No real surprises (if you've been paying attention). Consistent with what's been reported both on this site and in the comments of the 2014 thread on managementconsulted. In general, BCG continues to set new pay bars, McKinsey/Bain/Deloitte will match next year.

I guess the eye opener would be Parthenon's base salary of 170k, but there's almost no bonus. Not that it really matters, as MBB salary + max bonus roughly equals Parthenon base+max bonus. But as we all know, very few max out the bonus, so Parthenon is likely most lucrative in in the short term. As always, we would love more data on compensation at the next level, and we are still relying on anecdotal evidence that MBB accelerates while the other firms that match them up front slow down. I'd be interested in what happens at the next level at Parthenon.

Regardless, the exit opportunities afforded by MBB would allow them to price slightly lower than the other firms and still attract top consulting talent, but they get dragged upwards because of IB/tech competition. Would Parthenon's structure convince anyone here to go MBB instead?

I've also always wondered why Deloitte etc didn't pay more than the MBB guys. Candidates who get into both have no incentive to turn down MBB, and candidates that don't land MBB should come with a discount, right? Why don't they go 5-10k less?

 

1) seems weird that PwC is paying marginally more than Strategy&... When they're owned by the same company and strategy& is harder to get into.

2) Deloitte's strategy makes sense. No one is going to pick Deloitte over MBB, unless they paid way more. What Deloitte does do, is pay 2nd year tuition for successful summer interns. This effectively stops their high performing interns from jumping from MBB to Deloitte during full time. Most take the money.

 
OpsDude:

1) seems weird that PwC is paying marginally more than Strategy&... When they're owned by the same company and strategy& is harder to get into.

2) Deloitte's strategy makes sense. No one is going to pick Deloitte over MBB, unless they paid way more. What Deloitte does do, is pay 2nd year tuition for successful summer interns. This effectively stops their high performing interns from jumping from MBB to Deloitte during full time. Most take the money.

But all of the firms do that (second year MBA pay). Also, anyone who interned at Deloitte DIDN'T get an internship at MBB (presumably) so are they really keeping any talent away from those guys?

 
John-Doe8:
OpsDude:

1) seems weird that PwC is paying marginally more than Strategy&... When they're owned by the same company and strategy& is harder to get into.

2) Deloitte's strategy makes sense. No one is going to pick Deloitte over MBB, unless they paid way more. What Deloitte does do, is pay 2nd year tuition for successful summer interns. This effectively stops their high performing interns from jumping from MBB to Deloitte during full time. Most take the money.

But all of the firms do that (second year MBA pay). Also, anyone who interned at Deloitte DIDN'T get an internship at MBB (presumably) so are they really keeping any talent away from those guys?

Only Deloitte and Accenture do it.

The internship classes are smaller than the full-time classes for internships at MBB, so there are hypothetically quite a few Deloitte S&O who would get into MBB for full-time hiring. I know a lot of people on here are MBB or bust, but even from top schools, things are competitive at even the tier-2 firms.

 
Best Response
mbag:

How good is big 4 consulting out of top 15 mba schools? I always thought that it was a huge step down for grads from top 15 programs, but the money does look appealing.

Depends, it's a complicated question.

Deloitte S&O is almost as good as MBB (although still decently far away), Deloitte Human capital or Deloitte Technology consulting is going to be a further step down. PwC is worse than Deloitte, although Strategy& - which is now owned by PwC - is as good as, if not better, than Delotte S&O. KPMG just formally started a pure strategy practice this october, so no one really knows. EY consulting has a completely different structure and is transaction based. EY also bought Parthenon, which directly competes with MBB for both clients and employees, and pays $170k.

You also have other tier 2 players such as AT Kearney, LEK, etc which are equal to, or better than, Big 4 consulting. Then you have tier 3 players like ZS Associates and Accenture (Accenture has made a pure strategy arm so is arguably tier 2 now).

Anyways, the main difference is this: Deloitte S&O you can get the same exit ops as MBB, with the exception of PE. As you move down the tier 2 into tier 3 firms, your options start to go down a bit because you start doing less strategy work and are working with people further away from the C-suite. But even then, thats arguable - Accenture is huge in IT and ZS Associates is huge in heathcare, so you can get sweet exit opps if those areas interest you.

If you want to to be a consultant long term, a MBB principal (level before partner) makes around the same as a non-MBB first year partner. So the tier 2 firms still pay a ton (average partner at Deloitte S&O made $800k in 2007), although less than MBB.

. It's important to keep perspective, they are all great jobs. Think of Post-MBA MBB as a top 0.5% job, and a tier 2 as a top 1% job. It's similiar to how people working at Goldman are better than someone working at Bank of America M&A, but both jobs are still hard to get and most normal people would kill to get either. That said, when you're surrounded by the best of the best at your business school, its easy to lose that perspective.

But, you also have access to high paying, and much easier corporate jobs, so many people choose that route over tier 2 consulting. For example, my friend works corp dev at a insurance company - $130k starting salary, 20% bonus, and 9-5 hours.

 

This is very helpful by indicating which firms pay tuition reimbursement for returning MBA interns.

"You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right." -Warren Buffett
 
Andrés:

From the link above:
"Consulting is being crowded by top offers in tech – Facebook, Google and other top Silicon Valley firm compensation packages eclipse the value we’ve shared above."
Are there any reports on what tech companies pay in business roles post undergrad and post MBA?

I was also intrigued by this and did some sleuthing but can't corroborate. Top schools tech salary reporting and cursory searches on Google/FB MBA roles put the compensation closer to 110-120k + 20k sign + 10% bonus. This is typical of gen. mgmt. roles though on the high side (because it's tech). If someone has info on what MBA roles (not CS/engineer) compete with MBB let's hear it.

 
Andrés:

From the link above:
"Consulting is being crowded by top offers in tech – Facebook, Google and other top Silicon Valley firm compensation packages eclipse the value we’ve shared above."
Are there any reports on what tech companies pay in business roles post undergrad and post MBA?

I was also intrigued by this and did some sleuthing but can't corroborate. Top schools tech salary reporting and cursory searches on Google/FB MBA roles put the compensation closer to 110-120k + 20k sign + 10% bonus. This is typical of gen. mgmt. roles though on the high side (because it's tech). If someone has info on what MBA roles (not CS/engineer) compete with MBB let's hear it.

 

Don't think you lose tuition reimbursement (or at least my classmates didn't a year ago) if you went to Deloitte/ACN for summer, but then waited to interview for MBB. Lost their early signing bonus though (which was like 10k or something). People who succeeded in MBB full time actually didn't do consulting the summer before (no trade up). Did something else in summer, recruited for consulting full time. Probably has do with better at casing than those who didn't cut it first time anyway.

 

wow, I'm surprised how much money the first year post-MBA consultants are making. Assuming first year associates in IB are making 125 base + 100 bonus for 225 all in, thats not much more than the average for the consulting associate. What is the value proposition for going IB over consulting? Faster salary growth in the long term? I'm trying to decide between the two post b-school and this is pretty interesting

 

A0 is 125. A1 is 150. Regardless, it's how quickly pay in IB ramps up that causes the difference. By year 4, so VP1, you can pull down 500 in total comp.

"They are all former investment bankers that were laid off in the economic collapse that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have no marketable skills, but by God they work hard."
 

@"OpsDude"

A few questions about Consulting recruiting at the post MBA level.

  1. I think this was discussed in an earlier thread, but given the MBA debt - and the fact that comp. is the same across cities at MBB, doesn't it make sense to live in a lower COL city to pay off debt post-MBA. Or am I missing something? What's the downside?

2.Bain PEG - Does bain recruit directly into the PEG?

I know Bain has a 6-month rotation program where you can work in PEG...but what about actually being in PEG? Is there a separate recruiting pathway? I imagine Bain PEG is only NYC/Boston/SF.

Thanks.

 
snakeoil:
given the MBA debt - and the fact that comp. is the same across cities at MBB, doesn't it make sense to live in a lower COL city to pay off debt post-MBA. Or am I missing something? What's the downside?
The downside is that you have to live in Houston or Atlanta or Pittsburgh or whatever. Higher cost-of-living cities generally have higher cost-of-living because they're more desirable places to live. Also, those offices tend to be smaller.

But if you have a burning desire to live in Cleveland, then yes, it makes sense to do that -- your McKinsey salary will go much farther.

 
thecm:

wow, I'm surprised how much money the first year post-MBA consultants are making. Assuming first year associates in IB are making 125 base + 100 bonus for 225 all in, thats not much more than the average for the consulting associate. What is the value proposition for going IB over consulting? Faster salary growth in the long term? I'm trying to decide between the two post b-school and this is pretty interesting

I would imagine 100 k is at the lower end of the spectrum.

Every consultant I know will let you know that they make much less than bankers. Maybe the gap widens over time.

@"devildog2067" If I ever lived in a non-NYC/Chicago/Boston/SF city, I'd definitely want to live in a major airport hub if I was a consultant travelling every week.

Atlanta: Hartsfield-Jackson Charlottle: Charlotte-Douglas Dallas: DFW

I don't know if Cleveland has an airport like that.

Even Boston and Chicago are OK though. NYC/NY State and CA just rape you in taxes and rent.

 
snakeoil:

@OpsDude

A few questions about Consulting recruiting at the post MBA level.

1. I think this was discussed in an earlier thread, but given the MBA debt - and the fact that comp. is the same across cities at MBB, doesn't it make sense to live in a lower COL city to pay off debt post-MBA. Or am I missing something? What's the downside?

2.Bain PEG - Does bain recruit directly into the PEG?

I know Bain has a 6-month rotation program where you can work in PEG...but what about actually being in PEG? Is there a separate recruiting pathway? I imagine Bain PEG is only NYC/Boston/SF.

Thanks.

  1. Yes, I was actually planning to target Atlanta and Chicago for this reason....Not only is NYC COL literally DOUBLE those places, consultants in those locations work on average 5-10 hours a week longer. It's insane. NYC is great when you're early 20's and single...but post-mba when most people are thinking of starting a family, makes no sense to me.

  2. No, it's a rotation. I think once you join you can choose when/if you work in PEG though - I don't think its forced (I could be wrong, someone else should answer). There's PEG in Atlanta, not sure if every city.

 
John-Doe8:

Are you saying this because you generally get credit for the non-resident tax returns you file, and may still owe in the state where you live if the taxes there are higher? Because depending on the state combinations, yes that would be true.

I just know that you get a W-2 in each state where you work and file in each one.

No, I'm saying that state tax codes tax your income if you "live OR work" there.

Let's take Chicago for example. If you live in Chicago (higher taxes) but work in NW Indiana (lower taxes), you will pay Chicago/Illinois rates. The first chunk will go to Indiana, and then you will pay the difference to Chicago/Illinois.

On the other side of the coin, if you live in Indiana and work in Chicago, you STILL pay Chicago tax rates.

I'm just saying that tax laws aren't "where you work", but rather the higher of where you live OR work. It's a nitpick, I agree. Just adding more detail to your original statement. :-)

 

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