- Starting salaries for consultants have remained flat since 2023, a new report found.
- Management consulted found that wages were largely stagnant at Boutique, MBB and Big Four firms.
- The industry has recently been impacted by slowing demand and AI-driven productivity growth.
Starting salaries for consultants at both top firms and boutique consultancies remained largely flat for the second year in a row, according to a new report from Advised Management, a company that provides online resources and career coaching for aspiring professionals. reduce jobs in counseling.
The report found that starting salary has remained stagnant since 2023 as the consulting industry reels from a slowdown in demand for services, despite some recent signs of improvement. Previously, annual increases of 5 to 10% were standard for the industry, according to management consulted.
The company’s 2025 consulting salary report included over 100 firms and was based on submissions and provided separate letters from its consulting readers and clients. Management consulted said it does not include salary information it is unable to verify.
The report found that starting total compensation at the big professional services firms – Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and EY – has not increased since 2023. This was true for new hires coming out of university programs, as well as those with higher salary coming out of MBA or PhD.
The same was largely true of new hires at MBB firms—McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group—which are widely considered the most prestigious strategy consulting firms and known for their competitive salary packages.
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The report said management advised expected salaries to remain flat despite some increases in demand for consulting services in 2024, which came after several years of a downturn that saw large firms cut layoffs or delay start dates for hires. new ones.
The plateau is notable given that consulting compensation increased in 2022 and 2023, according to the 2023 Salary Management Consulting video. The last big increase before that was in 2019.
In 2023 post-MBA hires earned a base salary of $192,000, a performance bonus of up to $60,000, and a signing bonus of $35,000 at the highest levels. Pre-MBA hires earned a base salary of $112,000, a performance bonus of up to $30,000, and a signing bonus of about $5,000.
However, pay and performance bonuses increased across the industry in 2023, with some firms increasing benefits such as profit sharing, paid time off and pension contributions. The Boston Consulting Group even adjusted its compensation structure in an effort to attract new talent and retain existing talent.
One reason wages remained flat in 2024, according to the report, is productivity advances driven by generative AI and remote work. The report also said fewer consultants were leaving the industry because of limited opportunities elsewhere, meaning stagnant wages could be another possible side effect of the so-called white-collar recession.
“The enablement of AI is enabling consulting firms to accomplish more with fewer hires. Productivity gains, combined with slower attrition, reduce the need for new hires and stagnant salary increases,” said Namaan Mian, CEO chief operating management, advised in comments separated with the business separated with the Internal business
Mian also said the perception of the hiring value of MBAs, who typically make a higher starting salary than consultants coming out of college, varies widely.
“Firms historically pay MBAs twice as much, but don’t get twice the value from them. That doesn’t fly in an efficiency-oriented environment,” Mian said. “That’s why we’re seeing less hiring from MBA programs and more from undergraduate.”
Some firms also used changes to their variable compensation – in which pay is partly determined by performance through bonuses – to make their pay packages look more attractive, the report said, adding that only 5 to 10 % of consultants usually earn their maximum bonus amount
Consulted management said it expects an increase in employment as demand for consulting and withdrawal services is expected to increase in the coming years. However, she said wages for new hires may remain stagnant.
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