Figures circulate on forums and in rankings: one firm supposedly pays so much straight out of school, another supposedly grants a bonus of such a size. Most of these amounts cannot be verified, are often out of date, and mix base salary, variable pay and benefits without saying so. Rather than adding yet another table, this article describes the structure of a strategy consultant’s pay at each grade, what makes it vary from one firm to another, and where to find data published by identifiable bodies. It ends with the question students care about most: how to approach pay at the offer stage.
Grades and progression
Pay in consulting follows the grade first, and the grade follows a fairly codified progression. Titles change from one firm to another, but the logic is shared:
- Intern: six months at most in the same organisation per academic year, as the French administration’s Service public 🔗 website points out, with a compulsory stipend beyond two months, whose legal minimum is set at €4.50 per hour of attendance. Strategy firms in practice pay well above this floor.
- Junior consultant (analyst, associate or consultant depending on the firm): the first two to three years, with heavy production of analyses.
- Senior consultant: responsible for a workstream of the engagement, sometimes for one or two juniors.
- Manager: runs engagements and teams, in direct contact with client executives.
- Senior manager, principal, director: responsible for several engagements, with a strong contribution to sales.
- Partner: owns the client relationship and business development.
The French public careers information body Onisep 🔗 describes a classic progression of about two years as a junior, two to three years as a senior taking charge of a team, then six to ten years as a manager, and states that about 5% of consultants then reach partner. Each promotion comes with a rise in base salary and, often, a larger variable share. That is why the speed of progression matters as much as the starting salary.
Base salary, variable pay and benefits
Comparing two offers on the announced salary alone is the most frequent mistake. A consultant’s pay has several layers.
Base salary. This is the foundation, paid monthly, often over thirteen months. It is known at signing, and it is where most of the negotiation happens early in a career.
Variable pay. It generally depends on two factors: the individual annual review and the results of the firm or office. Early in a career, it represents a modest share of the total; it becomes significant from manager level. Some firms also pay a signing bonus, or a commitment bonus for interns who accept an offer.
Collective schemes. Profit-sharing (intéressement, participation) and company savings plans with employer top-ups: these elements, provided for by French labour law, can represent a real sum and vary greatly from one firm to another.
Benefits. Coverage of travel and meal expenses on engagements, health insurance, disability cover, sometimes funding for an MBA after a few years, with or without a commitment to return. This last point can weigh very heavily in the real value of an offer.
To compare two proposals, rebuild an estimated annual total by separating what is guaranteed (base salary) from what is likely (target variable pay) and from what is conditional (MBA, exceptional bonuses).
What makes pay vary
At the same grade, several factors explain sometimes large differences.
- The type of firm. Global strategy firms, firms of European origin, the strategy arms of the large networks and boutiques do not have the same pay scales.
- Degree and background. Some firms differentiate starting salary by degree level (master’s, MBA, doctorate) or by prior experience.
- The city. Paris generally pays more than regional offices, and foreign offices have their own scales.
- Specialisation. Practices in high demand (data, transactions, some regulated industries) can offer better terms, especially to experienced profiles.
- Status. An independent consultant charges a daily rate, with no direct link to a salary: they bear the periods without an engagement, social insurance and client acquisition themselves.
This last point also concerns career changers, for whom the entry grade changes everything: our article on moving into consulting mid-career explains how it is negotiated.
Global firms, tier 2 and Big Four advisory
Without quoting amounts that no reliable source publishes, it is possible to describe trends that recruiters themselves acknowledge.
Global strategy firms generally offer the highest starting pay in consulting, with fast progression and a variable share that grows strongly at senior grades. In return, selectivity and demands are at their highest.
Firms of European origin and mid-sized firms (often called “tier 2”) frequently align their starting salaries on similar levels, sometimes slightly lower, with more marked differences on variable pay and benefits.
The strategy and consulting arms of the large audit networks have scales that depend on the service line: strategy teams come close to specialist firms, while other, more numerous lines sit at lower levels. Our article on Big Four advisory describes these different lines.
Boutiques are the most heterogeneous: some pay at the level of the large firms to attract the best profiles, others offset a lower base salary with faster responsibilities.
To place consulting against the other paths open to graduates, the comparison of junior salaries in banking, consulting, audit and law 🔗 sets the main jobs targeted after a master’s side by side.
Where to find reliable data
A few sources publish identifiable data, with a known method.
- Apec, the French executive employment agency, publishes job profiles with the pay offered in the job postings it collects. For the management consultant 🔗, it states that 80% of the annual gross pay offered (base and variable) falls between €31k and €60k, with an average of €44k. The scope is broad: it covers all management consulting firms, not only strategy, and all experience levels covered by the postings.
- Onisep gives an order of magnitude for a beginner consultant’s salary, around €3,100 a month, again to be read against a broad scope.
- Schools’ graduate employment surveys publish the starting salaries of their graduates each year, often by sector. They are closer to the reality of strategy firms, since they cover the profiles those firms hire, but they rely on graduates’ own declarations.
- The firms themselves rarely publish their scales, but recruiters generally answer questions asked at the right point in the process.
Forum rankings and screenshots shared on social networks should be handled with care: their source can rarely be checked and their date is often unknown.
Negotiating an offer straight out of school
Straight out of school, the room for negotiating base salary is often small at the large firms, which apply a scale per intake. That does not mean there is nothing to discuss.
- Wait for the offer before talking numbers. During interviews, pay is not the topic. Once the offer arrives, it is normal to ask for the details of the package.
- Ask for the full structure: base salary, number of months, target variable pay and its criteria, signing bonus, collective schemes, MBA funding policy.
- Put forward objective elements: a long prior experience, a double degree, a real competing offer. In firms with scales, these elements can justify a different positioning or a bonus.
- Discuss the start date and the grade. For a profile with prior experience, joining one grade higher has more effect over time than a small rise in base salary.
- Do not overplay a competing offer. The industry is small, and recruiters know how to compare.
Your CV also plays a role in this discussion: it is what justifies a positioning. The strategy consultant CV template shows how to present engagements so as to make visible what you can do on your own, and the manager template how to quantify a commercial contribution. To update yours before a negotiation or a move to another firm, the ConseilCV editor produces a clean PDF, read without error by screening software, while leaving formatting aside.
Frequently asked questions
Does the internship stipend count when the final offer is calculated?
No, the internship stipend has no direct link with the hiring salary. However, if you are hired within three months of the end of the internship, the length of the internship is deducted from the probationary period, as Service public points out.
Is variable pay guaranteed in the first year?
Rarely. It depends on the review and on the firm’s results. Ask for the target variable pay and how it was paid in previous years, without expecting a firm commitment.
Is a higher salary or a more prestigious firm better?
Early in a career, the quality of training and the value of the name on the CV often weigh more on your trajectory than the difference in starting salary. The answer nevertheless depends on your personal constraints and your exit plans.
Are consultants paid overtime?
Generally not: most consultants are managers on a days-based contract (forfait jours), which excludes counting overtime hours. Check the terms in your contract and in the applicable collective agreement.