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Consulting Salaries For MBA & Master’s Graduates

What salary can you earn at top consulting firms like Deloitte, Bain, BCG & McKinsey? Find out in our breakdown of consulting salaries for MBA and master’s graduates

By  Marco De Novellis

Tue Feb 23 2021

BusinessBecause
From the Big Three management consulting firms—Bain, BCG, and McKinsey—to the likes of Deloitte, EY, and KPMG, consulting companies are among the biggest recruiters of MBA and business master’s graduates, offering impressive six-figure salaries.

While other industries suffer the impact of COVID-19, thousands of business school grads will land high-paying jobs in consulting this year. Although consulting salaries have been impacted by the pandemic, consulting remains one of the world’s best-paid professions.

McKinsey & Company, which plans to hire its biggest ever class of incoming MBAs in 2021, offers base salaries of around $165,000 per annum and bonuses of over $30,000 to MBA graduates.

While pursuing an MBA or master’s program comes at a significant cost, if you’re considering a consulting career after business school you’ll likely make a swift return on your investment.

Here, we roundup the headline stats for consulting salaries for MBA and master’s graduates at some of the world’s biggest consulting firms, from Management Consulted’s 2021 Consulting Salary Report

You can find out more information about the specific consulting firms by clicking through to the links below.


The Big Three


Bain & Company

Bain consultant salary prospects are very promising for MBA graduates. The Big Three, also known as MBB, all offer base consultant salaries of $165,000 with Bain offering performance bonuses of over $40,000 and a signing bonus of $30,000.

Master’s degree graduates can expect to earn around $90,000 with performance bonuses of over $22,000. Signing bonuses for Bain master’s-level recruits are $5,000.

Bain is ranked the world’s best consulting firm to work for based on its strong compensation as well as other benefits like work-life balance.


Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

BCG consultants earn almost identical salary and bonuses to those at Bain. BCG consultant salary prospects are $165,000 for MBA graduates and $90,000 for master’s graduates.

BCG offers less PTO (vacation) than Bain and McKinsey, offering 15 days per year compared with 20 and 19 days respectively. Master’s grads at BCG earn up to $18,000 in performance bonuses.


McKinsey & Company

McKinsey MBA consultants earn $165,000 in base salary with performance bonuses of up to $35,000. McKinsey also offers 50% off MBA tuition for returning interns.

A McKinsey consultant salary for master’s graduates comes in at $90,000 with performance bonuses of up to $30,000.

Like any consulting firm, salaries at McKinsey increase as consultants go up the ranks from junior associate to associate to partner.


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The Big Four


Deloitte

MBA salaries for the Big Four accounting and professional services firms are increasingly competitive and Deloitte consultant salary prospects are no different

Deloitte Consulting offers MBA graduates base salaries of up to $135,000; Deloitte Federal $125,000; Deloitte Government & Public Services $117,000. MBA consultants at Deloitte Human Capital and Deloitte Tech earn $160,000.

Performance bonuses for MBAs vary across the organization but Deloitte Human Capital consultants can expect to supplement their salary with bonuses of up to $32,000.

Master’s level consultants earn base salaries of up to $80,000 at Deloitte Consulting and around $26,000 in performance bonuses.


Ernst & Young (EY)

EY plans to hire up to 300 MBA graduates globally before July 2021 and offers the best consultant salaries among the Big Four firms, aside from at Deloitte Tech and Deloitte Human Capital.

MBA consultants at EY can expect base consulting salaries of $155,000. EY-Parthenon, which is focused on strategy consulting, offers MBA hires $170,000 in base salary, the highest salary figure on the market.

The EY consultant salary for master’s level graduates is $72,500 while master’s grads can earn $90,000 at EY-Parthenon, which also tends to recruit mostly from top-ranked business schools.


Read: EY’s Chief Recruiter Tells You How To Get Hired

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KPMG

KPMG offers MBA consultants $145,000 in base salary and performance bonuses of up to $17,400 as well as a signing bonus of up to $35,000,

Master’s-level graduates earn $77,000 per year and can expect a 10% signing bonus.


PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

PwC MBA consultants earn base salaries of $150,000 on joining the firm and up to $35,000 in performance bonuses. MBA consultants hired by Strategy&, the global strategy consulting team at PwC, get paid an impressive $168,000 base salary.

ManagementConsulted only provides data for PwC master’s-level base salary in Canada which comes in at C$65,000; around $50,000.



More top consulting salaries


While the Big Three and Big Four firms tend to offer the most attractive salaries for new MBA and master’s-level hires, there are many other consulting firms with attractive compensation packages.

The highest-paying boutique consulting firms tend to offer MBA salaries ranging from $100,000 to $150,000.

MBA consultant salaries at firms like Accenture Strategy, LEK Consulting, and Oliver Wyman rival the Big Three, with base salaries ranging from $155-to-$165,000. Kearney offers MBA grads $168,000 in base salary.

Consulting salaries for master’s graduates at these firms are also high with base salaries ranging from $80-to-$87,000.

Other boutique consulting firms, including big-names like Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, are also increasingly popular. 

Getting a job in consulting is no easy feat. Going to business school can provide you with the knowledge, network, and connections with top employers that you need to send you on the right path.

If you’re considering an MBA to transition into consulting, download our free BusinessBecause MBA Application Guide 2020-21 to help you on your journey.


The salary figures in this article are for those joining management consulting positions in 2021. The data was sourced by ManagementConsulted from interview prep clients who received written job offers. 

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