Here are the companies which we have 2011 management consulting compensation data:
-A.T. Kearney
-Bain (post-MBA)
-BCG (undergraduate and post-MBA)
-Booz & Co (U.S. and Dubai)
-L.E.K. (post-MBA)
-McKinsey (undergraduate and post-MBA)
-Mercer (undergraduate and post-MBA; includes all areas – human capital, actuary)
-Oliver Wyman (Financial consulting)

This is for fulltime jobs that start in the Fall of 2011.

For A.T. Kearney…

Signing Bonus: $5,000
Base: $65,000
Performance Bonus: up to $13,000 (20% of base salary)
Profit Sharing: up to $6,500 (up to 10% of base depending on firm performance)
- – - – -
Total compensation: up to $89,500

Retirement & relocation: Firm matches 25% of your 401(k) contributions up to 6% of your pay. Relocation assistance depends on the distance between your office and your school residence. 0-50 miles = $3,000, 51-800 miles = $5,000, and 801+ miles = $10,000.

*Our source also noted that in their contract, A.T. Kearney explicitly states that the base salary will not be increased until January 2013, which is approximately 1.5 years after starting fulltime. Interesting!

Retirement Contribution: 10% of base + 5.7% of bonus

For Booz & Co in New York… (Dubai numbers in parenthesis; key difference is Dubai has no income taxes and a wonky housing market)

Signing Bonus: $10,000 (Dubai: $5,000)
Base: $60,000 (Dubai: $62,000)
Performance Bonus: up to $12,000/20% of base (Dubai: up to $9,300/15% of base)
Relocation/Housing Allowance: $5-15,000 (Dubai: $20,500 for housing + $5,000 for relocation)
- – - – -
Total compensation: up to $96,800

Retirement: $6,000/10% of base + up to $684/5.7% of bonus

For Boston Consulting Group…

Signing Bonus: $5,000
Base: $72,000
Performance Bonus: up to $16,200 (22.5% of base salary)
Profit Sharing Retirement Fund: up to $4,400 (expected to be 5% of sum of base salary and performance bonus)
- – - – -
Total compensation: up to $97,600

Retirement: BCG also contributes 15% of your base + bonus into your 401(k) retirement account, with $0 required contribution.

For Mercer…

Signing Bonus: DNK
Base: $60,000 based on 40 hour work week
Performance Bonus: no bonus, instead paid time and a half for all hours over $40 = approximately $45/hour
- – - – -
Total compensation: Variable

Retirement & relocation: DNK

For McKinsey…

Signing Bonus: $5,000
Base: $75,000
Housing: $5,000
Performance Bonus: none for BAs
- – - – -
Total compensation: $85,000

Retirement & relocation: 12% of total annual compensation

For Oliver Wyman (Financial Consulting)…

Signing Bonus: $10,000
Base: $75,000
Performance Bonus: up to $15,000 (20% of base salary) for your first year, and 40% of base salary for your second year (guaranteed)
- – - – -
Total compensation: $100,000

Retirement: Do not know about 401(k) contributions or retirement funds.

*Our source also shared that Bain’s numbers are very similar, a total of approximately $97K take-home in your first year, including the signing bonus

Some more niche roles…

• Accenture Systems Integration: $66,500 base + $1,500 relocation expenses
• Deloitte Consulting Human Capital: $70,000 base + $10,000 signing bonus
• Deloitte Consulting BTA (IT Consulting): $70,000 base + $10,000 signing bonus
• Milliman Actuarial Consulting: $60,000 + bonus of up to 25% of base

For Bain…

Signing Bonus: $20,000
Base: $125,000
Performance Bonus: up to $39,000 for your first year
- – - – -
Total compensation: $184,000

Retirement: 401(k) contribution up to $7,400

According to my Bain post-MBA source:

Deloitte’s offers were very similar, except they had MUCH higher signing bonuses ($40k + $10k for signing early + pay for 2nd year of b-school). This was for folks who interned there, so the latter two parts of the bonus might not apply otherwise.

That means Deloitte covered your second year of bschool tuition for signing – wow!

For BCG…

Signing Bonus: $20,000
Base: $135,000
Performance Bonus: up to $40,000 for your first year
Relocation: $2-5,000 depending on distance
- – - – -
Total compensation: at least $197,000

Retirement: up to $9,000/5% of bonus+salary is put into retirement fund, no contributions required

Our source also noted that project leaders at BCG (approximately 2-3 years out of bschool) were paid $185,000 base.

For L.E.K….

Signing Bonus: $25,000
Base: $135,000
Performance Bonus: up to $25,000 for your first year
Relocation: $5,000
- – - – -
Total compensation: at least $190,000

Retirement and profit sharing: up to $30,000 (not sure of split between 2)

For McKinsey…

Signing Bonus: $20,000
Base: $125,000
Performance Bonus: up to $40,000 for your first year
Relocation: $2-5,000 depending on distance
- – - – -
Total compensation: at least $187,000

Retirement: up to $19,000/12% of bonus+salary is put into retirement fund, no contributions required

Please note that BCG and McKinsey post-grad/MBA salaries are almost identical, despite McKinsey having a $10K lower base due to a $10K higher retirement contribution.

For Mercer…

Signing Bonus: DNK
Base: $85,000
Performance Bonus: up to $17,000/20% of base
- – - – -
Total compensation: at least $102,000 (does not include signing bonus)

Retirement & relocation: DNK

Some perspective

Compared to 2008 consulting salary levels, it’s about a 25-30% increase over 3 years…which is actually somewhat muted given the poor economy over the past few years.

I would love to share compensation data if you have it for other firms/seniority levels. I will directly update this post as they come in. Thanks in advance!

What do you guys think – is this fair compared to other careers and industries? It still lags banking pretty significantly…

Consultant salaries is a topic many readers are dying to learn more about.

I’ve gathered the data from my own experience, consulting colleagues, and public sources. They won’t be 100% accurate but should be pretty close.

One resource I’ve found valuable is the Consulting forums at WallStreetOasis.

First year out of undergraduate:

• Base salaries: $50-65K
• Signing bonuses: $5-10K
• Relocation/moving expenses: $5-10K
• Year-end bonus: $5-10K depending on firm.

That’s an average of $70-75K in first year consulting pay. As a summer intern, you can expect a comparable, pro-rated salary minus bonus. 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.

That’s an average of $160-200K in total first year consulting pay. Again, consulting summer interns should expect a pro-rated portion minus bonus. This does not include retirement contributions. My original estimates were a bit lower, but have been adjusted upward based on emails and the comments below.

Progression 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, email me or comment below

• Engagement manager/Project leader: $175-250K
• Associate principal/Senior project leader: $250-400K
• Partner/Principal: $500-800K
• Senior partner/Director: $1M plus

Senior consultant salaries becomes increasingly variable and performance-based

How consulting salaries lose to finance:

At almost every level, 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 than in banking. But as mentioned in the consulting versus banking post, consulting is not a profession to make big bucks.

How consulting firms compensate for the lower salaries:

• Better benefits – healthcare, life insurance, etc
• Retirement contributions – this one is important because at MBB, they’ll 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 I’d seen in previous years)
• More generous expense/reimbursement policies, travel perks, etc