickly fill any gaps in your industry knowledge. You, in turn, will be surprised at how fast you start mentoring others.

What comes next?

ACs who perform well and show outstanding potential are generally promoted to senior associate consultants (SACs) after about two years. In this role, your experience and maturity allow you to analyze more complex problems and develop deeper and higher-level client relationships. SACs learn to construct complex strategic solutions and take on greater leadership within their case teams.

SACs can choose from a variety of career paths. For instance, you might:

• Be promoted directly to the consultant position (and eventually become a leader at Bain)
• Move on to a new opportunity with a private equity firm, corporation, start-up or nonprofit
• Pursue an advanced degree in business or another subject at one of the world's elite graduate schools (many MBAs return to Bain with an offer that includes full-tuition reimbursement)

But these are decisions for the future. In the short term, Bain invests heavily in both time and energy to help advance our ACs. For young professionals launching their business careers, there's no better place to be than Bain.