One of the best firms in the world - a place where you'll love what you do and laugh a lot. - Associate Consultant Bain & Company Employee Review

5.0
Nov 23, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Bain is a highly successful firm, so firstly, the opportunities to gain professional business experience are second-to-none. Personal development is a priority, so you learn a lot quickly - and training is awesome (and fun). It is a truly global firm, and from the get-go, there are opportunities to build friendships with friends globally - and you will, since Bainies are very diverse but in unity a 'friendly bunch'. Even as employees 'at the bottom of the hierarchy', you're made to feel personally valuable. This reflects in the flexibility, opportunities and work. The superlatives continue elsewhere too (amazing offices, events, perks, tech, externships, flexible promotion, transfers (especially) etc.)

Cons

Everyone at the firm is exceptional and the work is often stressful. always demanding. Naturally it's constantly challenging to keep at the pace. It can feel perhaps too cliquey at times. Travel can be rough (though you're generally treated well) - although probably less so than at big competitors due to an office-driven staffing model. This does mean that you'll likely have a mostly random experience of cases though - ACs have little influence over what cases they're assigned to, and inevitably some 'lose out'.

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5.0
Jun 23, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great culture, amazing people, and a place to learn and grow

Cons

Long hours and high stress environment

5.0
Oct 5, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

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.

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Bain & Company Response
9y
You have captured the essence of what it means to work here! Thanks for sharing your experience.
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