According to current trends, the overall global value of the consulting industry has been estimated to be around $250 billion and is still growing with no signs of deterioration in the foreseeable future. The consulting market remains highly grossing at this scale among all the other fields involved in the professional service industry.
With the current increase in competitors in the marketing field and businesses, the need for competent management consultants and other consulting professionals has never been so huge. This includes consultants concerned with several aspects of the business. A few of these streams include
- Financial consultants
- Strategic consultants
- Operation consultants
- Risk and compliance consultants
- Human resource consultants, etc.
Importance of management consultants
An effectively functioning team of management consultants is crucial to ensure the smooth functioning of a firm with the best possible intensity of work. Without a team of management consultants, a business environment might become disorganized, and there might be a decline in the overall efficiency as well.
This is because the consultants offer the best possible ways to approach situations and business undertakings; which they decide after putting in several hours of research and analysis.
As a consultant, one has to be well versed in researching and editing, criticizing available research, and obtaining suitable conclusions. The major portion of a consultant job involves scrutinizing the presentations made by several business analysts, picking out the key points from them to derive the best decision to be made by the firm.
This makes their role vital to a firm, as the entire functioning of the business depends upon the advice of the management consultant. Therefore, this job comes with a huge risk margin as a wrong decision might affect the entire firm, which is why their paycheck has such a significant difference from the other roles in management services.
Increased demand for professionals
The steady growth in the economy of the US is the major contributor to the increased demand for competent management consultants. With the increased number of firms and businesses, management consultants are highly sought after by these firms as they are vital for improving the company’s overall work.
It is currently very important for these firms to maintain their efficiency or even boost it to a significant amount to just stay stable in the business market. This is because of the rampant increase in the total number of competitors in the field.
These days, any legitimate firm with an adequate level of establishment prefers hiring a significant number of management professionals because of the increase in the overall workforce. It is also because they understand the importance of a management consultant in business functioning. They tend to expand their team of consultants as well constantly.
This way, the total salary and paycheck of the professionals with decent experience in the consulting field and program management certification remain elevated or even increasing. This is predicted to remain the same way, as the demand is only growing with no signs of deterioration.
The average paycheck
For now, the average salary of a management consultant in the US is predicted to be $86,543, according to reliable data sources and statistics. But this seems to differ according to various locations within the US, which is mainly due to the varying density of management consultants across the country.
A reliable study shows the following trend in the average salaries of a management consultant in the different states of the US:
- San Francisco, CA stands as the highest offering state, at $1,13,306, which is about 20% higher than the national average salary.
- On the other hand, Florida offers $64,814, which is significantly lower than the national average.
The salaries, however, are subject to the hierarchy of the field as well.
The career path
Generally, the basic hierarchy in a management consulting field looks like this.
- Business analyst
- Consultant
- Senior consultant
- Manager
- Principal
- Partner
This hierarchy tends to differ with a few firms as they tend to modify their system according to their preferences. How fast one progresses through the hierarchy is purely relative as it mainly involves individual factors like skill levels and efficiency along with knowledge and compatibility with the firm itself.
Business analysts and consultants
Business analysts are basically like interns at a job firm trying to get a general idea about the functioning of the firm; the only difference is that it is an actual entry-level position.
Consultants pretty much overlap with the BA’s, however, they are considered slightly superior, and a similar trend in the pay scale is seen as well.
Senior consultant
The role of a senior consultant is mostly oriented with leadership and guidance, as they spend most of their time helping out teams of data analysts and newbie consultants in their endeavors. They, however, have better control over the actual processes.
Managers
Managers are concerned with the formulation of work plans and strategies, which they then give out to their juniors for better functioning. They also keep a constant check on the individual progress and provide adequate advice and actions.
Principal
As one progresses along the hierarchy, this post tends to be especially crucial. Specifically, the first year as a principal management consultant is very challenging, involving newer responsibilities and excessive power. It comes with its own perks, as a principal’s salary is about twice that of a regular consultant.
Partners
Being the highest possible level, the partners act as the first communicator of the entire team. Apart from this, the partners are also responsible for creating new opportunities and bonds with businesses and potential clients.
Payscale variations according to the hierarchy
The pay scale in the management consultant field tends to show a heavy relation with the posts held by the individual. The difference between the paychecks of an entry-level job and a higher post like a Principal is significantly huge, but this does not mean the entry-level salary is menial. Compared to other job opportunities in the business and marketing industry, this salary still remains on the higher end.
Apart from this, having additional competencies like courses directed towards specific streams within the field can help perk up your initial pay scale. These days, such courses are offered on well-established online platforms, and this includes courses specializing in management, data analysis, and Business Management Degree online.
Getting an idea about the average salaries of all the posts can help a candidate gain adequate knowledge. This also provides information about the trends of increase and decrease across the timelines and get an idea about what they are to work towards. Since individual goals may differ, this might help in determining the direction of their career path as well.
Key take-aways
With adequate knowledge about the trends and deviation in the pay scale of management consultants in the US, one should be able to determine the best offers and opportunities when offered.
Being a management consultant can be a very rewarding profession, provided that one is competent enough with an adequate amount of commitment and dedication. This would directly impact the speed with which one progresses along the ladder of hierarchy as well, thereby boosting your salary. Check out Great Learning for courses that can help you achieve higher skill levels to boost your career progress.
