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Anonymous A

on Feb 29, 2020

Global

Boutique firm salary expectations/advice

Hi folks!

I just received an offer from a boutique consulting firm (NYC based, >50 employees, financial services focus). The role is a full consultant position requiring 3+ years of experience.

I have a master’s degree in biology (Ivy) and 4 years of work experience (2 as a Bioengineer + 2 leading a tech startup).

Glassdoor doesn’t have any usable info. What can I expect in terms of base, signing bonus, end of year bonus, and relocation bonus?

Should the compensation be closer to MBA salaries since I have a master’s degree or in between pre-MBA and post-MBA?

I’m hoping for 140k base, 10k signing, 5k relocation, and 15-20k end of year bonus. Is that reasonable?

Lastly, any advice on how to negotiate for a higher salary given my background?

Thank you for your help.

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Top answer

Luca

Coach

on Feb 29, 2020

BCG |NASA | SDA Bocconi & Cattolica partner | GMAT expert 780/800 score | 200+ students coached

Hello,

I didn't get a point: did you receive an offer without details about your salary?
If you have already received an offer to be accepted it's completely fine to talk about salary with HR.
Negotiation of salary is not common among consulting companies, they give you the salary basing only on your position (Business analyst, manager ecc). The only thing that you usually negotiate is the signing bonus.

Best,
Luca

Deleted user

on Apr 30, 2020

Hi A,

first of all my congratulations!

Have you already received the offer?

Best,

andré

Clara

Coach

on Feb 29, 2020

McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

I would advise you to first hear from them and their offer, since normally they won´t even give you the change to bargain.

Good luck!

Cheers,

Clara

Deleted

Coach

edited on Mar 01, 2020

McKinsey | BCG | CERN| University of Cambridge

Hello there,

It really depends on which firm is this, as different firms has different compensation structure.
MBB firms might be standardized, but less so with boutique firms.

In terms of negotiation, the bigger firms have standardized scheme but boutiqur might have some flexibility, particularly for experienced hires. It typically depends on how scarce and relevant your skillset is to what they need. If they need to fill the role with someone with a very specific skillset and one which you had, your chance for negotiation is higher.

Hope it helps.

Kind regards,
Nathan