Consulting Pay: What MBAs Earned In 2020

INTERNSHIP PAY ALL OVER THE BOARD

That treatment doesn’t extend to internships, however. In many cases, undergraduates and Master’s degree holders are paid on an hourly basis. On the high end, Strategy& undergrad interns make $41 an hour, with their PwC counterparts banking up to $39 an hour. On the low end, Booz Allen Hamilton pays their undergrads just $24. In contrast, the MBB pays a sum that ranges from $18,125 (Bain & Company) to $15,000 (McKinsey).

Those intern paychecks pale in comparison to the hauls enjoyed by MBAs and Ph.Ds. At Bain and McKinsey, for example, MBA interns receive $32,000 for their summer efforts, just a shade above the Boston Consulting Group ($31,730). EY Parthenon topped all three at $33,000. However, a few firms applied a different pay strategy to recruit talented interns. At KPMG, MBA interns are paid $66 an hour – which rockets to $99 an hour for overtime. While Accenture Strategy pays $30,000 to MBA interns, it adds a $5,000 relocation reimbursement and a tuition reimbursement of up to $80,000 to returning interns.

This year’s Management Consulting Salary survey also includes several valuable nuggets. The survey found that consultants taking an exit opportunity increase their pay from 12%-20%. That rule doesn’t quite apply to finance according to Management Consulted. “Those entering the financial services industry receive a 30%+ increase in compensation—but work/life balance often takes a hit.”

SOME INTRIGUING FINDINGS

Management Consulted further notes that 2020 ushered in an increased demand for consulting services, particularly in supply chains and digital transformation – hardly surprising considering the COVID effect. Despite industry growth, the economic certainty made the job all the more dificult for the rank-and-file.

“Consulting firms of all sizes upped the utilization of their current consultants, and some cut hiring. This was more pronounced in niche practice areas (human capital/digital specifically). Even to this day, some firms continue to operate at reduced capacity and under hiring freezes.”

Hiring wasn’t the only area where progress was stopped in its tracks. Management Consulted also noted that consulting pay had also flat-lined, a big change for MBAs. Despite this, Management Consulted believes the future remains bullish for consultants as a whole.

“Outside of finance, post-MBA compensation packages are the highest in consulting out of any industry. While Big Tech continues to compete with consulting for top talent, consulting continues to offer faster promotion cycles, broader industry exposure, and a better path to business leadership.”

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