4 Questions with a senior manager at Bain on navigating career growth
4 Questions with a senior manager at Bain on navigating career growth
Joaquin Romero, a senior manager from Bain & Company’s Atlanta office, shares his unique journey from engineering to consulting. His story highlights how early international experiences, continuous learning, and a passion for problem-solving helped shape his dynamic career path.
1. How did early experiences shape your career?
At the age of 17, I moved from my medium-sized town in Argentina to Buenos Aires, where I studied industrial engineering. My first experience away from my hometown was a difficult adjustment. It was a new environment that required developing a new study schedule and trying to make new friends while being away from family. Eventually, I began to adapt and learned how to be fully independent. I also made friends who quickly became more like family, and we are still close to this day.
Fast forward, an experience of a lifetime was presented to me to participate in a six-month student exchange program in Belgium, which would not affect my grades but would delay my graduation. I decided it was worth the trade-off and embarked on my first international experience. I could honestly say that it was mind-blowing. I lived on campus, met many individuals from diverse cultures, traveled around Europe, and made more lifelong memories.
2. How did your career progress after that?
After the program ended, I returned to Argentina, got my engineering degree and took on a new role working for Toyota in performance improvement. I loved seeing how the concepts learned in school were materialized in real life, but I can honestly say that the hours were grueling. I started to think about pursuing a master’s degree in finance while working full-time. My work-life balance did not improve, but this opened more opportunities at the organization, including product management roles with more flexibility.
3. What was your journey to Bain?
After a few years, I worked in Mercado Libre and decided to continue my education and moved to the U.S. to pursue an MBA at Harvard Business School. The first six months were very difficult. I was a non-native English speaker, recruiting for a job in consulting and adjusting to the case method.
It was through the MBA program that I found Bain and became a Summer Intern. Around then, the world shut down due to COVID-19, and I had to decide whether to go back to Argentina to spend the lockdown with my family. I chose to stay in the U.S., because I wanted to prioritize my relationship with my then-girlfriend and now-wife. We moved to Atlanta with her family during the pandemic and that’s where I joined Bain full-time after completing my MBA.
4. How do you reflect on your career journey so far?
Throughout my journey, I faced several important life decisions. One of the questions I like to ask myself is if you’ll regret not doing it in 10-20 years. If the answer is yes, then just go for it. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to life; it’s all about figuring things out along the way and pursuing your dreams.
Read more career stories to learn what it’s like to work at Bain.
Explore opportunities at Bain to start your own journey of growth and development.
