cbreeze wrote:
Do you have an admit yet ?
I would pick the present WE over bartending because your future employer will decide your starting salary based on your previous WE. A close friend just graduated from Chicago said the salary offers he and his classmates received varied quite a bit, depending on prior WE. Even though 12K means a lot now, but your future starting salary may be as much as 20-50K lower.
I'd love to talk to this person. I've heard the exact opposite. What you make seems completely independent of WE. Especially in areas of Consulting or IB. I think there may be some more leway when it comes to firms hiring 2 or 3 people who are smaller and more of a niche focus - if you bring something different to the table - but otherwise, from what I hear, it's X and X and X and X no matter what you did before.
Of course, that doesn't explain the HUGE variation in salaries you see when it comes to the employment reports. There are lows of like $50K and highs of $150K. I don't know how that happens, but I'm guessing that the high numbers are people who are coming sponsored and going back, or otherwise individuals with substantially - eg 12 years exp vs 4 years - more experience.
It's actually a question I plan on asking this weekend at the admit weekend.