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Industry compensation

In general do people take a pay cut or get a pay boost when they leave consulting to go into industry? Asking for pre & post MBA roles. I've heard mixed things. I imagine it's probably a slight pay cut when you leave at manager and higher levels.

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Top answer
Deleted user
on Apr 10, 2021

There isn't a one size fits all answer here..it depends on which consulting firm, level, type of skills (strategy, operations, technology, digital etc), region, industry and target exit firm (tech, PE or industry).

Generally, if you exit at Senior Manager/Director level or higher, compensation bump is sizeable and so is the breadth of depth of role. Obvsiouly, this needs to be setup and will require some effort.

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Ian
Coach
on Apr 10, 2021
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

It honestly totally depends and is greatly affected by what you're maximizing. I would say, if you want to earn more when you leave, you can 100% find roles that do pay more. That said, future earnings certainly goes down (you're saying "no" to making Principal, Partner, etc.)

One thing I can say, however, is your hourly pay definitely goes up :)

Florian
Coach
on Apr 10, 2021
Ex-McKinsey | 5+ years consulting experience | Active interviewer & coach | Healthcare industry | Inhouse Consulting

Hi, this strongly depends on where you make your exit, for which consulting firm you work(ed) for and from which level you are exiting. Impossible to provide a general answer here.

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