I have an offer for a Financial Analyst position with BHP Billiton Petroleum and for an Analyst position with Alvarez and Marsal consulting. Both are 2 year programs that lead to automatic promotions. The money is the same for both, however, BHP has a much better benefits package. Both are in Houston, BHP (galleria) Alvarez (downtown). Working in oil, I will enjoy have 9/80's and having a good work-life balance. The position is a little more accounting based which sucks because I am a Finance major out of UT. They also sponsor an MBA education. Consulting- I will get more finance experience, will be traveling mon-thu (which is cool yet exhausting also), and I feel like the earnings potential in the future might be higher. I am not sure if they sponsor an MBA, but I do not think they would. My main concerns are, I really do want to get an MBA so BHP might be better since they cover some of the costs for it. My biggest concern is capping out at a certain salary. I want to end up making around 200k by the time I am 40 and I want to know which industry I will have a better shot at that considering my Finance degree from UT and a possible MBA later. Thoughts???? I have to give an answer in a couple hours.
I'd go BHP for early exposure to the oil industry, especially if you plan to stay in Houston for a while. If your goal is salary, MBA and some job hopping will do the trick.
You're probably in the clear but companies setup Google alerts just for stuff like this. Depends how proactive their HR is. You might want to remove the company names.
bhp, especially if they'll cover a portion of your MBA. should give you great exposure to the oil and gas industry on top of the fact that they are blowing and going... heavy expansion mode for that company.
BHP. Salaries and benefits are higher in this industry for the same job titles. Plus with MBA you can move up in various verticals within the company. You won't always be doing accounting.
BHP works their Finance Analysts to the bone, especially if you work close. It is, however, great experience and it gets your foot in the door for O&G. I hope you enjoy SAP.
I wouldn't choose a company because they'll partially cover the cost of an MBA. I'd recommend Alvarez and Marsal since you'll have a much more diverse experience. You'll be working on multiple cases, which will likely be very different, over the course of your two years. Meanwhile, at BHP, most of the work will likely be very "turn the crank" - FP&A work, and closing the books. Not my cup of tea, as it could get very monotonous. ...and I say this as someone with an EE degree and MBA from UT
I work in financial services, but did explore the consulting track while in b-school. Even interviewed with Alvarez - I think it's run by a bunch of ex KPMG/BearingPoint folks. Sounds like a decent gig coming out of undergrad, and will set you up nicely for b-school since your work experience will be so diverse. Honestly, doing FP&A for a Fortune 500 like BHP is not overly exciting. Good job coming out of school learning how to close the books, use ICE, etc. But don't expect a life-changing experience.
Well I know for MBA applications, especially for top 20 schools, they consider where you have been working for the past several years. Out of these two companies which do you think will boost my applications more.
I was a finance grad from UT ('07) and had an offer from Alvarez in Houston as well. I decided to go with a different consulting firm in Chicago, but everyone I met in the Alvarez office seemed really cool.
I'd go with BHP, kick ass, then go to a good MBA program (top 10-20) and you'll be making $200K within a couple years if not sooner Alvarez and marsal will give you a more diverse set of experiences, but isn't a premium name in consulting in my opinion. They're good, not great. Energy is a good place to be, by the way, given global megatrends
I would take Alvaraz as well. Pure corporate finance at these F500 companies can be quite dry. Would be different if you were in a corp. dev. team, but it doesn't sound like the case. Alvaraz will be a more dynamic workplace, you'll get all the perks of being a consultant (Comped meals, miles, hotel points, free flights to destinations of your choice on the weekend), and probably be better positioned for a MBA. I was a finance major at UT, BTW.
BHP in my opinion, especially if you have a demonstrated record of success you also need to top 720 or so on the GMAT get to work son
