Federal Consulting versus Public Finance IB

So this is kind of a weird comparison, but I'm facing federal consulting (BAH, Accenture, Deloitte) versus public finance (BB). I've looked through a ton of threads and WSO/Glassdoor salaries. It seems to me that public finance is considerably more money than federal consulting by a long shot. But while public finance is typically less hours than other groups in IB, still a lot more hours than federal consulting (which seems to be 40-50 hours).

Federal consulting seems more interesting, but the pay is a lot lower than I thought it would be and living in DC is expensive... Does anyone have any rough comp points for 3 years out of college, 5, 10, 20? If federal consulting tops off around $200k I'm not sure if I'd want to pursue it when public finance is an option.

Again, weird comparison, but I appreciate the (any) insight on either side of the comparison!

1 Comments
 

Similique modi expedita temporibus. Qui illum non qui reprehenderit.

Libero eos nobis est nostrum provident laborum suscipit. Excepturi omnis facere ipsam et eos qui.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (68) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”