The process consists of four phases:
- First phone interview with HR (30min). This is the classic discussion of why BCG Gamma, who they are, what are your expectations, what you have done and so on. Do not expect to hear more beyond the memorized HR pitch.
- Home task
- Day at the office where you applied. You will be interviewing with data scientists and present your home task. In addition, interviews with regular strategy consultants, here you will go through the classic business cases and everything else that an applicant for a management consulting role goes through.
- Day at the office in Paris (Europe office for BCG Gamma) having sessions with 3 partners from Gamma.
Overall, the process is disappointing. It is time consuming as one has to prepare for interviews on data science and management consulting. The salaries are significantly lower than in the industry (for experienced hires). Moreover, you are expected to have the same lifestyle as a regular strategy consultant (travel 80%, longer hours, intensive projects and tight deadlines) but without the perks (no financial support and time allowance to get a MBA or PhD, no sabbatical, etc). Similarly, it seems data scientists do not have the same standing within the organization as regular consultants.
An impression I got repeatedly is that Data Science is being demanded by clients and BCG has to offer it as part of their product portfolio to not be left behind. This is also reflected on the type of projects they do (everything) and a philosophy that domain knowledge on the problem at hand is irrelevant. Similarly, do not expect that your work will go live and be used in production by the client. The focus is on proof of concepts.
Summary: If you are a recent grad, want to do data science but are unsure on the industry or on the type of data scientist you would like to be, and you are ok with the consulting lifestyle(read about it, it is not glamorous). Then, Gamma might be for you. BCG is a good name on the CV and it can open you some doors (e.g., be permanently hired by one of your clients). Yet, remember that BCG has no strong reputation in the data science world. Experienced candidates should be aware that they can command a higher salary and have a better lifestyle elsewhere. For those keen on data science consulting, then freelancing is a better option.