Consulting salaries for freshers: Entry level salary in USA, UK, India, Germany, Australia

‘Consulting’, especially management consulting continues to be a dream job to many! Though it is considered very demanding, the glamour, prestige and perks associated with the profession make it one of the most sought-after career option.

Several top MBA program graduates have their eyes set on reputed consulting firms like MC Kinsey & Co., Bain & Co., Boston Consulting Group (MBB). Also known as ‘The Big Three’, having these names on your resume can give you bragging rights for a lifetime.

These three have constantly retained the top three positions in the ‘Vault Consulting 50 ranking’ for companies in North America.

Consultant’s role in an organisation

Consultants are hired to provide an external unbiased perspective. They bring to the table specialised skills that may not exist within a company. They may be hired for a short term to provide fresh innovative ideas to help companies tackle existing problems, take difficult decisions, improve efficacy and increase profitability. Consultants are required to do extensive market research, conduct employee interviews, pinpoint the problem areas, suggest recommendations and help in its implementation.

Entry-level consultants are required to spend considerable time doing research and data gathering, making PowerPoint presentation or working on Excel spreadsheets. Analytical skills and problem solving abilities form the essence of a consultant’s job. Excellent communication skills would be an added advantage while making recommendations to clients and being able to convince them.

Each project could be challenging yet an immense learning experience. The chance to interact with a wide variety of clients (from various industries and functions) including C-suite executives would help build a powerful network. The work would involve lots of travel, depending on the client’s location. Work pressure due to specific deadlines would be an integral part of the job. Compensation would vary, depending on your experience level, qualification, your position and the company you work for. Senior positions would offer enviable packages (Why are Consulting salaries so high?).

Read more on introduction to consulting.

Also find out more on types of consulting.

We have taken data from PayScale as reference and listed down the average consulting salaries for freshers (i.e. newly minted graduates). Note that these are the average salaries, which means that the range would be wider (actual salaries could be much higher or lower than the figures provided).

Entry-level Consulting Salaries for Freshers

 

Average annual consulting salaries for entry level jobs in India

Job description	Average annual salary
Management Consultant	Rs 900,000
Strategy Consultant	Rs 1,400,000
Business Consultant	Rs 500,000
Software Consultant	Rs 600,000
Information Technology (IT) Consultant	Rs 600,000
Technical Consultant	Rs 500,000
Risk Management Consultant	Rs 700,000
ERP Consultant	Rs 500,000

 

Average annual consulting salaries for entry level jobs in the US

Job description	Average annual salary
Project Management Consultant	$69,206
Management Consultant Salary in Los Angeles, California	$84,454
Business Consultant	$71,670
Technical Consultant	$68,092
Software Consultant	$66,998
Information Technology (IT) Consultant	$65,714
Strategy Consultant	$82,297
Risk Management Consultant	$65,819
Financial Consultant	$59,856
Healthcare Consultant	$69,129
Human Resource Consultant	$63,473

 

Average annual consulting salaries for entry level jobs in the UK

Job description	Average annual salary
Management Consultant	£39,319
Business Consultant Salary in London, England	£36,213
Strategy Consultant	£45,000
Risk Management Consultant	£38,170
Financial Consultant	£32318
Business Consultant	£35,260
Information Technology (IT) Consultant in London, England	£35979
Technical Consultant	£29867
Human Resources (HR) consultant	₤32,000

 

Average annual consulting salaries for entry level jobs in Australia

Job description	Average annual salary
Management Consultant	AU$64,000
Business Consultant	AU$61,000
Strategy Consultant	AU$61,000
Risk Management Consultant	AU$57,000
Financial Consultant Salary	AU$60,000
Information Technology (IT) Consultant	AU$65,000
Technical Consultant	AU$60,000
ERP consultant	AU$59,000
Human Resources (HR) consultant	AU$58,000

 

Average annual consulting salaries for entry level jobs in Germany

Job description	Average annual salary
Management Consultant	€52,000
Business Consultant	€44,000
Project Management Consultant	€53,000
Strategy Consultant	€51,000
Information Technology (IT) Consultant	€41,000
Technical Consultant	€46,000
Software Consultant	€45,000
ERP consultant	€50,000
Human Resources (HR) consultant	€42,000

Read more on best consulting firms – Technology, Finance, HR.

Also read best strategy consulting firms – Management Consulting.

How can you enter the consulting industry?

Consulting firms recruit at both the undergraduate level and also from the top business schools in significant numbers. An undergraduate would be hired for the position of a business analyst; the resourceful ones manage to climb up the ladder to the position of an associate without an MBA. MBA graduates are usually hired for the associate position.

Find out more about the top consulting firms in the world.

Also read management consulting interview questions and Life after consulting: Exit options

Which is the best degree to get into consulting?

An MBA is widely regarded as the best degree to get into consulting. And it’s not without reason.

An MBA hones your business knowledge, interpersonal and teamwork skills and provides you with a wider perspective of various industries and functions. Experiential learning, case interviews provide exposure to various business issues and provide insights to tackle various business challenges (Read Salary increase after MBA).

In addition to the courses which prepare you to face the consulting world, you also have access to the school resources. The school careers team’s network and the good relationship that they’ve built with various consulting firms over the years can be of immense help.

The alumni network can also be tapped into. The internship opportunity can be made use of in getting your foot in the door into the consulting industry.

The top MBA programs have in fact become hot spots for consulting recruitment. INSEAD has topped the list with a total of 52% going into consulting (36% new recruits and 16% continuing in the same industry), Kellogg saw 30% MBA grads enter consulting, for Columbia Business School, it was 33.6%. Find out more about the best business schools for consultant jobs.

While applying to MBA programs, make it a point to check the program’s employment report to get an idea of the consulting firms that have recruited there in the past and the number of candidates who get placed into consulting. Also dig out more information from alumni and other resources about the support and guidance you’d receive from the school careers team in the recruitment process.

Find out more about Management Consulting salaries and career growth after MBA and Top countries for highest MBA salaries.

Also read some of the Best Management Consulting books.

Data Source: payscale.com