2012 Management Consulting Salaries – Undergraduate, MBA, Interns, and More

We know this an important topic to you – we get tons of comments and emails from our readers wanting to know our updated numbers for consulting salaries.  Here, we’ve compiled data on management consultant salaries from sources with offers starting in 2012 from the following firms:

-Accenture (undergraduate and post-MBA)
-A.T. Kearney (undergraduate U.S. and Canada)
-Bain (undergraduate and post-MBA)
-BCG (undergraduate and post-MBA)
-Booz & Co (undergraduate)
-Deloitte (undergraduate and post-MBA)
-Ernst & Young (post-MBA)
-Infosys (post-MBA)
-L.E.K. (post-MBA)
-McKinsey (undergraduate and post-MBA)
-PwC (undergraduate)
-Mercer (undergraduate and post-MBA; includes all areas – human capital, actuary)
-Oliver Wyman (financial consulting and Dubai undergraduate)

We also included data on 2012 summer internships for those of you still a year out from full-time hire.  The consulting firms we have data on for summer internships are:

-McKinsey
-Bain
-BCG
-Deloitte
-A.T.Kearney
-IMS
-PwC
-ZS Associates

Where it’s not otherwise stated, the salaries are for U.S. offices and are in USD.  Again – want to weigh in on how things are in different parts of the world?  All our data is posted anonymously, so feel free to post a comment below or share by email.

= = = = = First year out of undergraduate = = = = =

For Deloitte…

Signing Bonus: $10,000
Base: $70,000
Performance Bonus: DNK
– – – – –
Total compensation: $80,000 +
Retirement & relocation: monthly retirement fund portion match, year-end 10% retirement fund contribution

For Accenture (MCDP)…
Signing Bonus: $2-5,000
Base: $58-70,000
Performance Bonus: up to $5,000
– – – – –
Total compensation: $65,000 +
Retirement & relocation: Relocation $1,500 and up based on distance

For A.T. Kearney…(Canada figures in parentheses)
Signing Bonus: $5,000 (Canada: $5,000)
Base: $65,000 (Canada: $70,000)
Performance Bonus: $9,750 (up to 15% of base salary) (Canada: $14,o00 – up to 20% of base salary)
Profit Sharing: up to $6,500 (up to 10% of base depending on firm performance)
– – – – –
Total compensation: up to $86,250
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: 51-800 miles = $5,000, and 801+ miles = $10,000.  (Canada: Relocation $3,000-$10,000)

For Bain…
Signing Bonus: $5-7,000
Base: $70-75,000
Performance Bonus: up to $15,000 (20% of base salary) for your first year
– – – – –
Total compensation: $90,000 +
Retirement & Relocation: 401(k) contribution of 4.5% of base + bonus, no contribution required. Relocation based on distance (e.g., $4,000 given for distance of 1,100 miles).

For Booz & Co in New York
Signing Bonus: $5,000
Base: $72,000
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
Relocation: $5-15,000

For Boston Consulting Group…
Signing Bonus: $5,000
Base: $72,000
Performance Bonus: up to $16,200 (22.5% of base salary)
Profit Sharing: up to $4,400 (expected to be 5% of sum of base salary and performance bonus)
– – – – –
Total compensation: up to $97,600
Retirement & Relocation: BCG contributes 15% of your base + bonus into your 401(k) retirement, and now requires employee contribution. Relocation based on distance (e.g., $2,000 given for distance of 120 miles).

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: $70,000
Housing: $5,000
Performance Bonus: none for BAs
– – – – –
Total compensation: $80,000
Retirement & relocation: 12% of total annual compensation, $3,000 relocation.

For PwC…
Signing Bonus: $3-5,000
Base: $65,000
Performance Bonus:  10-15% first year, increases each year
– – – – –
Total compensation: $74,500 +
Relocation: included in signing bonus

For Oliver Wyman – Financial Consulting (Dubai figures in parentheses)…
Signing Bonus: $10,000 (Dubai: $2,000)
Base: $75,000 (Dubai: $60,000)
Performance Bonus: up to $15,000 (20% of base salary) for your first year, and 40% of base salary for your second year (guaranteed) (Dubai: 10% of base)
– – – – –
Total compensation: $100,000
Retirement & relocation: DNK (Dubai Housing Allowance: $15,000)

We’ve added figures for consulting salaries abroad as well:

Canada (in CAD):

• For Oliver Wyman: $70,000 base + $10,000 signing bonus
• For McKinsey: $70,000 base + $6,000 signing bonus + $10,000 to RRSP
• For BCG: $72,500 base + $5,000 signing bonus
• For Monitor: $67,000 base
• For Accenture: $68,000 base + $10,000 signing bonus
• For Accenture SI: $54,000 base + $3-5,000 signing bonus
• For Deloitte: $60,000 + $3,000 signing bonus
• For Deloitte TechStrat: $55,000 + $2,000 signing bonus
• For ZS Associates: $75,000 + $5,000 signing bonus, performance bonus capped at 10% first year (then cap removed) + retirement matched 100%

EMEA (in euro):

• 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

(Average country salary in Poland: readers say it ranges from €10-17,000)

Global:

• For Deloitte in New Zealand: NZD$44,000 base + NZD$2,000 signing bonus
• For BCG in Australia: AUD$64,900 base + AUD$15,000 signing bonus

= = = = = First year out of MBA/grad programs = = = = =

For Bain…
Signing Bonus: $20,000
Base: $135,000
Performance Bonus: up to $35,000 for your first year
– – – – –
Total compensation: $184,000
Retirement: 401(k) 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 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

For Deloitte…
Signing Bonus: $35,000
Base: $130,000
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 Accenture…
Signing Bonus: $33,000
Base: $132,000
Performance Bonus: DNK
Relocation: DNK
– – – – –
Total compensation: at least $165,000
Retirement: DNK

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

For Infosys…
Signing Bonus: $20,000
Base: $117,000
Performance Bonus: DNK
– – – – –
Total compensation: $140,000 +
Retirement & relocation: $3,000 non-discretionary relocation ( reimbursement for movers/storage)

For Ernst & Young…
Signing Bonus: $20,000
Base: $120,000
Performance Bonus: DNK
– – – – –
Total compensation: at least $140,000
Retirement & relocation: DNK

No word yet on whether or not Deloitte still covers your second year of B-school tuition just for signing after a summer internship…any updates?

One reader confirmed:  “Yes, Deloitte still pays for the 2nd year of b-school if you are a Summer Associate there and sign on full-time.”

= = = = = Summer Internships = = = = =

Unless otherwise noted, these are salary figures for the duration of the internship:

A.T.Kearney: $11,000
Accenture MBA: $11,000 + $4,000 relocation – NY and Chicago
BCG: $11,000
Bain: $11,500
Deloitte (S&O/Tech/HC): $10,800 + bonus
IMS: $11,000 + bonus
L.E.K.: $11,000
PwC: $27.50/hour + overtime (and 1 week trip to Disney World)
McKinsey: $10,500
ZS Associates: $11,000

Some perspective

Compared to 2011 consulting salary levels, most of the compensation data is pretty flat…which reflects the fact that hiring numbers were depressed for a few years and competition for top talent from other industries (including Banking) have been weak.  We’d expect to see some pickup in 2013 however – many firms have higher targets going into fall recruiting.

As always, we would love to share compensation data if you have it for other firms, regions and seniority levels.  We will directly update this post as the data comes in, and it’s all posted anonymously.  Thanks in advance!

Any questions about compensation?  Curious about how it stacks up to other industries?  Any surprises?  Leave your feedback below…

2018 Update

• Read about 2018 management consulting salaries