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Business Insiderabout 4 hours ago
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Consulting firms are still hiring entry-level workers even as AI upends their industry. Here's how much they are making.

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Top consulting firms continue hiring entry-level workers despite AI reshaping the industry, with base salaries ranging from $84,000 to $112,000.

Consulting firms are still hiring entry-level workers even as AI upends their industry. Here's how much they are making.

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The Big Picture
AI is transforming consulting by automating grunt work, prompting firms to hire more specialists and strategically. However, entry-level hiring persists, with salaries remaining flat. Management Consulted compiled salary data from major firms like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC, and Accenture. Base salaries for new grads range from $84,000 at Deloitte to $112,000 at Bain and McKinsey, plus bonuses and perks. Firms are also expanding recruitment to non-traditional candidates, including engineers and neurodiverse professionals.
Why It Matters
Despite AI automating entry-level tasks, top consulting firms continue to hire new graduates at stable salaries, signaling that human judgment and client-facing skills remain valued. However, the shift toward specialized AI and data roles means generalist positions may see slower wage growth, pushing new consultants to develop technical expertise alongside traditional consulting skills.

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Base salaries for entry-level consultants range between $84,000 to $112,000 at the most prominent consulting firms.

MoMo Productions/Getty Images

  • AI is reshaping the work of consultants.
  • Big firms are still hiring entry-level workers, though salaries remain flat.
  • Here's how much new grads can expect to make at the most prominent consulting firms.

AI is rapidly changing white-collar work.

At many companies, it's reducing the grunt work that employees — especially entry-level employees — have to do. At the same time, it is breeding anxiety among younger workers as they enter the workforce. Just look at the recent wave of commencement speakers booed for praising the power of technology.

The consulting industry is no different. AI is rapidly changing the way these firms operate, pushing them to hire more strategically as they automate entry-level work, said Namaan Mian, the COO of Management Consulted, a company that trains and prepares students and others for careers in consulting.

"We continue to see high demand for talent in AI implementation, digital transformation, and data, while salary growth for traditional generalist roles remains relatively muted," Mian said.

Consulting firms are hiring more specialists, those with considerable experience, and candidates from schools not typically targeted by the industry, Management Consulted said in a recent report.

Gert De Geyter, a former AI lead at Deloitte US, told Business Insider in December that instead of the "pure traditional consultant," firms are now looking for a blend of "generalists and technical experts."

EY, for example, was once solely made up of accountants, but it's now widened the pool of candidates it recruits to include engineers, creatives, technologists, candidates without degrees, and neurodiverse professionals, Ginnie Carlier, EY Americas' chief talent and culture officer, told Business Insider in April.

The big question likely on any job seekers mind is how that all translates into pay. At the entry-level, at least, not much has changed, Mian said.

Management Consulted recently compiled the salary, bonus, and other benefits offered by the major consulting firms to new graduates. The data is based on written job offers received by its interview-prep clients, as well as information provided directly by firm representatives.

Here's what they found:

Bain & Company
Bain and Company logo displayed on a phone
Bain and Company logo displayed on a phone

Illustration by Timon Schneider/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The smallest of the Big Three, Bain has about 19,000 employees with offices in 65 cities around the world.

Bain is helmed by Christophe De Vusser, who serves as the worldwide managing partner and CEO.

Base: $112,000

Performance Bonus: up to $22,500

Housing Allowance: up to $5,000

Relocation: up to $5,000; up to $10,000 for NYC

Signing Bonus: $5,000

Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group's logo on its Boston headquarters.
Boston Consulting Group

Plexi Images/GHI/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

BCG was founded in Boston in 1963, where it is still headquartered. The company had 32,000 employees as of 2023 and 128 offices worldwide.

BCG is led by Christoph Schweizer, who has served as CEO since 2021, and its North America practice is led by Mel Wolfgang.

Base: $110,000

Performance Bonus: up to $22,000

Profit Sharing: up to $4,400

Relocation: up to $6,000

Signing Bonus: $5,000

McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company

Wolf von Dewitz/picture alliance via Getty Images

Headquartered in New York City, McKinsey is also the largest of the MBBs, with more than 45,000 employees across 130 offices worldwide.

The firm is led by Bob Sternfels, who serves as the firm's global managing partner and chair of the board of directors.

Base: $112,000

Performance Bonus: up to $18,000

Housing Allowance: up to $5,000

Relocation: up to $10,000

Signing Bonus: $5,000

Deloitte Consulting
Deloitte
Deloitte

Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Getty Images

With over 181,000 employees across the US, Deloitte is one of the "Big Four." The firm pulled in about $36 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending in May 2025 and has 122 offices across the country.

Base: $84,000-$95,000

Performance Bonus: up to $26,250 for MBA-hires

Relocation: up to $2,500

Signing Bonus: up to $12,500

EY
EY
EY

Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

EY employs close to 400,000 people worldwide, and brought in about $53 billion for the fiscal year ending June 2025.

Base: $100,000

Performance Bonus: Only after 3rd year

Signing Bonus: $12,500

KPMG
KPMG
KPMG

credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

With about 276,000 people worldwide across 138 countries and territories, KPMG reported almost $40 billion in global revenue for the fiscal year ending in September 2025.

The firm also opened a 450,000-square-foot office in New York to promote in-person work.

Base: up to $90,000

Performance Bonus: Real-time bonuses

Relocation: up to $2,000

Signing Bonus: up to $7,500

PwC
PwC
PwC
PwC

Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images

PwC has about 365,000 employees and reported a revenue of about $60 billion for the fiscal year ending in 2025.

Base: up to $90,000

Signing Bonus: up to $7,500

Accenture
Accenture
Accenture

Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Accenture employs about 786,000 people worldwide and reported revenue of $69.67 billion for fiscal year 2025.

Base: $105,000

Performance Bonus: up to $30,000

Relocation: up to $2,500

Signing Bonus: $12,500 (Canada: C$10,000)

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Consulting firms are still hiring entry-level workers even as AI upends their industry. Here's how much they are making. | TechCulture