Bain & Co. consultants earn a lot less than bankers

Strategy consulting firms spent a lot on pay. But if you work for one, you'll earn a lot less on average than if you work for an investment bank. 

Accounts recently filed by Bain & Co. Inc. for the year ending December 2020 show that Bain's UK entity earned £243m ($327m) in revenues last year, up from £198m in 2019. 

73% of these revenues were spent on pay. But for all its spending, Bain & Co. pays its average employee a lot less than an investment bank.

Bain didn't break out its U.K. headcount in its report, but the company employs 12,000 people globally, around 1,200 of whom are listed on LinkedIn as working in the UK. The implication, then, is that average compensation at Bain & Co's UK operation last year was 'just' £175k per head.   

While this is generous, it's a lot less than the £511k ($687k) Goldman Sachs spent compensating its average UK employee last year. The discrepancy is almost certainly down to the fact that strategy consultants like Bain employ an even larger proportion of junior staff than investment banks do.

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)