This is a topic of interest to many people.
The data is from my own consulting experience, current consulting friends, and publicly available sources. They should be pretty close to the real numbers.
Two resources Ive found valuable are my site - Management Consulted - and wallstreetoasis.com
Here are the salary numbers.
First year out of undergraduate:
Base salaries: $50-65K Signing bonuses: $5-10K Relocation/moving expenses: $5-10K Year-end bonus: $5-10K
Thats an average of $70-75K in first year compensation. As a summer intern, you can expect a comparable, pro-rated salary (minus the bonuses). This does not include retirement contributions.
First year out of business school/MBA:
Base salaries: $110-140K Signing bonuses: $20-40K Relocation/moving expenses: $10-20K Year-end bonus: $20-40K depending on firm
Thats an average of $160-200K in first year compensation. This does not include retirement contributions.
Upward track through partner:
My numbers have a higher risk of being inaccurate as this is only from personal anecdotes, so if you have better information, please let me know.
Engagement manager/Project leader: $175-250K Associate principal/Senior project leader: $250-400K Partner/Principal: $500-800K Senior partner/Director: $1M plus At more senior levels the pay is increasingly performance-based
How consulting salaries lose to finance:
At almost every level of consulting, your salary will be 30-50% lower than a comparable position in investment banking. This is variable by year and median salaries in non-banking departments (such as research, asset management, sales & trading) are lower. But like I said in this post, consulting is not a profession to make big bucks.
How consulting firms try to make up the salary gap with finance:
Better benefits - healthcare, life insurance Retirement contributions - this one is important because at places like Boston Consulting Group, theyll contribute an added 5-10% of your base salary to your retirement funds, effectively a 5-10% year-end bonus! (A reader just informed me that his MBB retirement contribution starting fulltime in 09 was 4.5%, which is lower than Id seen in previous years) More generous expense/reimbursement policies, travel perks, etc
Hope you found that helpful. Good luck breaking into consulting.
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