Bonuses and overall compensation

Hey everyone, i received an offer from PwC, although the exact means of calculating bonuses are not specified.

Does anyone have any experience on what this average bonus usually is? (i was told its based on your annual performance review on a scale of 0-5, but there aren't any figures).

Also, i was some quick math on the overall compensation, as i'm weighing several options right now. here's what i see:

salary: 68k sign on: 10k annual bonus: ? flight/hotel miles meals covered during travel

am i missing something? i'm weighing it against tech jobs that pay ~87k+5k sign on + 10k bonus (average). somehow though,i feel that i'll move up the ladder faster in consulting (at the 1, 3 and maybe 6 year mark) than in the tech job, and the intangibles like bonus, miles and meals eclipse the tech job (which doesn't offer these side perks, only a higher initial base).

any thoughts fellow monkeys?

10 Comments
 

thanks TT, that's really helpful. i do agree that the big push for consulting personally is the chance to work on a lot of different projects and industries. that said though, i have consultant friends who tell me its not entirely glamorous all the time - sometimes, the kinds of projects and locations you get might be a tad boring, and could be entirely the luck of the draw

 
csynicthanks TT, that's really helpful. i do agree that the big push for consulting personally is the chance to work on a lot of different projects and industries. that said though, i have consultant friends who tell me its not entirely glamorous all the time - sometimes, the kinds of projects and locations you get might be a tad boring, and could be entirely the luck of the draw

Yes, for every project in Hawaii, Miami, San Francisco, there's the projects in Ohio, Alabama or South Dakota in the middle of winter.

Just work your way into areas with the most interesting projects/clients to you. In consulting you are truly in control of your own career.

 
Best Response

Bonus: 2-5% in your average performance years Travel Benefits: - Miles/Points: Worth $6K-$7K/year (This is not taxed, so more like $9K pre-tax) - If you get Per Diem: $100/Wk extra cash if you play hotel lounges and team dinners right ($4.5K/yr, or $6.5K pre-tax)

Also if you get promoted, etc. you will get a 20-25% bump after 2 years and another 20-30% after year 5, along with the annual 3-6% raise.

You should easily be able to beat the numbers versus the other job (since that will have no additional income and lower salary growth).

I disagree with TT. There are no 2nd year stars in some corporate job. You will probably be testing codes 9-5 and drive a Honda Accord for next 15 years before someone in your management chain dies or retire and you move up. Even in IT consulting, you will deal with more experienced clients at an early age.

 

3 questions: do you get to book the tickets on your credit card and have the points accrue to your mileage account? e.g. if i always fly united, what if the company wants me to book a ticket on a non-star alliance airline?

second, 20-25% bump after 2 years of consulting work seems a little high, does this only happen in MBB?

you also mention that you'll move up only after someone in the management chain dies/retire - doesnt this happen at the managerial level of consulting too (i.e. 3-5 years), and similar to a corporate job, this managerial role is a competitive process/the previous manager dies/retires - which doesnt seem that different.

 
  1. In my farm we booked flights with a corporate charge code and it kicked the points back to my corporate AmEx. They stopped it right before I left. Probably depends firm to firm
  2. Should have been clear. This assumes you get promoted to next level after 2 (at most 3) years. When you get promoted, you get a large bump. Other years you get 2-5%
  3. Not really. Most consulting firms have up or out policy. Other than partner (which you shouldn't even think about, it's like saying you want to be the SVP of the Tech firm), for every other level they have an expectation that you move within a certain number of years (generally 3-5 years) or you are politely asked to leave. Many people also leave for other opportunities (unlike a cushy corporate job), so people are always moving up. Once (and if) you make partner, it depends on how much you sell.
 

with reference to your first point, does anyone else know if pwc allows points to accrue to your account? it sounds trivial, although i think it adds up a ton in a couple of years.

point 3: does that mean that if you don't make manager then you're out? surely there are way more senior associates than managerial positions - how do they all move up, or am i thinking of this wrong?

 

From Consultant if you don't make manager in 4-5 years you will leave (before they even push you out). It's just the way it is. There are no C10s.

As far as numbers, it's actually not like industry where you have one person in a team getting promoted every 5 years. It's more like 20-30% of the group per year. Lot of it has to do with turnover (Managers before you getting promoted or leaving the company).

 

do you have rough numbers on people who end up leaving because they don't make manager in 4-5 years? you say 20-30% of the group getting promoted, so the rest voluntarily/get fired?

 

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