Bain & Company Reviews

Pros

Focused on company culture. They value employees. Support professional and personal growth. Benefits COMPLETELY covered - zero cost to me. Always snacks. SWAG..such as Allbirds. Always encourage and protect PTO. Our team genuinely likes hanging out with each other. We all truly want to see each other succeed. A Bainie never lets another bainie fail.

Cons

Literally cannot think of any cons. This is the best company I have EVER worked for.

Pros

people, work culture, dynamic environment

Cons

work hours, breadth of work

Pros

Welcome to Bain. I'm going to give you a problem that neither the CEO nor his entire management team could solve. And I'm probably going to give you lots of different opinions and imperfect data sources. And then I'll ask you to focus in on where the most value is and convince all those people with different opinions that you're right. But don't worry, I'm also going to give you a Bain team. Those associates and consultants are going to be tenacious in coming up with creative approaches. Those managers and partners are going to knock down barriers for you, connect you where you need to be connected, guide, support, direct and re-direct you. The office support staff is going to fix your computer after you spilled coffee on it for the third time, find you the unfindable data source, and smile and hand you a baked good after you ask for help re-doing dozens of slides. You are empowered and accountable but you are not alone. And the best part is you can't fail. Because after all, what all those people are reinforcing is that a Bainie never lets another Bainie fail.

Cons

Here's how you know you've made it at Bain. The reward for doing a good job is getting a bigger, tougher problem next time. Meaning, you are always solving the easiest problem you will ever solve again. This takes a lot of resilience and active managing of self-expectations to remember that you are not actually getting worse, the problems are just getting harder. So my advice is to remember that. And then take a second to realize that it would be a lot less fun if the reverse were true. And isn't that precisely why you wanted this job in the first place anyway? It sure was for me.

Pros

Incredibly fast learning, development opportunities, great coaching, wonderful people. Incredible place to get early-career training and development, amazing exit opportunities. Work with some of the smartest, nicest people you will eve rmeet

Cons

-Work-life balance is tough, and does not get better until you hit senior partner. Expect to work 55 hrs in the average week, up to 70 in bad ones - with extreme unpredictability based on client churn -No control over your staffing, which is THE key determinant of your entire experience -- day-to-day life, what you learn, how much you work, etc. etc. etc. Very different from somewhere like McKinsey, where you get much more freedom to define your career path based on interests / choice -Despite what they will have you believe, there are other jobs out there where you can find similar growth / pay, with a better lifestyle. Especially true at post-MBA level -Learnings / skillset becomes very consulting-focused after senior manager year -Compared to McKinsey and BCG, Bain is relatively 'cheap' -- no free lunches in office, limited perks, etc. ; not a huge deal but definitely jarring given the otherwise-similar nature of the firms

Pros

Incredible teammates and fun work. I really got the opportunity to own my projects and decide what I wanted to work on.

Cons

Can be a bit hierarchical.

Pros

Challenging environment with decent learning opportunities, people are great, and benefits are better than most other places

Cons

Long hours are unsustainable in some cases (especially if you have family/kids), a very hierarchical structure and culture with limited room for creativity, a very aggressive up-or-out culture with subjective reviews, and a lack of clear communication on expectations or 'what good looks like.' Finally, the feedback culture feels punitive vs. constructive.

Pros

Excellent learning and development opportunities

Cons

Long hours and always ramping on new topics

Pros

Working at Bain is truly a great experience. I have never met a group of people who are so intelligent and invested in the client work as well as your personal and professional growth.

Cons

As a client service company, the work-life balance is worse compared to other industries.

Pros

People, client relationships, learning/professional development and rewards

Cons

Professional services always has some work life balance challenges

Pros

Culture of constant improvement, and great personal development

Cons

Long work hours and some travelling