The people here are very supportive and they all want to see you move up within the company. You have to be proactive when it comes to finding a mentor (the company will not automatically set you up with one). You have to make an effort to talk to the partners, but if you do make the effort, then they definitely will give you a lot of advice.

The company is very tied to the economy. If the economy is doing well, then you will feel absolutely great at work. Your pay will increase, perks will increase, and employee morale is very high. During an economic downturn, you will get cut if you are one of the lower performing people. This is a very stressful job, but it is well worth it because the work that you do is amazing and the things that you will learn is unrivaled.

McKinsey is all about bringing value to clients and developing its consultants. We spend a lot of time developing our consultants through training, performance reviews, and mentoring. You will constantly feel challenged at McKinsey and feel that you always need to strive for more.

Coming out of MBA school, McKinsey was definitely my number one choice. I believe that most MBAs and now PhDs and MDs feel that way as well. In terms of the caliber of the people here, you will find that McKinsey only employs the cream of the crop. This firm is extremely tough to get into.

The growth in the company is up or out. If you prove that you can bring great things to the company and create great value, then you will immediately be rewarded for your hard work. If you do not perform well, or are just mediocre, then the company has no need for you and you will be removed from the company. This is good for me because I want to work with people who care about the company and that are able to bring value.

A lot of long hours, a lot of travel, lots of interesting and diverse work, and a group of very intelligent people. The travel is what almost burnt me out. I traveled Monday through Thursday, every week, for about 2 years. The good thing is that I hardly ever work weekends.

Most of the people that I meet at McKinsey are very nice and approachable. There is the occasional person on the team who has a large ego or who has an indifferent personality. I love the diversity in the office and the ability to constantly work with different people on different projects.

The work here is always challenging and exciting. Hours are pretty good with 50-60 hours a week depending on if you are traveling or not. Some DD projects can be done on weekends voluntarily, but is never forced. There's a lot of team work and problem solving. You will also get a lot of feedback from EMs, and you need to improve yourself appropriately.

I got paid $115,000 as a Associate Consultant with 20 days of paid vacations. Quite good.

The growth in McKinsey is up or out. You will be rewarded for the value that you create and your ability to perform well with the clients. If you underperform or just perform at par, you will be booted out of the company. The growth is good, but at times it feels like you get moved up when you had just gotten comfortable in a position.

The firm is all about giving feedback. Every time you work on a project, interact with a client, or finish a task, you will be given a full review and you will know exactly what you did right and what you can improve. Listening to the feedback is very important because if you take it in and demonstrate that you learned on your next project, then you will be immediately rewarded.

I am an Engagment Manager and am paid $150,000 with a %15 bonus at the end of the year. We get healthcare, company perks, and great company retreats. The training that we receive here is second to none.

I was promoted to an Associate in 2006 where I received a pay increase to $130,000 and an end of year bonus of $25,000.