Consulting Salaries in London is S***!
Recently, I was thinking of gaining some international exposure by moving to London. But the salary differential is really too large for it to be a consideration considering London is as expensive as where I'm based out now.
In NYC, fresh graduates in big 4 consulting start on 70+k and MBA SC hires start on 135k.
In London, fresh graduates start on only £32k which is equivalent to 50k. Managers in the big 4 I'm working start on only £60-65k, thats less than 100k.
There is no noticeable difference for IB and Biglaw.
Do you guys think it is possible to ask the big 4 in London to match my salary in the US?
Big 4 consultant salary london
Here's a quick look at consultant compensation at Deloitte in London. The pay is not as far off as the original poster would suggest. Compensation for a similar position in Deloitte comes close to 90k.
Thoughts from the community.
from certified user @atleastimnotabanker"
Salaries for consulting are generally much higher in the US than anywhere else in the world.
salaries in Germany used to be similar to the US when I started around 4 years ago, but with the dollar getting so much stronger since then, there is a big difference nowadays.
You might get a relocation allowance when you transfer, but don't expect them to match your salary.Keep in mind though that health insurance and other public services are a lot cheaper and at least in Germany (I think it is similar in the UK) you don't need to pay into a retirement fund. Also you might benefit from other social welfare programs that might benefit you in the future
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Wow NYC salaries are significantly higher, if what you are quoting for US is correct. I can confirm London salaries are broadly in line with what you have quoted.
Manager (S Consultant) bracket is between £55k -£70k max. Doubt they will pay higher than that. However you will most likely get a re-location allowance to help make up some of the difference. Also I know a few companies even pay accomm costs if you are moving on a secondment for a max of 6 months, may be worth looking into that?
http:// managementconsulted .com /consulting-salaries/2015-management-consulting-salaries-undergraduate-mba-interns/
This source will give you an indication of US salaries. The offer I was quoted is too far off.
Thanks for the link James. Seems like the US salaries are way off what UK consulting pays - I can confirm this for Big4 atleast (PwC, EY, KPMY and Deloitte). London Big 4 rough guide:
Undergrad Start: 32k increases to 45k after 2 years when you become an Assistant Manager/Senior Exec
MBA: Big 4 do not require an MBA in UK. But the do hire some MBAs in manager roles salary 55k to 65k
The big 4 bonuses aren't that great at junior levels at least (~10% to 15% max) and there is no sign on as AFAIK.
And no clue for some reason WSO converts the pound sign into PS!
are we using "PS" to mean pounds sterling? WTF?!
It gets auto-converted when I use the sterling denomination.
Lol yes the graduate salary is really pretty crap for London standard of living. Most grads would share apartments 2/3 bed and live in less pricey areas. But still decent pay if you compare against the general street starting pay (medicine, engineering, FTSE 100 companies). Obv IB absolutely kills it all in comparision
Well in NYC, IB starts on the same base salary as consulting. Is consulting less mainstream in London?
Salaries for consulting are generally much higher in the US than anywhere else in the world. salaries in Germany used to be similar to the US when I started around 4 years ago, but with the dollar getting so much stronger since then, there is a big difference nowadays. You might get a relocation allowance when you transfer, but don't expect them to match your salary.
Keep in mind though that health insurance and other public services are a lot cheaper and at least in Germany (I think it is similar in the UK) you don't need to pay into a retirement fund. Also you might benefit from other social welfare programs that might benefit you in the future
The thing is when the salary offered is 20-30k off what I'm currently making (even with the sterling been strong now), all these other benefits is really a non-issue.
Anyway, I've decided to stay in NYC for at least a bit more.
Don't forget tax rates are higher in the UK too. 40% above about 45K, and 45% above 150K.
I was using a tax calculator. Apparently theres a national issurance or smth like that, so the true tax rate is a lot higher. I'm probably (definitely) not going to stay in the UK long enough to collect a pension, so the insurance is essentially additional tax.
It sounds like you have your mind made up, but I'll add a few additional points. BTW I'm an American who's been living and working (not in consulting but looking to get into it) in London for nearly 5 years, and not looking to move back anytime soon. Vacation allowance is much more generous, usually in the 25 to 30 day range, plus about 10 public holidays. It's fully expected that you'll use all or most of your allocation. I was told by an MBB guy at a recruiting event here in London in May that the work-life balance for consultants in London is better than in the US, and that it's better than banking in London, due to lower pay. He said that since they couldn't compete with banker pay, they compete on quality of life. Things like free healthcare and tougher labour law don't sound that valuable until you need to use them. I suffered a pretty serious injury outside of work last year that saw me in the hospital for 5 days and off work for 2 months. It would have been ruinous had I been living in the US. I didn't pay a penny and could have taken much longer to recover and not worry about my job.
If you're looking at MBB or the tier 2 'pure' consulting firms, you probably would get paid quite similarly to what you would get in the US. With all that benefits in London, it sounds attractive.
Though in my predicament, this is pretty much a non-option, the big 4 clearly has a different wage structure - I was reading some of the UK forums and they were paying the same salaries in London more than a decade ago. Anyway 'Madscientist' Good luck in your job search!
I have a few friends working at Big4 and MBB consulting, and the hours are better than banking but still pretty serious.
Big4: I would say standard hours are 9 to 6/7pm with busy seasons (8 to 10 weeks a year) you could be working until 11/12. Maybe an odd weekend too during busy season.
Yes you get 25 working day annual leave as a fresh graduate which rises to 30 at managerial level.
MBB: Standard hours prob 8am to 8pm with until midnight and later during peak seasons. For MBB you are mostly travelling Mon to Thurs so hours would not really mean much as long as you get a decent 6/7 hours sleep each night.
Not sure how this compares to consulting hours in NYC?
I would say my hours are more similar to MBB in London. There is a lot of travelling, and most of my work is done outside of my base city. Though I do get most of my weekends to myself.
For the big 4 MC in London, whats the travel like?
Big4 MC still spend large majority of time at client site but most client HQs are based in or around London (British Airways, BP, Network Rail etc) so basically you are still living at home but just commuting to different location every few weeks.
This could be nuisance at times. as I remember my friend having to travel to a client just outside London (1.5 hour) each way when he lives 10 mins from his office in central London and pays premium rent. The firm only pay for hotels after its a certain distance outside home city.
Although there is till some travel involved to clients based in Scotland (RBS, Lloyds Bank etc). And Big4 do deal with some exciting stuff such Man United, Liverpool FC player transfer etc. Occasional travel to clients in EU is also possible but is rare.. and only really available if you actively pursue such projects.
Btw what is standard annual leave in the US? I hear it's much lesser than what we get in UK
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