We’re starting 2013 off with everyone’s favorite topic – consulting salaries! We’ve been compiling data on management consulting salaries now for 3 years. What have we seen? Total compensation packages holding steady in 2011 and 2012 with some slight increases in 2013 (finally – and lucky for you soon-to-be grads!). Base salary for a new MBA at Accenture rose from $132K to $135K, for instance, with a corresponding increase in signing bonus from $33K to $35K. Overall, management consulting continues to be a lucrative field for new undergrads, MBA, interns, and PhDs.
Below we share with you data on salaries from sources with offers starting in 2013 from the following firms:
-Accenture
-A.T. Kearney
-Bain
-Booz & Co
-BCG
-Deloitte
-Ernst & Young
-IBM
-Infosys
-KPMG
-L.E.K.
-McKinsey
-Mercer
-Oliver Wyman
-PwC
-ZS Associates
These are estimates for full-time jobs that start in the Fall of 2013. If our figures don’t sync with your personal experience, we want to hear from you, and so does our MC community. Add your comments at the end of the post with as much detail as you can share. Everything from base salaries and performance bonuses to retirement figures and interesting perks (like a BMW for new hires at ATK Germany!).
Most of our data is for U.S. offices, but many of our readers are located around the globe — in Singapore, India, South Africa, western and eastern Europe, and Asia Pacific. If you are working in another part of the world at a major consulting firm, we’d love to hear from you too! All of our data is posted anonymously, so feel free to post a comment below or share with us by email.
= = = = = First year out of undergraduate = = = = =
For Accenture…
Signing Bonus: $8,000 (Canada: $10,000)
Base: $70,000 (Canada: $68,000)
Relocation: $2,000
Performance Bonus: up to 10%
– – – – –
Total compensation: up to $85,000
Retirement: Match 6% for 401k
Tuition reimbursement: Available for MBA interns who go back full time, up to $50,000.
For A.T. Kearney…
Signing Bonus: $5,000 (Toronto: $5,000)
Base: $65,000 (Toronto: $70,000)
Relocation: $5-$10,000 (Toronto: $3-$10,000)
Performance Bonus: $9,750, up to 15% of base salary (Toronto: up to 20% of base salary)
Profit Sharing: $6,500, up to 10% of base depending on firm performance
– – – – –
Total compensation: up to $86,250
Retirement: Match 6% for 401k
For Bain…
Signing Bonus: $5-7,000
Base: $70-75,000
Relocation: $2-$8,000
Performance Bonus: up to $15,000 (20% of base salary) for your first year
– – – – –
Total compensation: $90,000 +
Retirement: 401k contribution of 4.5% of base + bonus, no contribution required.
For Booz & Co…
Signing Bonus: $5,000
Base: $72,000
Relocation: $5-15,000
Performance Bonus: up to $14,400/20% of base
– – – – –
Total compensation: up to $91,400
Retirement: $7,200/10% of base + up to $820/5.7% of bonus
For Boston Consulting Group…
Signing Bonus: $5,000 (Canada: $5,000) (Aus: $15,000)
Base: $72,000 (Canada: $72,500) (Aus: $64,900) (Germany: €65,000)
Relocation: $2-$8,000 (Germany: €3-€10,000)
Performance Bonus: up to $16,200 (22.5% of base salary)
Profit Sharing: up to $4,400 + 15% of salary and bonus contributed to 401k
– – – – –
Total compensation: up to $97,600
Retirement: 15% of your base + bonus into your 401k, with employee contribution required.
For Deloitte…
Signing Bonus: $10,000 (Canada: $3,000) (NZ: $2,000)
Base: $72,500 (Canada: $60,000) (NZ: $44,000) (UK: £34,500) (Germany: €45,000)
Relocation: DNK
Performance Bonus: DNK (UK: up to 5% for 1st year analysts)
– – – – –
Total compensation: $82,500 +
Retirement: Match 6% for 401k
For Ernst & Young…
Signing Bonus: $5,000
Base: $68,000
Relocation: $1,000 (2,000 miles +)
Performance Bonus: up to $2,000
– – – – –
Total compensation: $75,000 +
Retirement: 2.5% total compensation contributed to 401k
For KPMG…
Signing Bonus: rare
Base: $60,000, annual raise of 5-10% after first year
Relocation: can be negotiated
Performance Bonus: $3-$7,200
– – – – –
Total compensation: $
Retirement: DNK
For McKinsey…
Signing Bonus: $5,000 (Canada: $6,000)
Base: $70,000 (Canada: 70,000) (Germany: €65,000)
Housing: $5,000
Relocation: up to $3,000 (Germany: €3-€10,000)
Performance Bonus: none for BAs
– – – – –
Total compensation: $80,000
Retirement: 12% of total annual compensation (Canada: $10,000 to RRSP)
For L.E.K.…
Signing Bonus: $7,500
Base: $73,000
Relocation: $2,500
Performance Bonus: Worldwide bonus up to $14,600/20% of base
– – – – –
Total compensation: Up to $97,600
For Mercer…
Signing Bonus: DNK
Base: $60,000 based on 40 hour work week
Relocation: DNK
Performance Bonus: no bonus, instead paid time and a half for all hours over 40
– – – – –
Total compensation: Variable
Retirement: DNK
For IBM Global Business Services, Canada…
Signing Bonus: $5,000
Base: $60,000
Relocation: $3,000
Performance Bonus: up to 12% of base
– – – – –
Total compensation: up to $75,200
Retirement: 4% pension matching
For Oliver Wyman…
Signing Bonus: $10,000 (Canada: $10,000)
Base: $75,000 (Canada: $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: DNK
For PwC…
Signing Bonus: $3-5,000
Base: $65,000 (Canada: $55,000)
Relocation: included in signing bonus
Performance Bonus: 10-15% first year, increases each year (Canada: 5-15% discretionary)
– – – – –
Total compensation: $74,500 +
For ZS Associates…
Signing Bonus: $5,500 (Canada: $5,000)
Base: $60,000 (Canada: $75,000)
Relocation: $4,000 (Canada: $2,500)
Performance Bonus: 1st year average $6,000 (Canada: 1st year capped at 10% then removed)
– – – – –
Total compensation: 71,500 +
Retirement: Match 3% for 401k
Here are a few more pre-MBA consulting salaries in EMEA:
- For BCG in Amsterdam: €45,000 base, up to 15% bonus, €3,000 moving allowance
- For Bain in Amsterdam: €42,000 base, up to 25% bonus, €4,000 moving allowance
- For Booz in Amsterdam: €48,000 base, up to 15% bonus
- For M/B/B in Spain: €30-35,000
- For Deloitte and PwC in Spain: €20-25,000
- For McKinsey Research Analyst in Poland: €22,000 base
- For McKinsey Consultant in Poland: €50,000 base
- For Deloitte Consultant in Poland: €43-45,000 base
- For Deloitte/PwC Manager in Poland: €67,000 base
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Learn More= = = = = First year out of MBA/grad programs = = = = =
For Accenture…
Signing Bonus: $35,000
Base: $135,000
Relocation: $8,000
Performance Bonus: up to $43,500
– – – – –
Total compensation: at least $170,000
Retirement: DNK
Tuition reimbursement: up to $80,000 ($50,000 after taxes)
For A.T. Kearney Germany (MSc, not MBA)…
Signing Bonus: DNK
Base: €65,000 (PhD: €80,000)
Relocation: €3-€10,000
Performance Bonus: €6,500-€9,750 (PhD: €16,000)
– – – – –
Total compensation: €71,500 + (PhD: €76,000 +)
Retirement: 401k contribution up to $8,000
Auto: BMW 3 series, Audi A4, or Mercedes C-class
For Bain…
Signing Bonus: $20,000
Base: $135,000
Performance Bonus: up to $35,000 for your first year
– – – – –
Total compensation: $184,000
Retirement: 401k contribution up to $8,000
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
Down the road: Project leaders at BCG (approximately 2-3 years out of B-school) were paid $185,000 base.
For Deloitte…
Signing Bonus: $35,000 (Canada non-MBA: $5,000)
Base: $135,000 (Canada non-MBA: $70,000)
Performance Bonus: DNK
Relocation: $0-10,000 depending on distance (e.g. new hire who moved 200 miles was given $5,000)
– – – – –
Total compensation: at least $165,000
Retirement: monthly retirement fund portion match, year-end 10% retirement fund contribution
For Ernst & Young…
Signing Bonus: $20,000
Base: $120,000
Performance Bonus: DNK
– – – – –
Total compensation: at least $140,000
Retirement: DNK
For Infosys…
Signing Bonus: $20,000
Base: $117,000
Relocation: $3,000 non-discretionary relocation (reimbursement for movers/storage)
Performance Bonus: DNK
– – – – –
Total compensation: $140,000 +
Retirement: DNK
For KPMG:
Signing Bonus: DNK
Base: $130,000
Performance Bonus: DNK
Relocation: DNK
– – – – –
Total compensation: $130,000 +
Retirement & profit sharing: DNK
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 & profit sharing: up to $30,000
For McKinsey…
Signing Bonus: $20,000
Base: $135,000
Performance Bonus: up to $35,000 for your first year
Relocation: $2-9,000 depending on distance
– – – – –
Total compensation: at least $192,000
Retirement: up to $20,400/12% of bonus + salary is put into retirement fund, no contributions required
BCG and McKinsey post-grad/MBA salaries are almost identical — although McKinsey has a $10K lower base, they also have 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: DNK
= = = = = Summer Internships = = = = =
Summer internships range from a short 10-week period (par for the course in the U.S.) to a longer 16-week period (more popular in Canada and EMEA). The below are monthly salary figures for the internship, unless otherwise noted:
A.T.Kearney: $11,000
Accenture MBA: $11,000 + $4,000 relocation
BCG: $12,500
BCG MBA: $12,500
Bain: $11,500
Deloitte: $11,500 + $2,500 joining bonus
IMS: $11,000 + bonus
L.E.K.: $11,000
McKinsey: $10,500
Parthenon Group MBA: $35,000, includes base + bonus (for 16 weeks)
PwC: $27.50/hour + overtime (and 1 week trip to Disney World) (MBA rate $60/hr)
ZS Associates: $11,000
Some perspective
Compared to 2011 and 2012 consulting salary levels–when the compensation data was fairly flat, hiring numbers were depressed, and competition for top talent from other industries (including Banking) was weak–we’re seeing some pickup in 2013. Many firms had higher targets going into fall recruiting and have offered slightly increased base salaries and signing bonuses.
Major acquisitions in 2012 have made some waves that will affect current and future hires in the consulting industry. Deloitte acquired a bankrupt Monitor and seems to be rising in the ranks in terms of attracting top candidates. IBM announced the acquisition of Kenexa, marking the company’s move into the global talent management market (catching up with SAP’s SuccessFactors and Oracle’s Taleo). Infosys purchased the Swiss firm Lodestone Holding AG and PwC bought Ant’s Eye View, a boutique social media strategy development and consulting firm. Accenture made several acquisitions in 2012, buying Singapore-based Newspage, marketing-focused firm avVenta Worldwide, Nokia Siemens Networks IPTV business, and Octagon Research Solutions in the pharma space.
Though these were dazzling and created ripples in our proud pond, no consulting acquisition made the news quite like Disney’s $4B purchase of Lucasfilm, one of the most momentous buys of 2012. (Sorry, we just had to throw that in there!)
As always, we want to share compensation data for as many firms, regions, and seniority levels as we can. If you’re a new hire for 2013, you can help us do that. Add your comment below or send us an email.
Have questions about compensation in management consulting? Curious about how your salary stacks up to consultants at other firms, in other regions, or in other industries? Leave your feedback below or email us.