I joined Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a 22-year-old college graduate with the ambition to work for change. Unfortunately, along with many of my peers, I fell for the allure of well-tailored slogans and glittering credentials, which obscured the unambitious conformity and moral bankruptcy of the safe management-consulting path.
Every fall on elite campuses, students compete for selective consulting roles at McKinsey, BCG, and Bain—the “Big Three.” These firms offer high compensation, rapid career progression, and the promise of intellectually stimulating work. As a senior at Vanderbilt University, I found this pitch compelling and prepared rigorously for the interview process. My efforts paid off when I received an offer from BCG.
In my first days on the job, I traveled to Atlanta for training and found myself at a dinner table full of polished young people….
