WSO_Ninja:
manbearpig:
50K base, 5% year end bonus. No signing bonus.

Is that even minimum wage?

If you start straight from college, the pay at the big4 is absolutely garbage regardless of whether it's assurance or advisory or whatever. For advisory, maybe it's not 50K, but I know it's definitely under 60K, and of all the people that I've met, no one got a signing bonus. And bonuses at that level are capped at 5%.

-MBP
 
manbearpig:
50K base, 5% year end bonus. No signing bonus.

mpg; are you at a big 4?

op: 53k . no sign on. no relo. It's like $16.5/hr for avg 60 hr week. Just to put this into perspective.. the manager at your local Whole Foods makes over $61k...

 
papeete:
manbearpig:
50K base, 5% year end bonus. No signing bonus.

mpg; are you at a big 4?

op: 53k . no sign on. no relo. It's like $16.5/hr for avg 60 hr week. Just to put this into perspective.. the manager at your local Whole Foods makes over $61k...

My name is manbearpig. Not milespergallon.

lol, anyway. Yes. I am a Senior Consultant at Deloitte S&O. My Salary is quite good for someone my age (100K base = 120Kish all-in), but it's because I lateralled in and I'm a good negotiator.

-MBP
 
marcellus_wallace:
Remember when we were graduating my buddy who turned down BB trading in London. Was shocked at what a big4 consulting offered him, he called them bitched. He even talked to HR for hours explaining the $$$ he turned down and his resume.

End result = no wiggle room..strick policy for all new hires out of school.

Why would he turn down the trading offer?

http://ayainsight.co/ Curating the best advice and making it actionable.
 

What others are saying sounds about right. My friend is working at EY (similar firm) in a small market (PNW) city and is only making 45k after Masters in Accounting degree. Didn't ask about bonuses and whatnot, but definitely don't do it if you're looking at becoming rich.

Pretty women make us BUY beer. Ugly women make us DRINK beer.
 

I don't know where manbearpig is getting his source from but I have a completely different data point. ~60K base. 3K signing. end of year bonus is prolly a few percent or so but not too sure.

 
Arpster55:
I don't know where manbearpig is getting his source from but I have a completely different data point. ~60K base. 3K signing. end of year bonus is prolly a few percent or so but not too sure.

Well the difference may be because I'm in Toronto, but this is all first hand information from my colleagues.

-MBP
 
manbearpig:
Arpster55:
I don't know where manbearpig is getting his source from but I have a completely different data point. ~60K base. 3K signing. end of year bonus is prolly a few percent or so but not too sure.

Well the difference may be because I'm in Toronto, but this is all first hand information from my colleagues.

MBP, aside from having an incredibly awesome name, has been accurate in his posts on salaries. Salaries for Big 4 advisory/"consulting" associates out of school are $50-$55k plus bonus. Last couple of years bonus has been near zero but prior to '09 was up to 25% and should get closer to that this year. Even Deloitte's S&O group does not pay considerably more than the other three. Some may argue it is but it's maybe $20k most and when you're a senior consultant/manager making six-figures that percentage isn't that large.

Salaries jump up fairly quickly and those starting at $50-$55k should be around $100k base in five years (plus bonus) - not great compared to IB or say true consulting but compared to audit/tax groups that work alongside these people, anywhere from 20-40% higher and more exit opps.

 
Best Response
LAbasedFinance:
Salaries jump up fairly quickly and those starting at $50-$55k should be around $100k base in five years (plus bonus) - not great compared to IB or say true consulting but compared to audit/tax groups that work alongside these people, anywhere from 20-40% higher and more exit opps.

They definitely market it this way but be careful-they definitely use the "you'll get an awesome raise next year!" tool to keep people around. It can also really screw you in a down year because when there's no bonus/merit comp system, a donut carries with you for the rest of your career.

My class got donuts our first year and those that came in the year after us are still making much less than people with their tenure were making 4-5 years ago. The worst is people who get promoted in a down year-promotions, especially to manager (or the equivalent) are supposed to mean big jumps in pay, but the class 3 years ahead of us had two promotions in down years for raises (sr associate in '07, manager in '09) so they were making in some cases HALF of what managers only a year older were making.

There have been many great comebacks throughout history. Jesus was dead but then came back as an all-powerful God-Zombie.
 

I don't think it's fair to compare Deloitte S&O to PwC Advisory. Deloitte is the only big 4 firm with a true consulting arm. The other firms all abandoned their consulting practices following SOX. The advisory practices at the big 4 firms include valuation, ts/fdd, internal audit, risk, transfer pricing, etc. Not traditional consulting services as compared to MBB.

When I started in big 4 audit, my total first year comp included salary of mid $50k, $5k sign-on, and $5k cpa bonus. This was not NYC. I had a friend who started in advisory (valuation) the same year as I started, and his salary was $3-4k higher with the same sign-on. I know on these boards that total first year comp will not be impressive in the slightest, but those are the facts. also, i know the big 4 firms have or at least started to bypass on offering new hires sign-on bonuses.

 

I'm (Man)bear(pig)ish on the Big 4 in general (broken business model, terrible work/life/comp balance, dull people, run by accountants, lack of integrity from partners, etc), but that's low versus what new Big 4 consultants were making in NYC circa '08. My class and our peers in advisory groups were from 60-70k with various signing/relo/year-end bonuses, with all-in comp from $65kish-75kish. I do know they tried to push this down for some service lines in '09 but I doubt they got all the way to $50k/5k. From what I knew from my group's other offices, there wasn't more than $5k or so of regional variance.

There have been many great comebacks throughout history. Jesus was dead but then came back as an all-powerful God-Zombie.
 
Kenny_Powers_CFA:
I'm (Man)bear(pig)ish on the Big 4 in general (broken business model, terrible work/life/comp balance, dull people, run by accountants, lack of integrity from partners, etc), but that's low versus what new Big 4 consultants were making in NYC circa '08. My class and our peers in advisory groups were from 60-70k with various signing/relo/year-end bonuses, with all-in comp from $65kish-75kish. I do know they tried to push this down for some service lines in '09 but I doubt they got all the way to $50k/5k. From what I knew from my group's other offices, there wasn't more than $5k or so of regional variance.

Care to elaborate on how you got out of the Big 4? Maybe you have already done this on a different post? Or rather, what are recommended steps to getting out of Big 4?

 

if a massive amount of people quit, you will see significantly larger raises in the fall relative to the past several years. still, despite the constant complaining and dissatisfaction within all the firms, people tend to suffer through it and continue on. the firms actually do a better job of retaining employees than people think. i agree with a lot of what has been posted above. the business model in the big 4 firms is not focused on paying employees large amounts of cash. the partners are the ones making the significant money. if you want to make large amounts of cash (and not resume credibility) either grind and hope to make partner, or gtfo.

 
Kenny_Powers_CFA:
It's not poverty level but if you're living in a major city it doesn't leave much after rent and taxes.

In Manhattan you can apply for price controlled housing if you are under 50k.

 

wow brand_new, LOL, how is yours so low? i was offered high 60s and I just asked for roughly 75k and I got it on the spot. this is for NYC btw.

i do have a non MBA masters however....but if i'm getting paid ~15k more than you, worth it no? ha

 
bugalow12:
wow brand_new, LOL, how is yours so low? i was offered high 60s and I just asked for roughly 75k and I got it on the spot. this is for NYC btw.

i do have a non MBA masters however....but if i'm getting paid ~15k more than you, worth it no? ha

Honestly, I'd rather be in my position make 15K less. Chances are you spent 30-40K on your masters alone, not to mention a year of lost salary. For me at least, working a few years, then going back for my actual masters in MBA will be a lot more beneficial. Let's not forget the fact that while Chicago is expensive, NYC takes the cake and 10,000 of that will probably be adjusted our for cost of living (conservatively).

 
bugalow12:
wow brand_new, LOL, how is yours so low? i was offered high 60s and I just asked for roughly 75k and I got it on the spot. this is for NYC btw.

i do have a non MBA masters however....but if i'm getting paid ~15k more than you, worth it no? ha

No, it's not.

http://ayainsight.co/ Curating the best advice and making it actionable.
 
brand_new_consultant8891:
R2 equals 1:
I know a few people with non-mba masters getting over $100k straight out of grad school from big 4 firms (not in strategy)

No you don't

Well, I was almost straight out of an MFE (3 months at first firm before I lateralled), but I am in strategy.

-MBP
 
brand_new_consultant8891:
R2 equals 1:
I know a few people with non-mba masters getting over $100k straight out of grad school from big 4 firms (not in strategy)

No you don't

Believe whatever you want, it doesn't matter to me if you believe me and I gain nothing from lying.

 

Offer last year for PwC Houston was 53k +3 sign on

E&Y Transaction Advisory Services Dallas was 60k +3k sign on

 

nyc PwC 60k/3ksign plus end of year bonus plus performance/project bonuses (very group sensitive), not including rando bonuses that they throw at the associates during the year.

EY should be slightly higher for base pay nyc

for those of you who graduated with a non mba masters and getting about 75k base, your not that special dude. you probably spent way more on that extra year, and wasted a whole year of making a good amount of cash and experience. In the end, the person with the four year undergrad degree in big4 makes more money in the end.

A good amount of Associates leave big4s after two years, working for private firms with a good salary increase depending on past experiences, school, etc...

Breaking into banking isn't that hard. If your from a non-target, mid gpa, not great internship experience, etc.. OBVIOUSLY its hard. But if your from a non-target, a couple of internships, strong gpa, and know how to network.. breaking into banking is a joke.

You guys think that banking is that hard to get into? dude please... getting into banking and big4 is not THAT difficult. You just gotta get your shit stratight during first year undergrad, then everything else will fall into place. The driving factor is interest/ambition.

I know so many people who dont have jobs based on passion-less expectations in banking. Need to have the passion to have the pay.

.
 
JPG87:
PwC Valuation in NYC:

59K base, no starting bonus

This Fall 2010? When did this offer get extended (Fall 2010 or Spring 2011)? And was it first choice round or second choice round of candidates? (if you know this one - its easy to figure it out... ask the person if they sucked or not...)

.
 
kimbo:
My brother is starting in big 4 audit and his base is 55. Don't see advisory starting at 50....

you would be surprised how comparable the salaries across the service lines in big4 are...50-55k is typical starting salary for pwc advisory, same as kpmg and e&y. the only firm that really is separated from the group is deloitte. i dont know what their starting salaries around (around 60k i assume), but they generally pay more.

i can confirm that e&y/pwc chicago is 50k for associate. (bonus is probably 0-5%)

 

the main problem is thinking that "advisory" is comparable to management consulting. the big 4 firms are experts at marketing and they use interesting sounding titles to convice/trick college graduates into joining the firm based on complete misconceptions.

with the exception of D&T consulting, and very few other practice lines spread across the Big 4 firms, 95% of "advisory" is glorified accounting, SOX, IT, etc,.etc. related work that is NOT at all similar to more prestigous managment consulting work.

don't join a big 4 firm expecting great cash compensation. that is not the business model. you are paid the bare minimum to keep you from jumping, given 20-25+ PTO days/yr, 9-10 holidays/yr, a very reasonable work/life balance, and a sure path to promotions and career advancement.

 

Completely agree with the above, excellent summary of the Big 4. I would say though that the work/life balance isn't even that good in some groups, and the amount of work/quality of work/compensation balance (more meaningful than "work"/"life" balance) is pretty shitty.

There have been many great comebacks throughout history. Jesus was dead but then came back as an all-powerful God-Zombie.
 
djfiii:
100k base seems low for Deloitte S&O Senior Consultant. Isn't that the level MBA's come in at? I thought they were getting about 130k base.
I don't have an MBA, and post MBAs in the Toronto office don't get 130K base - it's anywhere from 100K to 120K depending on the school.
-MBP
 

I have a question, why do Advisory staff get paid more than the other practices?

I always hear about how auditors are getting hit with long hours and the advisory staff is basically chillin compared to the two other practices..... Can anyone specifically address these questions.

.
 
khara 3alekon:
I have a question, why do Advisory staff get paid more than the other practices?

I always hear about how auditors are getting hit with long hours and the advisory staff is basically chillin compared to the two other practices..... Can anyone specifically address these questions.

I don't know where you heard that advisory staff are chillin, but that's definitely false. Any consultant that's "chillin" for too long is quickly out of a job. Anyway, In order to answer your question, you need to differentiate the services a little more than you have. In the Big4 you have Assurance, Tax, and Advisory. Assurance is audit. Tax is self explanatory. Advisory is basically anything that isn't Assurance or Tax.

Auditors work long hours during busy season, so say October to April. After that things settle down to 45-50 hour weeks, which isn't terrible. Pay is pretty low because the skillset isn't that specialized. A financial audit is basically a commodity, as the previous posted noted.

Under the Advisory umbrella you have TONS of different things. Forensics, IT Security, IT Audit work in support of Assurance engagements, ERP implementations (SAP, Peoplesoft, etc), Governance & Controls, etc. To a lesser extent the Big4 attempt to dabble in Management / Strategy consulting type engagements as well (the stuff that MBB does exclusively), but Deloitte is really the only one of the Big4 that's viable in that niche of advisory (Deloitte S&O).

The reason you need to get more granular within "Advisory" is because each of those types of engagements has completely different cost structures / bill rates, and different skill sets. You don' t have people that are interchangeable "Advisory" guys. An IT Security guy is going to be very specialized, and command a certain bill rate, and you can't just drop him on a strategy engagement and expect him to have a clue what to do. A Deloitte S&O engagement is billing much higher rates on average than say, an IT Audit engagement. They require entirely different skill sets, and typically the S&O stuff requires more years of experience and better pedigree. So a senior associate doing audit work might make $70k, while a senior associate doing strategy work might be making $125K. But that strategy senior associate might have 8 years of legit Fortune 100 experience that is directly applicable to strategy work, while the audit senior associate has 3 years of experience.

 

Tax and audit are viewed as commodity products by the Big 4's clients, and tax and audit employees are viewed as commodities by Big 4 partners. Both the firms and their employees are compensated as such. Advisory has managed to avoid this to some extent because the service being provided is more nebulous so there's more opportunity to at least seem like you're differentiated from other consulting firms. Disagree on the hours though, advisory works at least as much as the other practice lines just less concentrated in filing season.

There have been many great comebacks throughout history. Jesus was dead but then came back as an all-powerful God-Zombie.
 

I interviewed for E&Y advisory and most candidates I met were economics or finance majors from mid-tier schools (Notre Dame, Indiana, etc.). However, I don't believe I was being recruited during the usual time period, so perhaps there are other popular majors or schools as well.

 

So I'm trying to get in at PwC. I have a master's degree in mechanical engineering and I'm currently getting a master's degree in IT auditing and cyber security and takin the CISA exam at the end of the year (brand new program at Fox school of business, one of only like 2 programs in the country like it). I don't have any substantial experience besides reseach positions, an engineering internship, and a current apprenticeship working for a microsoft gold partner doing EPR implementations. The woman who is at the career center said I should expect to make between 53 and 58 k, which kind of surprised me. I was getting better offers than that out of mech engingeering undergrad. Does anyone have an idea for what someone in my position would start at for IT risk assurance for PwC or any of the big 4 for that matter? Trying to be in philly, nyc, chicago, or san fran.

 
Rsteel:
So I'm trying to get in at PwC. I have a master's degree in mechanical engineering and I'm currently getting a master's degree in IT auditing and cyber security and takin the CISA exam at the end of the year (brand new program at Fox school of business, one of only like 2 programs in the country like it). I don't have any substantial experience besides reseach positions, an engineering internship, and a current apprenticeship working for a microsoft gold partner doing EPR implementations. The woman who is at the career center said I should expect to make between 53 and 58 k, which kind of surprised me. I was getting better offers than that out of mech engingeering undergrad. Does anyone have an idea for what someone in my position would start at for IT risk assurance for PwC or any of the big 4 for that matter? Trying to be in philly, nyc, chicago, or san fran.

Serious question -- with a master's degree in engineering, why the fuck are you trying to trying to move to bullshit IT work for PwC? You could start out somewhere at $100k/year doing a bullshit ~40-hour-per-week engineering job then move up into the management side.

Also, who's paying for these degrees?

 

I was a researcher for the university so they paid me to get my master's in engineering (full tuition covered plus salary) and for this new master's I got a pretty hefty scholarship. I got interested in enterprise IT when I was working as an intern at a company that was implementing SAP and they were having real issues with the governance part, so it kind of dawned on me that this was something important that I should maybe look into. A professor from my department (ME) pointed me in the direction of this program under the impression that I could make a lot of money with this type of degree and an engineering background. Everyone keeps telling me the big 4 are the way to go with this type of degree but I feel like there could be other companies to go to that might appreciate my engineering background more.

 

The problem with IT Assurance for PwC is that it still falls under their Assurance group, which will not pay as much as Advisory. Moreover, you still come in at an entry level position despite your degrees (only exception is an MBA). With all that said, an entry level assurance offer would be around 50-58k depending on the city. For Advisory, entry level is from 60-65k. If i were you, Id look into their Advisory group, they have an IT department int heir in addition to Forensics and IT Security, I don't know much about it but have met kids within those groups.

Message me for more if you want.

Hugo
 
Hoosier82:
PwC Advisory Associate Offer:

65k

10k signing bonus

5%-10% year end bonus

first offer, room for negotiation.

What office? And what industry/LoS? Financial Services?

 
moose46:
Hoosier82:
PwC Advisory Associate Offer:

65k

10k signing bonus

5%-10% year end bonus

first offer, room for negotiation.

What office? And what industry/LoS? Financial Services?

Chicago, CIO Advisory, Healthcare IT, Associate Level, MIS from top 10 MIS B-school.

Depending on your vertical/horizantal you may essentially be working for Diamond Management + Technology Consultants. I interned with PwC this summer and it was all Diamond folk at the client (6 week high level IT strategy engagement - 60-70 hrs/week). Diamond folk at PwC is one of the only reasons I would go PwC Advisory over Deloitte b/c most Diamond people are cool as fuck (work hard play hard) + a lot smarter/better at what they do than PwC legacy advisory.

Deloitte's offers to my colleagues are at 75k + 15k signing bonus + year end bonus. Im trying to get into Deloitte or get PwC to up my offer comparable to Deloitte, PwC is fallback.

 

Hey I have an undergrad in computers engineering .. and worked for about 3 years developing software before deciding to go for a graduate degree in computers (a top 25 school). Another friend of mine has close to 5 years of industry experience. We're both looking at management consulting as a prospective career path. So I was checking out the profile of Experienced Associates at PwC and I was wondering what sort of a pay I could expect say in LA? Looking at the previous posts was a bit of a buzz kill .. Seriously what could both of us expect? Or is it better to stay clear of big 4 and focus on the industry!? And what about Deloitte since you guys say Deloitte offers better deals..?

 

No way. Started at PwC Advisory in 2007. Got 57K + 3K signing + 10K tuition reimbursement (after taxes).

"Just go to the prom and get your promotion. That's the way the business world works. Come on, Keith!" - The Boss
 

Qui vero minima quaerat officia eos. Impedit facere nemo molestiae quo ea ut. Voluptas molestias repellat neque aliquid. Non reprehenderit commodi quo.

 

Molestias qui ipsa esse vel. Eum officiis dicta unde.

Et velit voluptatem iure quos quia possimus ducimus. Illo quod beatae dignissimos repudiandae omnis autem. Nihil nisi excepturi ut placeat facilis cumque rem. Nihil numquam dolorum animi.

Culpa soluta sapiente ipsum qui autem. Non optio recusandae dolores quisquam dolor quaerat quisquam. Qui ipsum consequatur numquam numquam.

 

Quia alias ut optio at commodi ipsa sed. Exercitationem voluptas rem ea. Est alias sapiente et nulla architecto dignissimos. Quia et qui quis ipsa.

Exercitationem fugit maiores vel repudiandae aut. Quidem sint vitae ut est est similique iusto fuga. Est dolorum vitae temporibus et omnis ad. Laboriosam quam est ipsum et quibusdam. Vero aperiam error autem blanditiis. Est ea vel libero ab vel accusamus. Omnis eum assumenda illum quo tempore animi nesciunt voluptas.

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