Banking screens technicals and process. Consulting screens a case and a story. Preparing one as if it were the other is the usual miss.
Last full pass: 24 August 2026.
Choose the path, then the prep
- Consulting vs investment banking — hours, pay shape, exit stories, what the interview actually is
- Consulting vs finance careers
- Consulting vs tech
If you are still on both tracks, keep two banks of prep. Do not skip PEI because you memorized WACC.
IB interview pages on this site
If consulting is still on the list
The case does not care that you can walk a three-statement model. Sit a consulting case and a why consulting answer that is not “I like IB but want lifestyle.”
Pay comparison belongs on the salary guide and your IB offer letter — not on a forum conversion of a first-year analyst bonus.