The truth behind management consulting salaries: from analyst thru partner

I have a LLB and BL and a certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). I also have a certificate in computer (data processing) and an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Secretarial Studies with 10 years working experience. What is my fate with management consulting and how much would I earn?

I’m an undergrad and just received an offer with Deloitte S&O for 70K + 10K bonus.  I have no real work experience, but a 3.9 at a top 5 public school.

My sister’s husband just got
promoted to an EM (engagement manager) at McKinsey New York office after
working two years as an associate (he received his MBA from MIT). He
told me that his base salary for EM  is $200k and that the bonus can be
up to $100k per year!

Also, my sister’s husband told me that McKinsey and BCG love to hire Rhodes Scholars! Rhodes Scholars usually have the highest base salary in any consulting level mentioned above. He said he met a Rhodes Scholar who went to McKinsey after his PhD at Oxford, and the Rhodes Scholar’s first-year McKinsey associate starting salary is 140k + 60k bonus!

Wow! As a seemingly underpaid engineer I am curious!!! I am currently employed as a design engineer at a top aerospace co. pursuing a PhD in Industrial Engineering (BSME, MSSE) and I am interested in making the switch to management consulting. I have 7+ years in industry leading problem solving engineering teams in a production environment. Does anyone have an idea what I would be looking at as a starting salary with a PhD? Would my background or skillset even be attractive to a big firm?

Also to clarify, I went to a top tier non ivy undergrad (think Uchicago, MIT, Stanford, Hopkins), no consulting experience, engineering major, GPA between 3.0-3.5. I think the salaries listed are very accurate. 

hi Kevin, I am another case of mid-career (10 years of marketing analytics experience in Retail and Banking) switch into management consulting. I applied McKinsey Asia office — marketing specialist, and was scheduled a informational interview next week. My question:
1) Is career path of marketing specialist completely different from Associate?
2) How much is experienced specialist paid comparing to associate?
Thanks!

MBA’s at Deloitte make six figures, no doubt. For those who perform it should take no longer than three years to go from Sr. Consultant to Manager.

I have been a legitimate entreprenuer over the last 14 years…(several companies in several states at the same time including a health club I opened while still an economics undergrad).  I have created, built, competed with, and sold several very profitable companies and I know a tremendous amount about long term and short term planning.  Honestly, I intimately know a significant amount about nearly every aspect of business with the exception of aspects particular to publicly held companies. Can anyone tell me: 1.) what sort of fit I might be as a management/strategy consultant, 2.)how I might introduce myself..and 3.) what I might expect to be paid considering my work history is unique compared to most other applicants.  Briefly: undergrad degree econ, 14 years entreprenuerial experience..ranging from construction to health services.  I am a team player and honestly I enjoy helping businesses become better.  

I am very interested in switching careers to management consulting. I have a Bachelor in Business Administration and a Masters of Science in Finance both from the University of Michigan with GPA around 3.6. 

I have over 7 years of professional experience. 5 years Business Banking/Relationship Management with JP Morgan Chase Bank and 2 years as an Auditor in a financial regulations agency. 

I am interested to know what my expectations should be and what options do I have. I read about your products and they seem promising, but I would like to hear your advice. 

Thanks

I’m pondering all this; not because it affects me personally, but indirectly, yes. I’ve been talking to a lot of people that KNOW consulting businesses from the lesser known to the very top tier firms, and the common complaint of these managers/partners@2edc739560272374e2f508e41c4c0100:disqus Ris that many of the new consultants no matter what college they received their MBA’s from still don’t have the know-how to help other companies and businesses to increase their productivity at the most economical cost and expenditure of resources. They know the glossary, the jargon, but have no instincts and lack communication/confidence and people-skills. I do know some consultants that not only have the academic education, but have natural instincts in addition to know-how which come from working in the field experiences, really properly suited internship experiences, and having a record of great work experience in the form of problem resolution and innovative ideas that  have been implemented in actuality. In addition, and so important, a strong and credible work ethic.  I think a resume should have some way of depicting “elbow-grease” as a skill, as those that demonstrate this usually will do exceedingly well; yes, it sometimes boils down to natural born ability and leadership ability…and it’s really a necessity to be able to market. Consultants like those are
far and few between; you can think you’ll land a good one based on GPA’s and fancy lines on a resume but this jus isn’t reality. It’s no surprise that poor candidates get into great consulting firms but while there take up time and space continuing to spin their
wheels.

I tend to agree with Ryan, after all he worked for a top tier firm. Yes, I can’t imagine newly hired consultants unless they really showed a lot of promise from the first round interview will be making past 75K’s to start. However, if I found a candidate whose resume was sincerely authentic with a proven track record and with a brilliance beyond GMAT/GPA scores they’d be worth their weight in gold to me. And, I’d check for work ethic (elbow grease, having walked the extra mile type) as well. Personally, and I’ve seen this quite often, it’s becoming the standard; don’t any company be fooled thinking that your BEST is coming out of the top 10 B-schools. I’m imploring HR’s to continue to investigate and invest in grads that have attended “lesser” praised programs. I’ve known several Harvard, Wharton, MIT, UofC become quite lacklustre in performance at their respective firms as well as fizzle out completely. 

Hi, Does anyone have an idea about hierarchy /salaries at Kurt Salmon in NY. I have an interview coming up soon. I have  10+ yrs experience. Much appreciate any help.

Hello Everyone,

 I’m an MD/MBA and graduated from a top medical school, who’s currently in his last year of residency in Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins. I truly enjoy the science and practice of medicine. However, as an MBA and a person who’s traveled extensively, I enjoy the art of business and developing strategies to streamline efficiency. Plus the pay aint bad! Ideally, I see myself as a CEO of a Hospital while still practicing medicine 1day/week (For those of you who do not know, this is a developing trend for MD/MBAs who chose the Hospital admin. route)  Avg big city hospital CEO salaries for clinics pulling in 2Bill+ in revenue/yr  is btwn 800k-1.5m.

My question is this: If I were offered a position at McK&Co, and stayed for 1-2yrs, which seems to be the average turnover rate, how would my experience accumulated in that time, reflect in my ambitions?

I’m a bit worried about the paycut for those 2 years, as it would be substantial, since I have an offer to join a group in the Midwest for 350K with 6weeks paid vacation!!!…and I’m TIRED of my peanuts GME (residency) salary!!!

Or, should I simply stay within the Hospital framework and work my way up through managerial/supervisory positions?

Essentially, would the prestige of working at McK&Co accelerate my desire to become a Hosptial CEO faster?….do I have this ass backwards? I’m 33 years old now and I want to run that ship by age 45.

Any insight is appreciated…sorry for the mini novel.

Libra1982/Acechaser4: I’m assuming you’re right about Tech/IT consulting salaries as well as the financial advisory services sections at the Big 4.  And in at least one or two of the four firms, that may be the only services they provide.  

However, I assure you that Deloitte Consulting, despite its categorization as a “Big 4,” plays in the same field as what is described in the post.  They compete directly against MBB for post-MBA hires at the top schools and therefore pay accordingly.  In some cases, they offer additional compensation to overcome the lower perceived prestige vs. MBB.  Also, given PwC’s recent M&A in the strategy consulting realm and recruiting on certain campuses, I’d expect they also compete to some degree for these kids.

In summary, you’re right to distinguish the strategy consulting folks from the tech consulting folks and the “financial advisory” folks, but the salaries above are reflective of the strategy consultant folks at these firms based on my personal experience and second hand discussions with friends.

I am pretty much in the same boat as you are except the residency part. I too want to play a strategy designing role in healthcare. I am looking to spend a few years in the consulting industry post mba, to acquire an out of the box picture of the industry and of strategy/management in general. I think such exposure would certainly prove useful to your career, in a 10yr time frame.

That degree may have ruined things for you.  It alerts firms that you are on a suboptimal track…that you made a poor decision to do an unappreciated quasi degree.  Your choices reflect your reality. 

Wow, he’s really trying to change the stereotype about bankers.