Jumping ship from Tier 2 to a M&A advisory team at an accounting firm?

Hey WSO,

I currently work at a smaller firm in Europe that I would characterise as 2nd tier (think LEK, Simon Kucher, ZS associates) that does specific projects within healthcare (market access, pricing strategy, some commercial strategy etc.). I have been there 2 yrs and got promoted every year, made my mom and dad proud, but the work got boring.

I got an offer to jump ship to a small team focused on commercial due diligence, growth consulting within an M&A advisory team at an accounting firm (think BDO/Crowe Horwath/Grant Thornton). The workload is much more interesting as what I do now is quite niched, and I always wanted to focus on projects that consider the client's whole business or business unit (i.e. growth strategy). I also feel inclined towards shifting into investments further down the line for which being officially at an M&A team and having due diligence experience would help.

HOWEVER:
- I start at a lower position + with a pay cut (~15% cut in base) since I don't have direct experience in what they do
- The brand / name is not that strong (I think?) not making this a step up potentially
- I got first round interviews with BCG and Putnam Associates in a month or so, so it might be worth waiting to see how those turn out

Recruiter is sensing my hesitation and keeps telling me how hot CDD and growth is in healthcare and that I need to decide soon. I would definitely enjoy the work more but I feel that I am sacrificing too much considering what the offer is for, and I feel that I should risk and wait how BCG and Putnam turns out.

What do you guys think? I really want to move away from what I am doing now to something more pure commercial strategy, growth, due diligence.
Also, anyone have experiences to share on jumping ship from a lesser known consulting firm to something bigger and better?

Also this is my first post so pls be gentle, and any advice is much appreciated

Thanks!

The Pill Guy