Rank Companies by Prestige

openedskittles · 10-25-2009, 02:30 PM

There are lists that rank undergrad b-schools and MBA programs, but I consider your first job an extension of your education. Like your undergrad school, it plays a role in your application to graduate programs as well as your job offers and salary when you leave.

I don't know enough about this to do it alone and I'd like to see what you guys think. Let's show College Confidential who are the best IBanks, the best consulting firms, the best of the big 4, etc. and how they compare to each other for MBA admissions boosts and how good they look on your resume when applying for future jobs.

sp1212 · 10-25-2009, 03:36 PM

1.) IHOP
2.) Waffle House
...

openedskittles · 10-25-2009, 06:22 PM

Exactly what I was looking for. Good job, sp

hupkorea · 10-25-2009, 07:18 PM

well, it depends on how you define prestige. Generally, people like to equate the size of a firm (in terms of revenue) with 'prestige'. The same manner that high earning jobs (docs, certain lawyers, etc) are generally viewed as 'prestigious' professions by the society.

But if you would really like to see a quantified prestige ranking, the vault guides provide for it. My majors are finance and accounting, so I do happen to own top companies guide for banks, accounting and consulting firms. And here are their rankings (based on industry-wide survey. participants are not allowed to rank their own- or former employers):

2010 Rankings

rank / employers / prestige score (1=lowest, 10= highest)

BANKING
1 Goldman Sachs & Co. 8.519
2 The Blackstone Group 8.158
3 Morgan Stanley 7.696
4 J.P. Morgan Investment Bank 7.613
5 Lazard 7.382
6 Greenhill & Co. 7.183
7 Credit Suisse (Investment Banking Division) 6.868
8 Evercore Partners 6.752
9 Deutsche Bank AG 6.513
10 Rothschild 6.262
11 Barclays Capital 6.116
12 Perella Weinberg Partners 5.901
13 Moelis & Company 5.895
14 UBS Investment Bank 5.804
15 Houlihan Lokey 5.617
16 Jefferies & Company, Inc. 5.575
17 Citi Institutional Clients Group 5.399
18 HSBC Holdings 5.364
19 Wells Fargo & Company 5.277
20 Allen & Company Inc. 5.256

ACCOUNTING
1 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 7.813
2 Ernst & Young LLP 7.744
3 Deloitte LLP 7.613
4 KPMG LLP 7.129
5 Grant Thornton LLP 6.670
6 Moss Adams LLP 6.080
7 McGladrey & Pullen LLP/RSM McGladrey Inc. 6.014
8 Plante & Moran, PLLC 6.006
9 BDO Seidman LLP 5.989
10 Eisner LLP 5.833
11 J.H. Cohn LLP 5.688
12 Crowe Horwath LLP 5.536
13 Amper Politziner & Mattia, LLP 5.335
14 Larson Allen Weishar & Co. LLP 5.262
15 Cherry Bekaert & Holland LLP 5.199
16 Rothstein Kass 5.136
17 Virchow, Krause & Company LLP 5.103
18 Weiser LLP 5.083
19 Clifton Gunderson LLP 4.983
20 BKD, LLP 4.838

CONSULTING
1 McKinsey & Company 8.390
2 The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. 7.978
3 Bain & Company 7.874
4 Booz & Company 6.514
5 Deloitte Consulting LLP 6.107
6 Monitor Group 6.071
7 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (Consulting Practice) 5.998
8 Mercer LLC 5.947
9 Ernst & Young LLP (Consulting Practice) 5.914
10 Oliver Wyman 5.860
11 Accenture 5.711
12 IBM Global Business Services 5.668
13 KPMG LLP (Consulting Practice) 5.585
14 Towers Perrin 5.535
15 AlixPartners, LLP 5.529
16 A.T. Kearney 5.367
17 The Parthenon Group 5.259
18 Watson Wyatt Worldwide 5.192
19 L.E.K. Consulting 5.177
20 FTI Consulting, Inc. 5.026

student01 · 10-25-2009, 07:19 PM

Great list, hupkorea!

openedskittles · 10-25-2009, 11:27 PM

Exactly what I was looking for. Good job, hupkorea
(serious this time)

I had seen that ranking for law firms, but I was not aware it existed for these. This is great; very interesting.

ifailedcalculus · 10-26-2009, 05:27 AM

In the Banking ranking, I think The Blackstone Group is known for its private equity division. Also I believe BlackRock is a great Investment Management firm.

Great list.

tenebrousfire · 10-26-2009, 10:37 AM

yeah the consulting ranking is a little bit misleading because not all those companies are in the same space (some are strategy, some are implementation; some are human resources-focused, some are tech-focused, etc.)

and some of those entries are for multiple divisions of the same firm (mercer + oliver wyman, towers perrin + watson wyatt)

hupkorea · 10-26-2009, 06:08 PM

tenebrousfire, I agree with you.

The guide itself explains how these firms differ in practice areas, strengths, etc. Take these rankings as a general guideline on how the public perceives the firm, but nothing more.

So for instance, companies with a 7.5 or higher score would be considered the most selective and competitive in terms of employment opportunities and client base. That and that alone, does not necessarily make them "better".

tenebrousfire · 10-26-2009, 06:23 PM

yep, agreed

too bad there can't be an "impact" ranking of which firms really get stuff done

openedskittles · 10-28-2009, 06:21 PM

^That would be great, but it's pretty subjective. I like what tenebrousfire brought up. It's good to have the consulting firms all together, but it would also be nice to see them broken down by area.

openedskittles · 10-28-2009, 06:47 PM

Here's another couple of questions for those of you in the industry:

Where would you say are the significant cut-off points for prestige? For example, I know the big 4 are good for accounting and the top 3 are really awesome for consulting, but I don't know the secondary cut-offs in either or about ibanking.

How would you say the numbers scale between fields? For example, would you actually think more highly of someone for getting a job at PWC or E&Y than at Morgan Stanley?

tenebrousfire · 10-28-2009, 07:57 PM

lack of direct comparability means that there isn't really a big cutoff in consulting after the top 3

and then there's a difference in public vs. internal perception, too...

hupkorea · 10-28-2009, 08:32 PM

openedskittles. I see where you are coming from. But I am wary of answering a question like this. First, 'prestige' needs to be clearly defined. If you mean having a glamorous job with high earning potentials, you are probably right. But I think occupational prestige is not solely based on earning potential or brand names.

The highly glorified (which seem to equate 'prestige' in this discussion) jobs in a bank only really include I-banking, S&T and a few other divisions. So even if prestige meant nothing more than a high earning potential, you'd have to consider that most banks have operations, risk management teams and even (gasp) commercial banking division that do not make as much money as their I-banking counterparts!

I have plenty of respect for people who work at Morgan Stanley, regardless of what division they work in. Some people find IT or risk management fascinating and I think that's awesome. The fact they work at MS alone does not sway my opinion of them one way or the other.

Putting things into perspective, people at big 4 audit and tax services are some of the most talented and accomplished individuals in their respective industries. Lots of people choose careers in accounting/consulting for a variety of reasons, and most PwC and EY professionals are certainly not Goldman rejects that settled for less.

This is why I think you should be careful to say that one industry or profession is more 'prestigious' than another. A lot of people would be outraged to hear such statements, and rightfully so.

openedskittles · 10-28-2009, 10:20 PM

I apologize for the vagueness and realize there are talented people in each field.

What I meant was prestige for resume building purposes more than anything. If you were being hired for a corporate position vs. someone with similar accomplishments in a different company/field, who would be more likely to be called in for an interview? If you were applying for an MBA program, which would give you more of a boost? Also, I realize there are people who work for Goldman for dozens of positions that don't go to top grads, but for the sake of this comparison, we will assume they have all landed dream jobs for the industry.