A brief history of the management consulting industry

The birth of the management consulting industry dates back to the industrial revolution in the late 19th Century. The earliest management consulting firms included Arthur D. Little – founded by the MIT professor of the same name in the late 1890s – and Booz Allen Hamilton, founded by Edwin G. Booz, a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, in 1914.

The birth of the world’s top-3 management consulting firms

The world’s top consulting firm today, McKinsey & Company, was founded by James O. McKinsey, an accounting professor from the University of Chicago. Marvin Bower, who ran McKinsey & Company from the late 1930s for about 30 years, has been described by Harvard Business Review as “the father of modern management consulting”. Today, McKinsey is unparalleled in its reach and prestige, with over 45,000 employees and over 130 offices globally.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was founded in 1963 by Bruce D. Henderson, one of the ‘Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century’, according to Harvard Business Review. With 30,000 employees today, BCG has a presence in 100 cities around the world.

Bain & Company was founded by Bill Bain – a former BCG Partner – in Boston in 1973. With 15,000 employees and 65 offices globally, Bain is smaller than both McKinsey and BCG. However, it is no less prestigious and, as a result of its smaller size, it’s the fastest-growing of the three.

As the world’s top management consulting firms, McKinsey, BCG and Bain (collectively known as ‘MBB’) have all developed new ways of serving their clients beyond the provision of traditional strategy consulting services. They have achieved this by developing deep expertise in areas such as Digital, Data Science, Operations, Sustainability and Marketing.

Today, there are a few smaller, international challengers to MBB in the management consulting industry. These include firms such as Kearney, Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger and L.E.K.

The entry of ‘the Big 4’ into the strategy consulting space

‘The Big 4’ refers to the global professional services firms EY (Ernst & Young), PwC, Deloitte and KPMG. All four offer strategy consulting services to their clients through small, dedicated units, the majority of which originated through the acquisition of smaller consulting firms in the 2010s:

• EY Parthenon: the result of EY’s acquisition of The Parthenon Group
• Monitor Deloitte: the result of Deloitte’s acquisition of Monitor
• Strategy&: the result of PwC’s acquisition of Booz & Company
• KPMG’s Global Strategy Group (GSG)

Although now well established in the field of strategy consulting, there are a number of ways in which the Big-4 differ from McKinsey, BCG and Bain, who collectively remain unchallenged as the industry leaders.

The emergence of a myriad of smaller, boutique firms

In addition to the top management consulting firms, a myriad of smaller, boutique management consulting firms is in operation. Typically they specialize in a particular industry or function, often in a single geographic area.

What does a management consultant do?

Ultimately, the job of a management consultant is to help solve their clients’ most critical and complex problems. Organizations hire management consulting firms to help them tackle their highest-impact challenges and opportunities, where hundreds of millions – or even billions – of dollars are on the line.

These challenges are usually rooted in classical areas such as:

• business strategy
• profit improvements (e.g. revenue growth, cost reduction, turnarounds, operations)
• opportunity assessments (e.g. due diligence for an acquisition, market entry, product launch)
• re-organizations

However, a large share of strategic consulting today is in addressing other items at the top of a CEO’s agenda. These priorities are often heavily influenced by the economic, geopolitical and technological landscape. These more contemporary objectives might include achieving net zero, transforming a business through digitization, harnessing data science or responding to a crisis.

The day-to-day responsibilities of a management consultant

Serving one client at a time, consultants tackle these challenges in the form of projects, undertaking a wide variety of tasks that help to build a final recommendation and, ultimately, solve the client’s problem. These tasks include:

• collecting and analyzing data
• interviewing experts and clients
• performing desk research
• identifying insights and proposing recommendations
• conducting problem-solving discussions
• creating and delivering presentations

Although a common myth about the management consulting industry is that consultants only work with CEOs, they in fact work with many people at different levels of the client’s organization to craft recommendations collaboratively. To enable this close degree of collaboration, consultants spend a great deal of time on site at the client’s office, which usually requires weekly travel and time away from home.

The work of a management consultant is likely to be attractive to those who favor strategic decision making over execution. You can learn more in our article about what management consultants at McKinsey, BCG and Bain actually do.

What does a career in management consulting look like?

Career progression in top consulting firms

The majority of consultants at McKinsey, BCG and Bain are generalists. This means that they work on a variety of projects in a wide range of industries and functions. The firms’ generalist career track has three phases, all of which evolve over the course of a consultant’s tenure:

Consultant roles

This phase is all about doing the ‘leg work’ of a project in order to support the project team with solving the client’s problem. As consultants progress through each role in this phase, they are expected to work increasingly independently. They’re also required to handle more complex or important pieces of the project, and spend more time managing client relationships.

Project management roles

This phase is all about taking the reins on a project. This involves managing day-to-day client relationships and coordinating with senior stakeholders within the firm, including Partners. Responsibilities in this phase also include managing the consultants who work on the project, and generally ensuring a successful result.

Initially, consultants are dedicated to one project. However, in the final role of the project management phase they start splitting their time among several projects and supporting less experienced managers.

Partner roles

The position of Partner in a top consulting firm comes with significant status and responsibility, along with an average starting compensation of close to $1,000,000. Partners function as strategic advisors to clients. They are primarily responsible for generating new business, managing and developing client relationships, and ensuring that the firm delivers positive results for clients. Partners also play a leadership role within their firm, sometimes leading an office, a function (e.g. recruiting, social events), or a practice area.

In order to achieve client impact in specific practice areas such as Digital, Data Science, Operations, Sustainability and Marketing, McKinsey, BCG and Bain also hire a smaller number of expert consultants. These individuals focus on work that aligns with their expert knowledge. In all three firms, the expert consulting career path differs from the path for generalists. You can learn more about this and the career progression that expert consultants can expect in our article on how the expert career track differs from the generalist track at McKinsey, BCG and Bain.

The performance review process

To manage consultants’ progression along the consulting career path, the firms all have a highly codified performance review process in place. From new hires to Senior Partners, every consultant is evaluated twice a year against a set of core skills, which include:

• problem solving
• analytical and numerical skills
• communication
• client relationship management
• working autonomously

The performance expectations for each skill rise in line with an individual’s role and tenure. As consultants become more senior, the firms place more emphasis on the additional skills of leading a team, developing clients from a commercial standpoint, and developing their expertise in either a section or function.

When consultants meet the performance criteria of the next level in the consulting career path they are promoted. There is a general expectation that consultants should be ready for promotion after a certain amount of time within a role.

Consultants who are not performing at the level required to be promoted on schedule, and – after being given the opportunity – have been unable to turn their performance around, may be asked to leave under the firm’s ‘up or out’ policy.

Rapid career progression is available for generalists

All three firms offer generalist consultants the prospect of rapid career progression and the opportunity to reach the level of Partner in a relatively short period of time. Top performers at McKinsey who join the firm at entry level can become a Partner after just eight years. At BCG and Bain, progression to Partner level is possible in a comparable amount of time. You can learn more about the route to Partnership in each firm in our article on the generalist consulting career path.

Why do so many people want to work in management consulting?

An attractive proposition for ambitious individuals

There are a number of factors that make a career in management consulting appealing to driven and talented candidates. It provides unparalleled learning opportunities, with exposure to a huge number of sectors, functions and locations. A management consulting career also offers plenty of intellectual stimulation, the opportunity to travel, and the chance to learn from a diverse range of colleagues in a supportive and collaborative working environment.

A significant additional attraction is the generous compensation available to consultants. An entry-level consultant can expect to earn a total of $120-125K, while an MBA graduate can expect to earn $220-225K. Consultants’ compensation continues to increase steadily in line with their progression through the ranks of the firm.

Spending time in a top consulting firm can shape the rest of your career

At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, consultants develop an abundance of transferable skills and capabilities that enable them to work in almost any other industry or function. These individuals also have an extremely prestigious brand that’s recognised and respected around the world on their resumes.

As a result, a wide range of attractive exit opportunities – many in senior executive positions – are available to those who have spent time at McKinsey, BCG or Bain. These include:

• roles in tech – our research into the exit opportunities from a consulting career indicates that Google/Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta employ the highest number of former MBB consultants of any company
• strategy roles outside of tech (e.g. in financial services, retail or media)
• investment management (e.g., hedge funds, private equity, venture capital)
• entrepreneurship
• non-commercial roles (e.g. in academia, public service, teaching and non-profit organizations)

A challenging career for driven individuals

Although there are many advantages to a career in management consulting, there are also some downsides. At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, consultants work long hours under intense pressure and scrutiny. The extensive travel they’re required to do can compromise their work-life balance further. This is among the reasons why many people leave consulting after two to four years.

How recruitment works at top management consulting firms

Routes into management consulting

We recently conducted some research into top routes into McKinsey, BCG and Bain to learn more about the ways in which the firms leverage their four hiring channels in different locations around the world. These channels are:

Pre-experience student hiring

This is for candidates who have recently completed a bachelor’s degree or non-MBA master’s program. These candidates typically have no more than two years of experience and are hired into the firms’ entry-level consulting roles. You can learn more about joining a top firm through this channel in our article on the best degrees and majors for a career in consulting.

MBA hiring

This channel is for graduates of a one or two-year MBA program. These candidates typically have some work experience, gained before their MBAs, and are typically hired into the third level of the consultant role. You can learn more about joining a top firm through this channel in our article on the best MBAs for consulting.

Experienced professional hiring

This channel is for experienced candidates who join McKinsey, BCG and Bain from other companies. These candidates typically have two to eight years of experience and are hired into either the second or third level of the consultant role, depending on their experience. You can learn more in our articles on how to join a top management consulting firm as an experienced hire and how to move from ‘the Big 4’ or another tier-2 firm to MBB.

Advanced degree hiring

This channel is for candidates who have recently completed a PhD, law school or medical school program. These candidates are typically hired into either the second or third level of the consultant role. You can learn more about joining a top firm through this channel in our article on how to go from a PhD, law degree or medical degree to management consulting.

The recruitment process at top consulting firms

Given the prestige of the world’s top-3 consulting firms – and the generous compensation and rapid career development available to consultants – it’s no surprise that McKinsey, BCG and Bain are among the top destinations for some of the best candidates in the world.

The firms compete against some of the biggest and most attractive employers in other industries for talented candidates. Those who are interested in a career in management consulting might also be considering a career in investment banking, a big tech firm or a startup.

That said, with some of the most accomplished candidates on the market submitting applications to McKinsey, BCG and Bain every year, the firms are able to select the ‘cream of the crop’. In fact, McKinsey hires fewer than 1% of the candidates who apply.

Top consulting firms use a tightly structured and highly codified recruitment process to identify exceptional individuals with outstanding problem-solving skills, interpersonal skills and drive. Here’s how the process works:

• MBB recruiters review applications and decide which candidates to progress based on an evaluation of their resumes and cover letters.
• In some cases, candidates might also be required to complete an online test, such as McKinsey’s digital assessment.
• Candidates who pass these initial screening stages are then invited to take part in several rounds of consulting interviews. These consist of a case interview followed by a fit interview or, in McKinsey’s case, a Personal Experience Interview (PEI).

The firms all use objective assessment criteria to evaluate each candidate’s interview performance and determine who should ultimately receive an offer.

The case interview: a unique interview format that candidates must learn to master

Top consulting firms use case interviews to assess whether candidates have the problem-solving and communication skills required to do the work of a management consultant. This is a notoriously challenging interview format that requires significant preparation to master.

In a case interview, the interviewer describes a business problem and the candidate then starts to propose an approach to solving it, working through the case with the interviewer and carrying out analyses to inform the answer. Finally, the candidate must synthesize their findings and share their recommendation.

Cases presented to candidates in these interviews are very similar to the problems that they would be required to solve in the role of a management consultant. They are sometimes based on real-world projects that the firm has recently completed. While these cases can cover a wide range of business topics, some of the most common case interview questions are on themes such as profit improvement, revenue growth, entering a new market and cutting costs. Candidates can expect to undertake at least four case interviews before being offered a role at a top consulting firm.

To do well in a case interview, candidates need to be able to think on their feet and perform well on a series of dimensions:

• Structuring: breaking the problem down into a small set of independent drivers
• Numeracy: solving simple math problems on paper
• Judgement and insights: drawing conclusions from the facts revealed throughout the case and the candidate’s own experience
• Creativity: generating ideas
• Synthesis: summarizing the work into an actionable recommendation
• Case leadership: driving the discussion with the interviewer towards an answer

Candidates are also assessed on the presence and communication skills they demonstrate throughout the discussion about the case.

Preparing for consulting interviews at McKinsey, BCG or Bain

To be in with a chance of landing a coveted offer from a top consulting firm, candidates must invest a significant amount of time and effort in preparing for their interviews. Most candidates who go on to receive an offer from a top consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain invest more than 50 hours in their preparation over a period of six to eight weeks.

As the leading case interview preparation platform – preparing over 50,000 candidates a year – here are our top tips for preparing for an interview with a top consulting firm:

Brush up on your math skills

To be able to solve the kind of math problems that you will face in a case interview, you need to be able to:

• compute the four operations with a pen and paper
• use key math concepts such as fractions, percentages, algebra and probability to solve simple math problems
• understand a company’s simplified income statement and balance sheet

If you’re getting ready for a case interview, it’s essential to refresh your math skills as part of your preparations. Our Case Math Course is designed to help you do this. It includes short videos covering all the topics listed above, as well as tips on how to improve your speed and reliability. This content is part of our Interview Prep Course, which also includes calculation and case math drills to help you practice running calculations on a daily basis.

Practice case interviews with other candidates

The case interview is a notoriously difficult format to master and requires a huge amount of live practice with a partner. Most successful candidates complete at least 25 live practice sessions before their interview.

To organize these sessions, head to our Practice Room, where you can connect with a diverse community of fellow candidates who are all available for case interview practice, and visit our Case Library, which includes 100+ downloadable cases that you can use for your practice sessions.

In addition to practicing live with other candidates, it’s important to become familiar with the dimensions that are assessed in consulting interviews, and to learn the techniques required to perform well in them. Our Interview Prep Course includes video lectures and sample interviews that cover every aspect of the case interview, and interactive drills for practicing them.

Meanwhile, our team of coaches – which includes former consultants and interviewers with McKinsey BCG and Bain – is available to deliver case and fit interview coaching to put your preparation to the test and provide you with personal feedback and practical advice.

Don’t neglect your preparation for the fit interview

While the format of the fit interview is likely to feel more familiar than that of the case interview, it’s still vital to prepare thoroughly for it. Our Interview Prep Course includes video lectures and sample interviews covering both the regular fit interview and McKinsey’s Personal Experience Interview (PEI).

Roles, responsibilities and skills

Skills and responsibilities in management consulting

The role of a management consultant is clearly defined: helping clients in large organizations solve their most critical and complex problems. This involves undertaking a wide range of analytical and strategic activities, including:

• structuring the problem
• collecting insights
• analyzing data
• communicating findings
• bringing the client along with ways of thinking
• formulating a recommendation

To succeed, consultants are required to develop a set of clearly defined consulting skills, which include:

• problem solving
• analytical and numerical skills
• communication
• client relationship management
• working autonomously

As consultants become more senior, the firms place more emphasis on the additional skills of leading a team, developing clients from a commercial standpoint, and developing their expertise in either a section or function.

Skills and responsibilities in tech

By their very nature, tech companies have a wide variety of roles and functions, including engineering, marketing and finance. The areas that tend to appeal most to candidates who might also consider a career in management consulting tend to be:

• Business operations: a Business Operations Manager is responsible for driving business growth by aligning strategy and operations across all areas of the company. This is the role in tech that is closest to that of a management consultant.
• Product management: a Product Manager (PM) is responsible for developing and managing the company’s products or services, ensuring that they meet the strategic goals of the company and the needs of its users. This role combines many disciplines: design, technology, business and behavioral science. For instance, a PM might be in charge of designing the new version of Google’s search page.
• Analytics: Data Analysts collect, organize and interpret data to answer questions and provide the company with insight. For instance, a Data Analyst might analyze the user behavior patterns of an e-commerce website to recommend ways of improving conversions.

Recruitment and hiring

Recruitment in management consulting

Top consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG and Bain (MBB) are highly selective when it comes to hiring new consultants. With some of the world’s most talented candidates applying to MBB every year, the firms focus on choosing the ‘cream of the crop’ through a tightly structured and highly codified recruitment process.

MBB recruiters review applications and decide who to progress based on an evaluation of candidates’ resumes and cover letters. In some cases, candidates might also be required to complete an online test, such as McKinsey’s digital assessment.

Candidates who pass these initial screening stages are then invited to take part in consulting interviews with the firm. These consist of a case interview followed by a fit interview or, in McKinsey’s case, a Personal Experience Interview (PEI). The firms all use objective assessment criteria to evaluate each candidate’s interview performance and to determine who should receive an offer.

Recruitment in tech

Because tech companies all operate in different areas of the market and have a vast range of roles and functions to hire into, the recruitment process is neither as unified or codified as it is in management consulting.

However, the technical interviews for each type of role follow a similar format at most major tech companies. An interview for a Product Manager role at Meta, for example, might be similar to an interview for a similar position at Alphabet. This is because the companies are hiring the same kind of people for the same kind of job.

In tech, candidates also tend to be assessed against a firm’s set of values or other behavioral criteria. Amazon, for example, uses its seven leadership principles to do this. For some roles in certain tech companies, recruiters will be looking for candidates who can live and breathe the culture of the company. It’s therefore vital for candidates to familiarize themselves with the values and other core principles of the firm they wish to join.

In management consulting, the recruitment process is both predictable and consistent among the top-3 firms. Preparing for a consulting interview is therefore relatively straightforward, as long as candidates invest the required time and effort in doing so. In tech, however, interview preparation can be more challenging for candidates because the recruitment process can vary wildly among firms and roles.

Compensation and financial security

Compensation in management consulting

Top management consulting firms are among the best-paying employers in the market. At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, new graduates can expect to earn a total of $120-125K a year, while MBA graduates can expect to earn a total of $220-225K.

At every level of the consulting career path, compensation increases steadily in line with a consultant’s career progression. At Partner level, a starting compensation of close to $1,000,000 can be expected. This figure increases further to multiple millions of dollars for Senior Partners.

In addition to being generous, compensation for consultants is also predictable. For every firm and office, there is a unique base salary for each role from graduate level to Partner. McKinsey, BCG and Bain also use a formula – based on the performance of both the consultant and the firm – to calculate consultants’ end-of-year bonuses.

Compensation in tech

Generally speaking, the compensation available in the tech industry is as attractive as it is in consulting. The median starting salaries reported by graduates of the MBA classes of 2022 at MIT Sloan, Stanford and Harvard Business School who subsequently went into consulting were only around 10% higher than the median starting salaries of those who went into tech.

The source of this difference is likely to be the additional equity compensation, vested over time, that tech firms tend to offer new hires. This is not included in the business schools’ employment reports. With equity compensation taken into account, the total compensation in tech can sometimes exceed that available in management consulting.

However, this is largely dependent on the performance of the company’s stock over each period of employment. At the time of this article’s publication, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta are all among the world’s 10 companies with the highest market capitalization. Their stock price is therefore very unlikely to increase manyfold and may well even decline, reducing the expected value of equity compensation for employees.

Many candidates will favor the prospect of equity in a young startup, where the reward could be much higher in the event of the company going public or being acquired. However, careers in startups come with greater risk and, in many cases, less attractive compensation, than careers in both big tech and management consulting.

A greater degree of job security in consulting

Management consulting firms tend to be less affected by changes in the global economy than other types of company, which means that there is a high degree of job security for those who meet performance expectations.

In a downturn, firms can pay lower end-of-year bonuses, which is a large part of their cost base. They can also count on natural attrition as an outcome of their ‘up or out’ policy and the attractive exit opportunities offered to their consultants. They can also reduce their recruitment targets or delay new joiners’ start dates. Overall, consulting firms do not need to resort to rounds of layoffs to adjust to a more difficult environment.

Tech companies, on the other hand, can be more vulnerable to external forces than management consulting firms, which means that jobs in the tech industry are naturally less secure. In recent years, a number of high-profile tech companies, including Alphabet, Amazon and Meta, have had significant rounds of layoffs.

Work-life balance

Management consulting firms and top tech companies alike expect employees to work extremely hard. As a result, they tend to hire very driven individuals who do this naturally.

Consultants, in particular, work long hours under intense scrutiny and pressure. Consequently, the environment in consulting firms can be stressful. Despite being something of a perk and among the reasons why many people want to join a top consulting firm, the amount of travel that consultants are required to do can further compromise their work-life balance. And because management consultants move to a different project team every two or three months, it’s not easy for them to settle into a comfortable routine.

In tech, the hours can be just as long as they are in consulting, and the pressure can be equally as intense. However, big tech companies are known for providing comfortable working spaces, with areas for relaxation and social interaction, which can offer employees some respite. Additionally, there is usually far less travel involved for those who work in big tech companies, and individuals tend to stay in the same team for the duration of their time in a particular role. These differences all contribute to a somewhat better work-life balance.

Ultimately, hard work, long hours and stress are part and parcel of the employee experience at consulting firms and tech companies alike, but an adequate work-life balance is a more realistic prospect in tech.

Career advancement and growth

Career progression in consulting

Most consultants at McKinsey, BCG and Bain are on the firms’ generalist career track, which means they work on a variety of projects in a wide range of industries and functions. This track has three phases – consulting roles, project management roles and Partner roles – all of which evolve over the course of a consultant’s tenure.

To support their progression, consultants receive comprehensive formal training, along with mentorship and guidance from senior team colleagues, and frequent feedback from project managers and Partners.

The firms all have a highly codified performance review process in place, which offers the possibility of rapid career progression for top performers. At McKinsey, BCG or Bain, a high-performing new consultant can expect to progress to Partner level in eight to 11 years.

Career progression in tech

Tech firms employ a diverse range of talented individuals, some of whom want a career path that doesn’t require them to manage people as they become more senior. A a result, career progression in tech firms is often structured around two distinct ‘tracks’:

• The individual contributor track – for individuals who want to focus on deepening their domain expertise without managing team members
• The management track – for individuals who want to develop as leaders and managers

While some companies have different roles and levels of seniority within each career track, there is no single structure for career progression that’s applied widely across the industry, as there is in management consulting.

Career progression in tech is not underpinned by a consistent set of processes or policies. As a result, advancement for top performers is not necessarily guaranteed, and – in the absence of an ‘up or out’ policy – the fate of poor performers is far less predictable.

However, this more flexible approach to process also means that it’s possible for individuals in a tech firm to progress their careers in a wider range of circumstances. As a company’s product is taking off, for example, someone with a lot of potential can find themselves building a team and advancing to a senior position without having been required to reach any specific tenure beforehand.

A management consultant’s performance is assessed by multiple Partners across multiple projects, against a very well-defined set of skills. In tech firms, however, the outcome of the performance review process tends to rely almost entirely on the view of an individual’s line manager, making it less objective.

In summary, career progression in management consulting firms is structured, consistent and based on objective assessment criteria – with rapid career progression available for top performers. In big tech companies, the approach to career progression tends to be more flexible and less objective, which makes the outcome for employees harder to predict.

Exit opportunities

McKinsey, BCG and Bain are all prestigious and highly respected brands. This is among the reasons why a variety of attractive exit opportunities are available to former consultants. In fact, these opportunities are often so appealing that many people choose to leave consulting after two to four years in order to pursue them.

Major tech companies like Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Meta are just as widely recognized as the world’s top-3 consulting firms, and equally prestigious. Those who leave a career in tech are likely to be in high demand by companies that are seeking to modernize and become more agile. A traditional bank, for example, might be particularly interested in a candidate who has worked for a digital disruptor in the banking industry.

Like former consultants, those who have worked in tech are often well placed to enter the world of entrepreneurship. Depending on when they joined their tech firm, they may have experience of working in a company as it undergoes rapid growth. Those from the tech world are also likely to have a strong grasp of the latest emerging technologies and how they can be leveraged to start a new company or launch a new product successfully.

However, what consultants have that tech professionals don’t is an abundance of highly transferable skills that can allow them to do any sort of job and transition into many different functions and industries. The options for those who leave a career in tech will naturally be slightly more specialized – and therefore more limited – than those available to former consultants.

In summary, a career in tech is a great route for those who are drawn to roles that support the development and delivery of cutting-edge products and services, and who want to achieve a reasonable work-life balance. Consulting, on the other hand, is an excellent way to gain exposure to a variety of strategic problems and industries, build a transferable skill set, and experience rapid and predictable career progression. Both options are attractive for those who want to receive generous compensation and be well positioned for a number of exciting career opportunities in the future.

An overview of the management consulting career path

The generalist consulting career path has three key ‘phases’, with roles that evolve over the course of a consultant’s tenure. These phases are:

• Consultant roles
• Project management roles
• Partner roles

McKinsey, BCG and Bain each use different job titles for the various roles in each phase of the consulting career path. In addition, they all offer consultants slightly different routes to Partnership.

The generalist career path at McKinsey, BCG and Bain

McKinsey offers the fastest career path to Partner

As the graphic above shows, all three firms offer the prospect of rapid career progression and the opportunity to reach the level of Partner in a relatively short period of time.

Those who complete every level of the consulting career path at McKinsey can become a Partner after just nine years. At Bain, consultants typically reach this position after 10 years.

At BCG, the job title of ‘Partner’ is, in fact, part of the project management phase of the firm’s consulting career path. BCG consultants usually progress to the position in the firm that commands Partner-level compensation – Partner and Managing Director – after 11 years.

However, in all three firms, top performers are able to bypass the second level of the consulting career path and consequently reach the level of Partner a year early. McKinsey therefore offers consultants the fastest route to becoming a Partner, with the potential to achieve this in just eight years.

Roles and responsibilities on the generalist management consulting career path

Consultant roles

Consultants work as part of project teams to help clients in large organizations solve their more complex and challenging problems. Consultants do all the ‘leg work’ of the project, such as:

• collecting and analyzing data
• interviewing experts and clients
• performing desk research
• identifying insights and proposing recommendations
• creating slide presentations
• contributing to problem solving-discussions
• working alongside client team members

How the consultant role evolves

At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, the consultant phase of the career path is divided into three different roles. While the job itself is essentially the same, as consultants progress through each role they are expected to work increasingly independently. They’re also required to handle more complex or important pieces of the project, and spend more time managing client relationships.

At McKinsey and BCG, these roles don’t usually include managerial responsibilities. However, at Bain, consultants in the most senior position within this phase play a role in managing more junior members of the team.

Candidates who are fresh out of university or have less than two years’ professional experience typically join McKinsey, BCG or Bain in an entry-level position. Compensation for consultants at this level is $120-£125K. As consultants progress along the career path, their compensation increases steadily in line with their responsibilities and the firms’ expectations of their performance.

Consultants typically stay in this initial role for around two years, after which some move on to either the second or third role of the consultant phase, depending on their performance. Others go to business school, sponsored by the firm.

Those who join a top-3 firm with an advanced degree or with two to five years of professional experience typically begin their careers in the second role of the consulting phase. This gives them higher compensation than new graduates, and a quicker route to reaching the top levels of their firm. These consultants typically stay in the role for two years in order to have more time to learn the ropes of the profession.

Entry-level consultants, meanwhile, typically stay in this role for just one year before moving on to the third role of the consultant’s career path.

Those who join McKinsey, BCG or Bain after completing an MBA typically begin their careers in the third role of the consultant phase. Some experienced professional hires with at least five years’ experience – and, in the US, some advanced degree hires – can also join at this level. This provides candidates with a faster route to the project management phase of the consulting career path, and a total starting compensation of $220-225K.

Project management roles

The project management phase of the consulting career path is all about taking the reins on a client project. This involves managing day-to-day client relationships and coordinating with senior stakeholders within the firm, including Partners. It also involves managing the consultants who work on the project, and generally ensuring a successful result.

How the project management role evolves

At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, the project management phase is divided into two or three roles, all of which are challenging. As the initial role in this phase marks a consultant’s first experience of owning the delivery of a whole project, it’s often considered to be a ‘make or break’ moment in a management consulting career.

While the job is essentially the same for all the roles in this phase, consultants will be entrusted with bigger teams and more complex projects as they progress. Their work will also start to coalesce on a specialism – typically in a specific industry or function – and recurring clients. While consultants in this phase are initially dedicated to one project, in the final role they will start splitting their time between several projects and supporting less experienced managers.

It is very rare for individuals to join a top consulting firm in a project management role. On the generalist career track, most suitable candidates will be working at a similar or more senior level at ‘the Big-4’ or another tier-2 consulting firm.

Compensation increases further in this phase of the consulting career path, with total annual earnings of $395-405K available in the most senior project management role.

Partner roles

In top consulting firms, Partners function as strategic advisors to clients. They are primarily responsible for generating new business, managing and developing client relationships, and ensuring that the firm delivers positive results for clients. Partners also play a leadership role within their firm, sometimes leading an office, a function (e.g. recruiting, social events), or a practice area.

For some, being elected to the position of Partner at McKinsey, BCG or Bain represents the ultimate career goal. The position comes with significant status and responsibility, along with an average starting compensation of close to $1,000,000.

It’s very rare for individuals to join a top consulting firm as a Partner. This is only a possibility for those who are already Partners at a comparable firm or – in exceptional circumstances – C-level executives with outstanding industry experience.

After a few more years, some Partners are promoted by their peers to a senior partnership position within their firm, which comes with multi-million dollar annual compensation. This is the very top echelon of the consulting career path.

How career progression works at McKinsey, BCG and Bain

At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, performance reviews typically take place every six months. From new hires to Senior Partners, consultants are all evaluated on a set of core skills. The performance expectations for each skill rise in line with the consultant’s role and tenure.

Feedback is gathered from individuals who have worked with the consultant in the previous six months. A committee of Partners then assigns the consultant to a particular performance bracket (e.g. ‘underperforming’, ‘as expected’, ‘exceeding expectations’).

When consultants meet the performance criteria of the next level in the consulting career path they are promoted. The firms impose no limit on how many people can be promoted at the end of a performance review cycle.

When a consultant is assigned to the lowest performance bracket, the committee of Partners reviews the evidence again. If the majority deem there to be no chance of the situation improving, the consultant is asked to leave under the firm’s ‘up or out’ policy.

The promotion timeline itself can vary among firms and local offices; some enforce a minimum or maximum amount of time at each level, while others can be more flexible.

While these processes and policies are in place to support career progression at McKinsey, BCG and Bain, the pace of a consultant’s journey along the consulting career path will ultimately be determined by their performance.

Moving on from a career in management consulting

Although the profession offers an attractive career path, with regular promotion cycles and increasingly generous compensation, many people choose to leave management consulting after two to four years. A variety of attractive exit opportunities – many of which are at a senior executive level – are available to former consultants from top-tier firms because of the abundance of highly transferable skills they develop during their time in consulting.

What is the expert track in a top consulting firm?

Individuals who have deep expertise in a particular industry or function have the option to join McKinsey, BCG or Bain in a focused role, rather than a generalist one. They can do this in one of two ways:

• By joining the firm’s generalist consulting career track in a specialized role. In this scenario, the individual will progress along the traditional consulting career path, and will have the same opportunity as a generalist to become a Partner.
• By joining the firm’s expert consulting career track. In this scenario, the individual will progress along a different career path, which has its own roles and levels of seniority. Experts are given more time to progress through the firm’s ranks and deepen their expertise, but have less opportunity to become a fully-fledged Partner.

In the last decade, the expert career track has developed a great deal in top consulting firms. This has been driven by a growing demand from clients for tailor-made solutions that require expert knowledge. It’s no longer enough for the firms to staff all their projects with generalist consultants or to deliver one-size-fits-all solutions.

This is compounded by the fact that McKinsey, BCG and Bain are all getting bigger. Consequently, they are becoming more deeply involved in their clients’ organizations, sometimes in niche areas that require a high level of technical understanding. These are often areas that also help to drive the firms’ growth (e.g. sustainability, AI and the digital space).

As a result of these developments, there is now more demand than ever before for individuals with deep expertise to join McKinsey, BCG and Bain on their expert career tracks.

What type of work do consultants on the expert track do?

Ultimately, expert consultants are concerned with the same business as generalists: working with large organizations to solve their most important and complex problems.

However, while generalist consultants in a practice area work on a variety of projects in a wide range of industries and functions, expert consultants focus either on a single function (e.g. turnaround specialists) or industry (e.g. Oil and Gas specialists). Consequently, they are assigned to projects that align with their expert knowledge.

In addition to project work, these consultants are given time by the firms to hone their specialized skills and expertise. They are also expected to help build knowledge about their specialism within their practice area.

How does career progression differ for those on the expert track?

When it comes to career progression at McKinsey, BCG and Bain, there are a number of ways in which the experience of an expert consultant differs from that of a generalist: from job titles and levels of seniority, to the performance review and promotion process, and the prospect of becoming a Partner.

Here’s a breakdown of how the job titles on the generalist and expert consulting career paths compare to one another at each of the world’s top consulting firms:

Roles on the generalist and expert consulting paths at McKinsey

Roles on the generalist and expert consulting paths at BCG

Roles on the generalist and expert consulting paths at Bain

A different approach to performance measurement and promotions

The performance of consultants on the expert track is assessed differently from that of generalists. Their knowledge and expertise naturally plays a larger role in their performance review and, ultimately, their success at the firm.

While generalists operate under a formal ‘up or out’ policy – where they may be asked to leave if their performance doesn’t meet the required standard for promotion – expert consultants are given more time and space to progress. This is because the firms recognise that expertise takes time to develop.

Less chance of becoming a fully-fledged Partner

At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, expert consultants rarely become fully-fledged Partners. A key role of a Partner is to act as a trusted advisor to CEOs of client organizations in every area of their business. This is naturally less achievable for consultants who have deep expertise in only one function.

To address this issue, the firms now have Partner-level roles on their expert career tracks. This reflects the fact that all senior expert consultants are expected to leverage their expertise to help generate new business. Although not as well compensated as generalist Partner roles, these positions give ambitious expert consultants the opportunity to reach the top echelons of their firm.

How does recruitment and selection differ on the expert track?

More demand and fewer candidates on the expert track

As the demand for specialist expertise increases, top consulting firms are consistently on the lookout for candidates with relevant expertise. When there is a pressing hiring need, there are usually only a few applicants who can meet the firms’ highly specific criteria.

While this may seem like welcome news, an exceptionally high standard of application and interview performance is still expected, and candidates for specialized roles must invest heavily in their preparation.

A similar recruitment process for roles on both tracks

Although many candidates choose to apply to their firm of choice in a specialized role, others apply for generalist consulting positions and are sometimes encouraged by the firm to consider the expert track. This happens when recruiters recognize that a candidate has deep expertise in a sought-after area.

The recruitment process for experienced candidates is therefore the same as it is for generalists: candidates must first submit a resume and cover letter and, sometimes, complete an online test (such as McKinsey’s digital assessment). Those who pass these initial screening stages are then invited to take part in consulting interviews with the firm. These consist of a case interview followed by a fit interview or, in McKinsey’s case, a Personal Experience Interview (PEI).

In their case interviews, candidates for expert roles might be given cases that focus on their area of expertise. However, this is by no means guaranteed, and it’s advisable for these candidates to practice a wide range of cases as part of their interview preparation. They might be asked to answer technical questions or discuss their technical expertise outside of the case.

What are the pros and cons of choosing the expert track?

For candidates who have deep expertise in a specific area and want to build their skills further, the expert track at McKinsey, BCG or Bain could be an excellent choice. However, for those who intend to use their time in consulting to broaden their expertise and then move on to another profession, the generalist track is likely to have more to offer.

For some, having such an intense focus on a specific function or industry could feel repetitive or tedious, while others will love working in their area of mastery and continuing to hone their expertise.

While all candidates are expected to have the same high standard of application and interview performance, there is undeniably more demand at top-3 firms for specialized consultants. This means there is greater opportunity for the small number of candidates who have the required depth of skills and expertise.

One potential drawback of the expert track is that consultants have less chance of becoming fully-fledged Partners at McKinsey, BCG and Bain. That said, it’s generally easier for these individuals to succeed because they come to every project with a high level of existing knowledge, and they can add value to projects from the very beginning of their career.

Ultimately, the question of whether a candidate should join a top consulting firm as an expert or a generalist will depend greatly on their expertise, interests and aspirations.

Recruitment and hiring

Recruitment in management consulting

Top consulting firms like McKinsey, BCG and Bain (MBB) are highly selective when it comes to hiring new consultants. With millions of candidates applying to MBB every year, the firms focus on choosing the ‘cream of the crop’ through a tightly structured and highly codified recruitment process.

MBB recruiters review applications and decide who to progress based on an evaluation of candidates’ resumes and cover letters. In some cases, candidates might also be required to complete an online test, such as McKinsey’s digital assessment.

Candidates who pass these initial screening stages are then invited to take part in consulting interviews with the firm. These consist of a case interview followed by a fit interview or, in McKinsey’s case, a Personal Experience Interview (PEI). The firms all use objective assessment criteria to evaluate each candidate’s interview performance and to determine who should receive an offer.

Recruitment in startups

Conversely, the recruitment process in startups can vary widely from company to company. Some will have the resources and experience required to develop a well-structured process that can be used to assess a high volume of candidates objectively. Others will only recruit on an ad hoc basis and may not have any specific process in place for doing so. Ultimately, the experience that candidates have when applying to join a startup depends very much on the company.

Generally speaking, it’s likely that startups may spend more time assessing a candidate’s cultural fit or technical competencies than their problem-solving skills or leadership potential. For certain roles in startups there may be exercises for candidates to complete as part of the recruitment process (e.g. coding tasks for software engineers). However, beyond this, it can be difficult for candidates to know what to expect in an interview at a startup, and therefore how to prepare for it.

Although there may be some exceptions, startups are not known for using objective assessment criteria to evaluate a candidate’s performance. This means there is a greater degree of subjectivity to recruitment decisions in startups, which can result in a variable quality of talent. This is in stark contrast to top consulting firms, which are well known for recruiting the most talented candidates available.

Roles, responsibilities and skills

A greater degree of definition in management consulting

The role of a management consultant and the skills required for success in consulting are clearly defined. Within top consulting firms, there are frameworks and processes that underpin everything from onboarding to performance reviews and career progression.

The focus of a consultant’s work is on working with the client to help crack their problem. This involves undertaking a wide range of analytical and strategic activities, including:

• structuring the problem
• collecting insights
• analyzing data
• communicating findings
• bringing the client along with ways of thinking
• formulating a recommendation

In the startup world, on the other hand, roles and responsibilities tend to be less well defined, particularly in a company’s very early stages. Teams are invariably small, and a single person might find themselves with a very wide range of responsibilities while the business seeks to establish itself.

A greater focus on execution in the startup world

In startups, there tends to be an ‘all hands on deck’ mindset, where everyone pitches in to get the work done and help move the company forward. Broadly speaking, everyone will be expected to be adaptable, open-minded and comfortable with working at pace to help the company achieve its goals.

A role in a startup will be appealing to those who are comfortable with being flexible and focusing on execution. The roles, responsibilities and skills of consulting, meanwhile, are likely to be more attractive to those who favor structure and are interested in participating in strategic decision-making.

Compensation and financial security

Compensation in management consulting

Top management consulting firms are among the best-paying employers in the market. At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, new graduates in the US can expect to earn a total of $120-125K a year, while MBA graduates can expect to earn a total of $220-225K.

At every level of the consulting career path, compensation increases steadily in line with a consultant’s career progression. At Partner level, a starting compensation close to $1,000,000 can be expected. This figure increases further to multiple millions of dollars for Senior Partners.

In addition to being generous, compensation for consultants is also predictable. For every firm and office, there is a unique base salary for each role from Graduate level to Partner. McKinsey, BCG and Bain also use a formula – based on the performance of both the consultant and the firm – to calculate consultants’ end-of-year bonuses.

Compensation in startups

In the startup world, compensation differs from company to company. In some startups, packages may involve a low base salary but will include stock options and other equity compensation, which would come to fruition in the event of the company going public or being acquired at a premium. However, it’s important to note that this only happens in a fraction of cases. When it does, the amount awarded depends on a number of factors, including the company’s valuation, when the employee joined and fluctuations in share price.

A greater degree of job security in consulting

Management consulting firms tend to be less affected by changes in the global economy than other types of companies, which means that there is a high degree of job security for top performers. Startups, by contrast, tend to be far more volatile, with job security often depending on external forces and, in some cases, the results of the founders’ efforts to seek funding.

Work-life balance

Achieving a healthy work-life balance as a management consultant can be a challenge. Consultants work long hours under intense scrutiny and pressure, in an environment that is often stressful. A great deal of travel is also involved, which can further compromise consultants’ work-life balance. That said, travel to far-flung or exotic locations – along with a generous policy on hotel rooms and restaurants – can be something of a perk, and among the reasons why many people want to join top a consulting firm.

While every startup is different, it’s likely that in the early stages of a new company, a huge amount of work will be involved. Long hours and a degree of stress can be expected. However, those who are drawn to the startup environment often find its sense of mission and many ups and downs exciting, and therefore worth any compromise to work-life balance.

Ultimately, hard work, long hours and stress are part and parcel of the employee experience at consulting firms and startups alike.

Career advancement and growth

Rapid career progression is possible in top consulting firms

Top-tier management consulting firms offer consultants the possibility of rapid career progression, with the opportunity to progress to the next level of the consulting career path every two years. At McKinsey, BCG or Bain, a high-performing new consultant can expect to progress to Partner level in around only nine years.

Startups, on the other hand, typically offer a far less structured approach to career advancement and growth. In the very early stages of a company, the startup environment can be chaotic and the team is unlikely to be fully staffed. This can sometimes be beneficial to career progression: proactive individuals can usually identify opportunities to take on additional responsibilities and contribute to decisions that impact the business. However, there is rarely a defined path for career progression in startups and it’s unusual for team members to have visibility of the internal opportunities that might be ahead.

Top consulting firms take professional development seriously

At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, entry-level consultants receive comprehensive formal training, along with mentorship and guidance from senior team colleagues and frequent feedback from project managers and Partners.

In the startup world, each company will take a different approach to employee development, although it will rarely be as structured as it is in a top consulting firm. It’s also likely to be less of a priority to a new company, particularly in its earliest stages, where the focus is often on achieving the short-term milestones required to secure the next round of funding.

Exit opportunities

Management consultants develop a wealth of transferable skills

At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, consultants work across a wide range of sectors and functions to solve some of the most pressing problems for the world’s largest organizations. As a result, they leave the world of consulting with an abundance of desirable transferable skills and a highly respected brand on their resumes. This means that they are able to work in almost any function or industry.

The variety of attractive exit opportunities available to former consultants is one of the main reasons that many people choose to leave consulting after two to four years.

Lack of prestige can limit the exit opportunities from a startup

Spending time in a startup can position people well to join – or even found – another startup in the future. The huge amount of responsibility that those in startups tend to have can also stand them in good stead for future opportunities.

However, by their nature, startups are significantly less well known – and therefore less respected – in the wider business world than top consulting firms. Many startups fail, often before the company has had the chance to gain any kind of recognition. While a small handful succeed in becoming household names (e.g. Facebook, Uber, TikTok), this usually takes at least a decade to achieve. The name of a startup on a candidate’s resume is therefore highly unlikely to have the same impact as that of a prestigious consulting firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain.

In summary, startups are a great route for those who want to get things done, are excited by the mission of the company, and are willing to take some risk with their professional growth and pay. Consulting, on the other hand, is an excellent way to gain exposure to strategic problems, build a transferable skill set, receive generous compensation and be well positioned for a number of attractive career opportunities.

The skills required for junior consultants

Up to and including the Manager level on the consulting career path, McKinsey, BCG and Bain evaluate the performance of consultants in the following areas:

Problem solving

At its heart, the job of a management consultant is to solve clients’ most critical and complex problems within a limited period of time. Consultants therefore need to be able to structure their work effectively in order to solve the problem in the time available. This involves breaking the problem down into small pieces of work that can be executed and managed independently.

A hypothesis-driven approach to solving problems is essential in consulting. This is because there is simply not enough time for consultants to look at a problem from every angle. Instead of ‘boiling the ocean’ by pursuing every possible line of enquiry, consultants must devise a hypothesis to evaluate with an ‘80:20’ mindset (doing 20% of the work to reach 80% of the answer) and the aim of being ‘directionally’ correct. A significant difference between two numbers is often enough to support or refute an initial hypothesis; the precise numbers are not usually required.

Analytical and numerical skills

Consultants conduct analyses to help solve challenging and complex problems for some of the world’s biggest organizations, sometimes as part of multi-billion dollar initiatives. Strong analytical skills and the ability to work confidently and efficiently with numbers are therefore vital in consulting.

Communication

Consulting is also a client-facing role, for which presence and clarity in communication are both essential. Consultants must interact with clients and influence stakeholders from the shop floor to the boardroom on a daily basis. In practice this means communicating in a variety of ways, from having one-on-one conversations and leading meetings to interviewing experts and writing PowerPoint presentations and delivering presentations.

To convey complex insights, data and recommendations in a convincing and understandable way for clients, consultants must learn to craft compelling stories. Through storytelling, they can build a sense of purpose and urgency to deliver real impact by encouraging clients to act on their recommendation.

Client relationship management

To solve a client’s problem successfully, consultants must first understand their situation and needs. What are the client’s goals and what is the context they’re operating in? Only with a firm understanding of the big picture can consultants direct their work in a way that’s genuinely helpful.

Strong relationship management skills are essential for achieving this understanding from the outset of a project. These skills are also required for maintaining a good relationship with clients through the ups and downs of the project, even when there are difficult updates to give or tricky scenarios to navigate.

Consultants must also foster good relationships with those who are on the ground in the client’s organization. These individuals may not necessarily be pleased to see a consultant come into their workplace, as they might be worried about something undesirable being discovered or unwelcome changes being made. One of the roles of a consultant is to be a trusted advisor, so even in the face of this kind of resistance or skepticism, they must be able to use their relationship building skills to get these individuals on board and win their trust.

Working autonomously

Consultants are expected to be able to hone and progress their work reasonably independently. They must be reliable, productive and able to plan and deliver good-quality output without requiring step-by-step instructions from their manager. This means that they must be proactive in seeking clarity on the goal of a project or task before they begin.

Another important aspect of working autonomously in consulting is being able to organize work around complicated processes that have many different elements, such as client meetings, internal discussions and surveys. Consultants must be able to navigate these multifaceted processes and ensure that they source the right input at the right time.

A tolerance to ambiguity is also essential. Projects move at rapid speed, and all the required guidance and information is not always available. Consultants must be able to work independently to solve problems, no matter how ambiguous the circumstances.

Honing the technical skills for consulting

In addition to these core competencies, consultants are required to demonstrate a number of technical skills. One of these is developing models, particularly in Excel, in order to organize, manipulate and analyze vast sets of data efficiently. Modeling also allows consultants to identify valuable insights, forecast future scenarios and evaluate various strategic options.

Skills with presentation technology, especially PowerPoint, are also vital. Consultants use slides or ‘decks’ frequently in their client communications and presentations. It’s not uncommon for hundreds of slides to be produced for a single project. In some cases, consultants are also expected to deliver client communications through more dynamic tools, such as Tableau and Power BI.

Skills required for senior consultants

As consultants become more senior (i.e. Manager level and above), top consulting firms place more emphasis on the following additional skills:

• Leading a team
• Developing clients from a commercial standpoint
• Developing their own expertise, either in a sector or a function

Broadly speaking, these are the skills of a Partner, and an individual’s performance is likely to determine their long-term future with a top firm like McKinsey, BCG or Bain. One of the common reasons why some consultants don’t make Partner is a failure to meet expectations in these areas.

What kind of people make successful management consultants?

Consulting isn’t simply about mastering a set of skills; it’s also important for individuals to have the right attitude, characteristics and qualities. Successful management consultants tend to be:

People who are highly driven

Driven people set big goals, push hard to achieve them and rarely give up. It’s this level of tenacity, ambition and commitment to excellence that top consulting firms look for in candidates and require of consultants.

Clients pay large sums of money to engage the services of top consulting firms and naturally expect consultants to deliver work of the highest standard. To this end, consultants receive constant feedback and are expected to progress rapidly. The desire to improve and the drive to do well in this kind of environment are therefore essential.

People who are curious

Variety is one of the hallmarks of a consulting career. Consultants move from project to project, working with different organizations – often in new industries – in order to tackle unique problems. As new project teams form, consultants must develop relationships with an ever-changing group of team members, managers and other stakeholders within their firm. Individuals who relish the prospect of such a frequent rate of change in their working environment – perhaps because they are naturally curious or would otherwise become bored – tend to thrive in consulting.

People who care about their work – and enjoy it!

Management consulting is a demanding career that requires a significant amount of effort and commitment. Consultants work long hours in an intense and highly pressured environment. Without caring about the work or finding enjoyment in it, consultants would gain very little satisfaction from the challenges of the role. They would also find it difficult to summon the necessary motivation to put in the hours of analysis, research and discussion required for every project.

An interest in the business world is also essential, as the majority of the work in consulting relates to helping large corporations improve their performance.

Interested in starting a career in management consulting?

If you have the skills, qualities and characteristics required for success in management consulting, you can learn more about how to apply to a top firm like McKinsey, BCG and Bain in our article on how to join a top consulting firm. You can also learn more about a career in consulting in our complete guide to the management consulting industry.

If you’re already preparing to apply to a top consulting firm, the resume and cover letter templates and specialized advice in our Free Resume Course will help you get your application in great shape.

Management consulting compared to trading

Traditionally, traders spend a great deal of time on the phone with clients and buyers to package and agree on deals. This makes trading a fast-paced role that’s great for people who love math, deal-making and the buzz of making money. Traders work independently and have a large amount of responsibility because they manage their own ‘book’. It’s an environment in which competitive people thrive.

The compensation in trading is typically higher than it is in consulting. The hours also tend to be more reasonable, as traders only work when the markets are open. However, because traders become specialized very early in their careers, the role doesn’t lead to any other long-term career options. While, for some, the compensation may be sufficient incentive to stay in the job, for others, it’s not enough to remain engaged and happy in the long term.

With the rise of technology, there is a question mark over whether trading, as it currently stands, will be a job that exists in the future. This means that traders may find themselves with limited options, as they tend not to develop many transferable skills in the role because of its narrow and repetitive nature. Even today, it’s not uncommon for those who leave trading to find themselves without a job – after five to ten years of making excellent money as a trader – as a consequence of having very few transferable skills.

While the compensation in management consulting is not as attractive as it is in trading and consultants work longer hours than traders, consulting offers better long-term career opportunities, with many attractive exit opportunities available to consultants who have worked at top firms.

Management consulting compared to equity research

Equity research involves gathering information through desk research and interviews, and then creating reports to educate investors on whether a particular stock is a good purchase. As a role that allows people to work fairly independently, equity research is an attractive option for those who enjoy analysis work and are deeply curious about the in-depth details of business. It also appeals to those who get a buzz from the stock market and investments in general.

Equity researchers are the named authors of the reports they produce, which allows them to build a name for themselves as subject matter experts in particular stocks. Because they interview CEOs about their strategy and results, equity researchers also enjoy unparalleled exposure to business leaders.

However, equity research is typically the least well-paid role in investment banking because it doesn’t generate revenue for firms directly. The reports that equity researchers produce are offered to prospective clients for free in the hope that they will choose to make brokerage transactions through the investment bank’s services. Another downside of equity research is that the exit opportunities are limited to roles within the field of investment management.

For those who are driven to shape and influence the strategy of a business, rather than simply research, observe and report, a career in management consulting is likely to be more appealing than one in equity research. At its heart, the work of a management consultant is to help some of the world’s largest organizations solve their most critical and complex problems. The impact of a consulting project could easily make the business news headlines, and might even affect the economy, climate change or what people consume. There is therefore far greater scope for a consultant’s work to have a tangible impact in the business world.

Management consulting compared to mergers and acquisitions (M&A)

Simply put, those in M&A pitch potential acquisitions to clients and help them execute deals in return for a share of the transaction value.

People at the start of a career in M&A are responsible for identifying acquisition opportunities, modeling cash flows and writing pitch presentations. The role is a good option for those who are driven by money, love making deals, and have a high tolerance for hard and repetitive work.

M&A is traditionally the most prestigious role within investment banking because of the opportunity it provides to work on big, headline-making transactions, and to learn key skills like understanding corporate finance and working with senior executives. There are also attractive long-term financial prospects available, as many go into Private Equity or move into a Managing Director role after spending time in M&A.

However, the work is highly repetitive and offers less of an intellectual challenge than equity research or trading. A career in M&A also involves working extremely long hours, sometimes in a harsh environment where there is little concern for the wellbeing of individuals.

While the compensation in M&A is higher, a career in management consulting offers a broader and more intellectually stimulating range of work, the chance to make a positive difference in a business, and a more favorable work-life balance.

Management consulting compared to sales

Those in investment banking sales work closely with clients to support them in making the decision to buy investment products. It’s a role that appeals to those who enjoy convincing others, reaching targets, making money and, once they’ve made a sale, are ready to do it all over again.

Those new to sales in investment banking quickly become responsible for specific client accounts. They have to keep their finger on the pulse of the financial market in order to provide insightful recommendations to clients.

The perks of a career in investment banking sales are good compensation and a generous client entertainment budget. The downside is that there are few exit opportunities beyond moving into a lesser-paid sales job in a different industry. In addition, sales is perceived to be the least prestigious area of investment banking.

While a career in sales offers higher compensation and the opportunity to entertain clients, management consulting offers greater intellectual challenge, the opportunity to make a meaningful impact and exposure to real-world business challenges.

Management consulting vs investment banking: which career path is right for me?

While there are specific differences between management consulting and each of the four key roles within investment banking, there are also some broad comparisons that can be helpful to consider when deliberating which career path to pursue.

In summary, management consulting may be the right choice for those who are drawn to a career that offers:

• broad learning and transferable skills
• excellent long-term career prospects
• the opportunity to make a tangible impact
• exposure to a great variety of industries and business challenges
• a high degree of intellectual stimulation

Investment banking, on the other hand, is likely to be a better fit for those who:

• get a kick out of making deals
• are fascinated by the financial market
• don’t mind repetitive work
• are driven by money

Management consulting firms and investment banks alike take a very thorough and highly selective approach to recruitment and hiring. In both industries, recruiters review applications and decide which candidates to progress based on a combination of their online applications, resumes, cover letters and, in some cases, the results of online tests, such as McKinsey’s digital assessment.

While each investment bank will take a different approach to the interview process, they will all seek to gain a better understanding of candidates’ technical skills, as well as their fit for the firm and overall potential. Consulting interviews, on the other hand, all follow a very similar format: a case interview followed by a fit interview or, in McKinsey’s case, a Personal Experience Interview (PEI).

Experienced professional hiring: a large and growing recruitment channel

The practice of hiring individuals who are qualified by experience rather than academic pedigree began in Europe – where there are fewer MBA programs – as a means of diversifying the candidate pool. In recent years, firms have also sought to hire consultants with a diverse range of expertise in order to solve problems for clients in contemporary disciplines such as digital, AI, climate change and sustainability. As a result, MBB offices the world over now hire experienced professionals.

The table below shows the share of experienced professionals who were hired during the period covered by our research into the top routes into McKinsey, BCG and Bain, as a proportion of all the firms’ hires in each location.

The data shows that during this period – Q1 of 2022 to Q2 of 2022 – there was a clear demand for experienced professionals at MBB offices around the world, sometimes extending to 40% or more of their hiring.

However, the volume of hiring within this channel depends on whether firms need more candidates than the traditional sources of graduate hiring and MBA hiring can supply. Hiring volumes in the experienced professional channel can therefore vary a great deal year on year.

Consulting provides opportunities for professional candidates with deep expertise

Experienced professionals can join top consulting firms through either a generalist track or an expert track. The generalist track provides consultants with exposure to client projects in a diverse range of sectors, functions and locations. The expert track, on the other hand, allows consultants with technical expertise to focus on a specialist area, such as digital, marketing, technology, data science or operations.

While specialist consultants serve the same clients as generalists, and are subject to similar performance expectations, there are some key differences between the two. For those on the expert track, more emphasis is placed on their knowledge and expertise, and progression to Partner level is less common. You can learn more in our article on the differences between generalist and expert roles in top management consulting firms.

Which professions do experienced hires at McKinsey, BCG and Bain come from?

Regardless of the hiring channel, McKinsey, BCG and Bain consistently look for the very best candidates.

For experienced professional hiring, the firms are open to applications from candidates from all sorts of professions – from artists and athletes to doctors and military personnel – who are at the top of their field and can demonstrate their potential as a management consultant. However, candidates with a commercial background are likely to have the most transferable skills. Therefore a high number of candidates who successfully make the move into consulting come from commercial professions such as investment banking and marketing management.

Other candidates who have strong commercial expertise are those who join from other top consulting firms, like Oliver Wyman and Kearney, and the strategy arms of ‘the Big 4’. In addition to having the commercial skillset that top firms require, these candidates are able to hit the ground running when they join, which makes them a great option when the firms have an immediate client demand to satisfy.

How to change careers and get into consulting as an experienced hire

A move into management consulting is likely to be beneficial to any professional’s long-term career. There are several reasons why so many people want to work in consulting and why competition to join McKinsey, BCG and Bain is particularly fierce. If you’re seeking to change careers and join a top consulting firm as a professional experienced hire, here are some important principles to bear in mind as you prepare your application.

Demonstrate strong professional performance

It should come as no surprise to learn that top consulting firms are seeking experienced hires who can demonstrate exceptional professional performance in their application. You should illustrate this clearly in your resume by highlighting the most impressive aspects of your professional journey. These might include:

• working for a selective employer
• being a top-rated performer
• working in a challenging business area
• making a significant impact in your role (e.g. improving a process, launching a new product saving costs, leading a project)

If you’ve accomplished something impressive outside of your working life, this is also likely to be of interest to consulting firms, so be sure to include the details in your resume along with your professional achievements.

Demonstrate top academic achievements

In experienced professional hiring at McKinsey, BCG and Bain, a candidate’s experience is weighted more heavily than their academic history. Firms are therefore open to applicants from a broader range of undergraduate universities than they are in graduate and MBA hiring. In our analysis of the type of candidates who make it to McKinsey, BCG and Bain in the US, professional experienced hires held undergraduate degrees from a total of 248 universities. By contrast, the pre-experienced student (i.e. graduate) hires in the US came from a total of 180 universities.

However, it remains important to demonstrate top academic achievements when applying to a top consulting firm as an experienced professional. If you studied a challenging subject at a nationally top-ranked university and received a high mark, this will strongly support your application.

Apply at the right level for your experience

Experienced professional hiring at top consulting firms typically happens throughout the year (this is known as ‘rolling recruitment’). However, the details vary between firms and offices, so you should check online for local application dates.

All the firms have a dedicated hiring channel for experienced professionals, with specific hiring ‘tracks’ for generalist and expert roles. When you’re ready to apply, it’s vital that you apply to to the right hiring track, through the right hiring channel, and that you submit your application at the appropriate entry point in the firm’s structure:

• Candidates with two to five years of work experience following their undergraduate studies are likely to be considered at the second level of a firm’s hierarchy (i.e. Junior Associate at McKinsey, Senior Associate at BCG and Experienced Associate Consultant at Bain).
• Candidates with more than five years of work experience following their undergraduate studies are likely to be considered at the post-MBA entry level i.e. (Associate at McKinsey and Consultant at BCG and Bain).
• Candidates are only likely to be considered at the Manager level if they apply on the expert track. It’s extremely rare for candidates on the generalist track to be considered at this level.

Preparing for interviews at McKinsey, BCG and Bain as an experienced professional hire

The consulting interview process for experienced professional hires is the same as it is for other candidates. There are two components: the case interview and the fit interview. You can learn more about how to prepare in our detailed guides on preparing for case interviews and preparing for fit interviews.

The interview process at top consulting firms is arguably more difficult for experienced professionals than it is for other applicants. This is because candidates have to juggle their preparation with the demands of a full-time job, with no access to on-campus resources or support. We’ve provided some advice on how to handle these challenges in our article on preparing for consulting interviews while working a full-time job.

If you’re an experienced professional and a career change sounds like it might be right for you, you can learn more in our complete guide to the management consulting industry. And if you’re preparing to apply to a top consulting firm, the resume and cover letter templates and specialized advice in our Free Resume Course will help you get your application in great shape.

Compensation at McKinsey, BCG and Bain

MBB consulting salaries from Graduate to Associate Partner

At McKinsey, BCG and Bain, compensation consists of an annual salary and performance bonus. For each role from Graduate to Associate Partner, the firms all provide very similar total compensation. Base salaries are typically within 5% of one another.

Average compensation by role at McKinsey, BCG and Bain in the US in 2023
Figures provided are for an average performer’s first year in each role.

Source: CaseCoach
(*) Associate Partner includes BCG’s ‘Principal’ and ‘Partner’ levels

In addition to base salaries, the table above shows the bonus awarded to an average performer at each level. Bonuses are typically based on individual performance unless the consultant has been at the firm for under a year, in which case a standard amount is awarded.

In general, top-performing consultants can receive up to twice the bonus of an average performer. However, because junior consultants only receive a small portion of their compensation through their end-of-year bonus, the difference between the remunerations of top and bottom performers is relatively limited.

Another way that top-performing consultants can maximize their compensation is through accelerated promotion to the next level. Although policies vary among firms and offices, the top-3 consulting firms are all meritocratic workplaces, where promotions are based on the demonstration of a consultant’s skills, rather than on their tenure.

Compensation at Partner level

At McKinsey and Bain, compensation for Partners starts at close to $1,000,000. The Partner role is accessible to new graduates with 9-11 years tenure, and to MBA hires with 6-8 years tenure. At the Senior Partner level, compensation can increase to multiple millions of dollars.

However at BCG, the position of ‘Partner’ comes with a compensation that’s only 20% higher than that of ‘Principal’, the previous level. BCG consultants are only compensated in line with the Partner level at McKinsey and Bain when they are promoted to the position of ‘Managing Director and Partner’, two years later. The position of ‘Partner’ at BCG is therefore more comparable to the position of ‘Associate Partner’ at both McKinsey and Bain.

MBA hires and some experienced professional hires receive a sign-on bonus

McKinsey, BCG and Bain typically offer MBA hires a sign-on bonus of $30,000, which can be paid as a tax-deductible tuition reimbursement.

Under certain circumstances, the firms may also offer a sign-on bonus to experienced professional hires at Manager level and above.

Room for negotiation is limited and only available to some experienced professionals

The prospect of salary negotiation is highly unlikely for Graduate and Consultant (MBA) roles, which represent the majority of hiring at McKinsey, BCG and Bain. Each office has a set base salary for each role, and applies it consistently.

There is only room for negotiation for certain experienced hires who enter the firms at Manager level or above. Top consulting firms typically make extra efforts to attract these hires, who can be hard to find and may also bring more business through their ability to manage consulting projects, their technical expertise or their existing client relationships. Such candidates are in a strong position to negotiate, particularly if they have to forgo an end-of-year bonus or accept a lower base salary as a result of the move.

However, even in this scenario, firms are normally unable to diverge from the standard base salary that they would usually offer at a given entry point. They might instead offset any gap in the individual’s compensation through a sign-on bonus. Alternatively, firms might bring the candidate in at a more senior role, which would come with a higher base salary. This would, of course, need to be weighed up against the individual’s ability to perform and be successful in that role.

All MBB consultants receive world-class benefits

The benefits included in the compensation packages at McKinsey, BCG and Bain are among some of the most generous to be found anywhere in the world. Here’s an overview of the benefits that the firms offer to consultants in the US.

A generous retirement plan

A key feature of the benefits package at McKinsey, BCG and Bain is a generous retirement plan. The firms contribute a percentage of the consultant’s salary or total compensation to a personal pension plan, sometimes without requiring the consultant to make a contribution. At McKinsey, the firm contributes 12% of a consultant’s total compensation each year.

Gold-plated health insurance

Health insurance at McKinsey, BCG and Bain is among the very best offered by any employer in the US, with healthcare, dental and vision included, along with fertility benefits such as IVF and egg preservation. The policies cover 100% of healthcare premiums for employees and their families, with extremely low deductibles and copay requirements.

Parental leave

McKinsey, BCG and Bain all offer parental leave, with different policies in place at each firm:

• McKinsey provides 16 weeks of paid parental leave for birthing parents and 8 weeks for non-birthing parents.
• BCG provides 12 weeks of paid maternity leave and eight weeks of paid leave for non-birthing parents.
• At Bain, all new parents are eligible for 21 weeks of paid parental leave, with the option to extend this to up to 26 weeks of paid leave with vacation.

These policies often cover those who become parents through adoption and surrogacy.

Numerous additional benefits

In addition to attractive compensation, a generous retirement plan, world-class health insurance and ample parental leave, McKinsey, BCG and Bain all provide consultants with an array of additional benefits. These include:

• Paid time off (PTO) in excess of five weeks (including bank holidays), increasing with tenure
• Relocation assistance
• Subsidized backup childcare
• Life insurance
• Legal assistance
• Free snacks and at least one weekly free lunch in most offices
• A range of other perks, including employee discounts, company social events and access to an employee assistance program

How does a management consulting salary compare to that of other top professions?

Consulting is not the only profession that offers highly attractive compensation. Candidates who are considering a career in consulting might also be thinking about entering other high-paying professions, such as investment banking or tech. So how do the options compare?

Compensation in consulting is more predictable

In top consulting firms, base salaries make up a higher percentage of total compensation than they do in other high-paying industries. Below Partner-level, performance bonuses at consulting firms are based on individual – rather than company – performance. This is measured objectively across specific dimensions and is subject to a transparent formula.

Bonuses in investment banking can be significantly larger than they are in consulting. However they are highly volatile and depend on both the mood of financial markets and the performance of the bank’s division at the time. In addition, they tend to be awarded subjectively, based on a general sense of appreciation from an individual’s boss.

In tech, compensation is largely based on stock options and other equity compensation, which only comes to fruition if the company goes public or is acquired at a premium. This only happens in a small fraction of cases and, when it does, the amount awarded depends on the company’s valuation, when the employee joined and fluctuations in share price.

Ultimately, compensation in consulting is far more predictable than it is in both investment banking and tech. This predictability is underpinned by the top-3 firms’ very clear approach to increasing compensation steadily in line with a consultant’s career progression.

The journey to Partner is quicker in consulting

In other professional services careers, partnership is only available to a very small percentage of senior employees, usually after a tenure of well over a decade.

In consulting, the route to Partner level is not only far quicker than it is in other professions, it’s also more achievable. Partnership is available to any consultant who meets the firm’s promotion criteria, and a consultant at McKinsey, BCG or Bain can reasonably expect to make Partner within ten years. Top performers may even reach this level within eight or nine.

This means that in consulting, new joiners have a clear path towards reaching a total annual compensation exceeding $1,000,000 within a reasonable time frame.