Here Are the Top 10 Management Consulting Firms to Work At
Having some difficulty choosing between all the different consulting firms?
Alongside investment banking, management consulting is one of the most highly coveted careers in business often sought after by many business, finance and economics students and graduates.
While this career path is certainly in high demand, within the world of consulting there is certainly no shortage of different firms and companies you can work for.
And as with any career or profession, the company that you choose to work at can have drastic effect/impacts on your compensation, quality of life, and future career opportunities.
So it’s important that you can land a job offer at the right firm, that suits your personal needs and career needs.
In this article I’ll be helping you explore the top 10 consultancy firms you can work at, showcasing the perks and drawbacks, as well as key considerations of each firm to help you choose the one you want to work at.
These firms are as follows:
- Bain & Company
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
- McKinsey & Company
- Oliver Wyman
- Strategy& (PwC’s Strategy Consulting Arm)
- Kearney
- Deloitte
- EY-Parthenon
- L.E.K Consulting
- Accenture Strategy
Scrolling below, I’ll give a brief overview of each firm and where you might fit in if you’re still deciding on a company you want to work at.
Just on a side note, it’s important for you to know that this list is entirely in my own opinion, and that you’re definitely going to find other lists online that rank these firms differently.
Consulting Firms Hierarchy
Now, before I begin I think it’s important for you to know about the different hierarchies and tiers in the world of consulting and its firms.
‘The Big Three’ or ‘MBB’
The first tier, and widely recognized to be the most prestigious consultancy firms to work at, are known as ‘The Big Three’ or ‘MBB’.
This group is made up of three firms:
- McKinsey & Company
- Boston Consulting Group
- Bain & Company.
Tier-Two Consulting Firms
Next up are the tier two consulting firms.
Still very prestigious firms to work at that would look very good on your resume, but not quite at the level of the MBB firms.
This would include firms such as:
- Oliver Wyman
- PwC’s Strategy&
- Kearney
- EY-Parthenon
- L.E.K Consulting
- Accenture Strategy
- Deloitte
- KPMG
- Booz Allen Hamilton
Tier Three: Less Well Known Firms or Boutiques
None of the firms that I’d classify into this category are on this list, but here are a few notable mentions:
- Roland Berger
- Analysis Group
- Bates White
- Alix Partners
- OC&C Strategy Consultants
- The Brattle Group
- The Bridgespan Group
- Cornerstone Research
- Alvarez & Marsal
There are lots more consulting firms out there, but these are probably the ones you’d want to focus on if you’re looking to start your career off strong as a graduate in the consulting world.
Now, onto the rankings!
The 10 Best Management Consulting Firms to Work At
For each firm I’ll provide a brief overview of what the firm does, and why it’s been placed where it has on the list.
I’ll mention the key determining factors of the placements, which include:
- Compensation
- Culture
- Work/Life Balance
- Prestige
- Future Opportunities
Bain & Company
First up on the list, holding a proud reputation as one of the MBB firms, is Bain & Company.
Of course, with this reputation as an MBB firm, having experience at this company carries some of the highest levels of prestige you can get in the consulting industry.
Although the company is certainly still a large company (generating $5.8 billion USD), it is the smallest and youngest of the MBB firms.
As of late 2023, Bain & Company had approximately 4,000 consultants worldwide on their payroll.
Founded in 1973 by former BCG Vice President Bill Bain and his colleagues, many consider the firm to be the the most entrepreneurial and daring, compensating for its lack of experience in the industry with market-shifting moves and big industry-influencing decisions.
The work culture at Bain & Company is extremely collaborative, and its motto has become quite well known across the entire world of consulting.
“A Bainie never lets another Bainie fail.”
Right from day one when you start, you’ll find that team members are ready and willing to invest their time and resources into supporting and coaching you, to genuinely be the best that you can be.
The firm genuinely cares about the success and career progressions of its people, and this is reflected in this company values and efforts taken to ensure that the time spent working at Bain is rewarding.
As soon as you join a team at Bain, you’ll be offered training and networking programs that allow you to travel to some of the different offices that Bain has around the globe, meeting your colleagues and having a chance to make a name for yourself.
On top of this, even when you do decide that you want to leave Bain and move onto the next step in your career, they’ll provide you with a range of alumni services and networks that you can leverage to find as much success for yourself as possible.
The firm will actively help you search for your next opportunities outside of Bain, helping you explore exit opportunities or potential entrepreneurial ventures.
It is for these reasons that many people consider Bain & Company to have the best work culture out of any of the consultancy firms.
Bain also has what’s called a ‘local staffing model’, meaning you’ll be assigned to a local team in your area and spend most of your time working on local projects, meaning you won’t have to spend lots of your time traveling.
Not nearly as much as you would at the other MBB firms.
This means you’ll regularly be working with the same team over and over again on various projects, getting the chance to really build strong relationships and connections with the people you work alongside.
For some people, this might be a good thing, while others, who are more adventurous and like the idea of constant travel, might be put off by this fact.
At Bain & Company you can expect to work an average of around 55–60 hours per week, with truly protected weekends and generally no expectations of you to put in any hours on Saturday or Sunday.
That’s pretty good for the professional services industries, especially compared to things like corporate law, investment banking, or even some of the other consulting firms.
As with compensation, Bain certainly doesn’t take any shortcuts either.
In the USA, you can expect to make approximately $112,000 USD as a starting base salary at the undergraduate level (not including bonuses), with MBA or experienced hires expecting to make a salary of $190,000 USD, also not including bonuses.
As with other markets such as the Canadian and Australian markets, it seems to be pretty common for associates (the entry level position) at the undergraduate level to make right about six figures, in each country’s respective currency, or at least very close to it.
Hopefully those are some strong enough reasons to justify putting Bain in first place on this list.
Considerations:
- Less travel - High compensation packages - Entrepreneurial or boutique culture
Boston Consulting Group
Next up on my list is also one oft he most prestigious firms to work at, Boston Consulting Group or BCG.
As the second largest member of the top-tier MBB firms, BCG has made a name for itself as
BCG also does focus a lot on their people, investing lots of money into the professional development and training of their staff, quite similarly to Bain does.
The firm is also known to have pretty good flexibility in terms of the choices you have when deciding on your career path.
BCG also does have an entrepreneurial side too, with their ‘BCG X’ division focusing on tech startups and partnerships in the digital space to create lasting breakthroughs and innovation.
Even if you were to join BCG as a management or strategy consultant, you could move into their other divisions to accelerate your career or try something new as well!
It’s often regarded to be the industry leader when it comes to thought leadership and encouraging new ideas.
However, I have heard that their strong focus on intellectuality ad smarts does mean that many people who receive offers at BCG are more introverted, and therefore the culture at BCG can be a bit quieter than at other firms.
Some people might prefer this, while others might want louder, more engaging environments.
In terms of compensation and work like balance, you can pretty much expect the same level of perks and benefits that Bain offers.
You can expect to earn a base salary of approximately $112,000 USD in the USA market, and roughly 6 figures in another country’s respective currency if it’s a relatively sizeable market (think Canada),
Expect to work 55–65 hours per week on average, but do keep in mind that occasionally during busy periods, you might have to work deep into your nights (or early mornings, depending on how you look at it), sometimes working from 9am to 2am, or something similar.
But of course, this is MBB, the top of the league, and excellence is expected when the time and occasion calls for it.
Considerations:
- High compensation packages - Lots of professional development - Flexibility in career paths - Potentially more introverted culture
McKinsey & Company
Third on my list is McKinsey & Company, the largest and most established of the MBB firms.
Of the three, it is by far the largest in size, revenue and global reach, with over 130 offices worldwide, spanning over 65 countries.
Boasting an impressive estimate of 10,000 consultants worldwide, McKinsey brought in revenues of over $15 billion USD in the 2021 financial year, easily surpassing the $5.8 billion for Bain and $11 billion for BCG.
Many people often regard McKinsey to be the most prestigious consulting firm to work at, over the other MBB candidates as well due to the large size and breadth of the company.
Many people refer to McKinsey as the ‘CEO factory’, due to their extensive training and travel opportunities, as well as advanced infrastructure.
Regardless of how long you work there, you’ll be developed into the type of person that has what exactly it takes to tackle C-suite jobs and entrepreneurship.
Most people would consider this firm to carry the highest level of prestige, and having this name on your resume is a surefire way to open up more doors and career opportunities for you in the future.
Some notable McKinsey & Company alumni include:
- Jane Fraser — CEO of Citigroup
- James P. Gorman — Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley
- Charlotte Hogg — COO of the Bank of England
- Jørgen Vig Knudstorp — CEO of Lego Group
- Sheryl Sandberg — COO of Facebook
- Many, many others.
However, the reason I have McKinsey least well ranked out of the MBB firms is due to its high demands and stressful work culture.
It’s no secret that the MBB firms tend to pay the highest salaries out of all entry level consulting positions, and with that comes high expectations for top performers.
Yet, even for what seems to be MBB standards, McKinsey is often understood to have the highest demands on employees to put in long hours every week, with a typical week being comparable to those in corporate law or investment banking.
You may have to end up working an average of 70 to 80 hours a week, with no protected weekends either.
Now, this is met with generally the highest salaries you can get in the consulting world, with McKinsey employees expecting to make slightly more than staff at their other MBB counterparts.
You can also expect a faster promotion and career progression timeline to reward the high performance that they expect, which can mean more frequent pay rises and a shorter pathway to the top of the consulting world, if that’s where you’re wanting to go.
This fast-paced, demanding environment does also attract a certain type of individual, often being those who are hypercompetitive and obsessed with being the absolute best that they can be.
Those who can meet these standards will thrive, while those who are more average or laid back, will likely struggle to keep up.
The point is, if you’re tough enough to stick it out and thrive in the hypercompetitive workplace culture at McKinsey, you’re sure to come out equipped with absolutely everything you need to do big things later on in your career.
Considerations:
- Highest compensation out of MBB - CEO factory - Most demanding consulting firm - Least desirable work life balance - Hypercompetitive environment
Oliver Wyman
The first consulting firm in this list not part of the MBB, I have Oliver Wyman as the next best consulting firm to work at.
It’s certainly still got a strong brand presence in the consulting world across the globe, with offices in over 70 cities and 30 countries.
It’s definitely not a small company either, with annual revenues of $2.5 billion in 2021, not too far off from Bain, the smallest of the MBB firms.
Oliver Wyman is often regarded to sit just under the MBB firms in terms of prestige and desirability as a firm to work at.
This is for good reason, as they offer compensation nearly on par with the MBB firms, as well as strong work cultures and exit opportunities as well.
The firm has a culture comparable to that of a boutique firm, where teams are small and everybody knows each other (known as a flat hierarchy).
You’ll find that due to the relatively smaller intake of new hires and graduates each year, Oliver Wyman places a bigger emphasis on employee retention, and putting people on the pathway to eventually become partners.
This does mean the firm also does invest lots of money into your professional development and networking, as well as giving you lots of incentives and perks to retain top talent.
This kind of culture leads to work that might feel like it would at a boutique or smaller, more entrepreneurial firm, but grants the benefit of carrying the prestige of the globally recognized brand that Oliver Wyman is.
Graduates at the entry level can typically expect to earn around $100,000 USD as a base salary in the USA as well, but with smaller bonuses and less perks like dinner stipends than you would get at an MBB firm.
Typically you’ll be expected to work between 55–65 hours per week, which is similar to that of Bain and BCG, so not too bad if you ask me.
Nonetheless, Oliver Wyman is a strong, solid option of consulting firm to work at if you fall short of your MBB internship and graduate role offers.
Considerations:
- High compensation - Good perks - High level of prestige - Boutique culture
Kearney
Formerly known as AT Kearney, the firm has made a name for itself for being considered by many to be the most prestigious out of the tier two firms, even over the likes of PwC’s Strategy& and Oliver Wyman, right behind MBB.
Many Kearney alumni end up working in private equity or go into management at large companies like those in the ASX100.
They’ve adopted a work culture similar and comparable to that of boutique firms, where the environment is quite collegiate and work/responsibilities are generally shared pretty equally across staff.
Kearney is known to have pretty demanding working hours, with expectations generally sitting around 12 hour work days, with Fridays being slightly shorter, in line with industry standards and conventions.
Weekends are generally pretty well protected, but you might find that it’s not uncommon for you to have to put in extra hours towards the end of the week, and into the weekend to finish up on your projects.
In terms of compensation, you expect to get a similar amount to what you’d get from a firm like Oliver Wyman or PwC’s Strategy&, with graduates in the USA starting at around that $100,000 USD mark for their base salaries.
However, in other markets, base salaries and bonuses can be quite significantly lower, where the discrepancy between geographical locations can be larger than it is at other firms.
The firm also does seem to embrace a strong social aspect as well, regularly hosting office and social events to help you connect and expand your professional network.
Getting the chance to work at a firm like Kearney would no doubt leave you very well equipped to find success in the world of business, pretty much regardless of where you look for your next career opportunities.
A well deserved fifth place for Kearney.
Considerations:
- High compensation - Lots of social events - Flat hierarchy - Very high prestige - Potentially unfavorable working hours - Lots of travel
Strategy& (PwC)
The first of the big four accounting firms to make it on this list, I’ve got PwC’s strategy consulting arm, Strategy& in sixth place.
Now, having a big four name on your resume, and especially PwC which happens to be one of the larger firms in the category, is a strong advantage you can have that’ll open up lots and lots of doors for you.
Definitely carries a pretty high level of prestige, though not at the same level as MBB, or even Oliver Wyman.
Joining Strategy& will immediately connect you with a global network of professionals, including those working in law, accounting, finance, consulting, and tech.
They have a huge alumni network that you can leverage, and you’re bound to find potential future business partners and all round good people that you’d like to get to know better.
Strategy& has over 55 offices worldwide, and generates over $17 billion in revenue each year. Certainly an impressive operation, considering this is only one business unit of the professional services giant that PwC is.
In terms of work culture, however, it’s pretty widely understood that working at any of the big four firms (Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG) will come with relatively poor and stressful working environments, that aren’t reflected in the kind of salary or compensation you’d expect at prestigious firms like these.
Working hours can average between 55–60 hours a week, just slightly better than the MBB standards, and comparable to that of Bain, or BCG on a good week.
At a firm like Strategy&, especially being part of PwC’s network, you’ll get the exposure to some of the top working professionals in your area, and around the world too!
The firm regularly hosts large networking and corporate events, which you can certainly take advantage of to grow your own professional network and to open up future career opportunities with.
I would like to point out, however, that if you don’t land a job specifically in the Strategy& division of PwC, and instead get a consulting job in tax or risk advisory, you’ll likely find that the pay and total compensation is noticeably lower, so you’ll need to be careful of where you end up in the company.
Considerations:
- High prestige - Big network of professionals - Good compensation, but only in the Strategy& division
Deloitte
The second of the big four firms to reach this list, and in seventh place, is Deloitte and its strategy consulting arms.
Similarly to PwC, Deloitte is one of the largest professional networks in the world, and therefore having its name on your resume carries that level of prestige with it.
Annual revenues for the entire Deloitte network trump $50 billion USD, and the firm reaches practically all over the globe with offices in over 150 countries.
You’ll instantly gain access to a network that’s very similar to that of PwC’s, although Deloitte does generate more of their revenue from consulting, as opposed to tax and assurance services.
Thanks to the networks and prestige, many Deloitte alumni end up working at MBB firms, startups, or going into strategy advisory at Fortune 500 companies.
Being a part of the big four accounting firms also does mean one thing, though.
Deloitte’s culture isn’t anywhere near as innovative or entrepreneurial as it is at other consulting firms, due to the nature of the clients you’ll be working with.
Instead of asking you to think outside of the box, Deloitte will focus more on getting you familiar with what’s already been working and done before, and offering those services to people instead.
In addition, due to the sheer size of the company, you’ll likely find hundreds, if not thousands of people in Deloitte’s offices, whereas at an MBB firm you might only find around 100 at best.
This can lead to weak employee relationships and bonds between alumni, as well as a weak work culture that isn’t as enjoyable as you would expect from such a glamorized firm.
As with PwC and the other big four firms, you shouldn’t expect a great work life balance, and compensation can be just under the MBB level if you land the right job offers.
Otherwise, you might end up having to get a pay discount compared to your peers at MBB or other non-big four consulting firms.
Nevertheless, it’s a great place to kickstart your career if you’ve got a long term vision in mind for what you want to achieve, and need a big, respectable name on your resume to help you achieve this.
Considerations:
- Decent compensation - Substandard working environments - Potentially weak colleague and alumni relationships - Huge network of professionals - Not a very innovative culture
Next up, EY-Parthenon.
Known for having compensation that is on practically on par with MBB firms, EY-Parthenon is made a name for itself as one of the most well known and trusted consulting firms out there.
This is once again, only for the EY-Parthenon and Port Jackson Partners divisions though.
A job outside of these divisions in EY won’t offer you nearly as much compensation, especially not at the graduate level.
It’s also known to have a pretty strong work environment compared to its other big four candidates, where generally, people are well connected and enjoy each other’s company.
However, some do consider the EY name to carry slightly less prestige than its larger big four candidates of Deloitte and PwC do, as it is a slightly smaller firm.
On top of this, the large size of the firm (over $45 billion USD in annual revenues for the entire EY network) still does take its toll on the work culture, and innovation and entrepreneurial mindsets generally aren’t that common.
You can expect to work approximately 55–65 hours a week, but that can easily shoot up to around 75 or even 80 hours a week when you’re working on important deals.
Nonetheless, you’ll still have a huge global network of professionals within the EY brand name that you can connect with and leverage for your future business and career opportunities!
Considerations:
- Lower prestige than the larger big four firms - High compensation, specifically for EY-Parthenon and Port Jackson Partners - Poorer work life balance - Better work environment for big four standards - Huge global network
L.E.K Consulting
Now, back to a solely strategy consulting services firm.
L.E.K was founded by three ex-Bain alumni, and has around 20+ offices around the world, generating annual revenues of around $800 million USD in 2021.
As a true and notable tier two consulting firm, you can expect a relatively high level of prestige to come with having the L.E.K Consulting name on your resume, but not quite at the level of Oliver Wyman or Kearney.
It truly is a boutique firm, and therefore the work environment there is pretty collegiate and you’ll find that right from day one, even as a beginner, you’re working very closely with everyone at the firm in a relatively flat hierarchy.
Everybody knows one another, and the work environment and culture is fun, engaging, and entrepreneurial.
In terms of compensation, you can expect everything you would form a firm like Oliver Wyman or Kearney, being slightly below the MBB standards.
As for working hours, this is where the firm falls short.
Due to the truly boutique firm culture, a typical day working on a strategy consulting case might require you to work from 9am to 7pm, with Fridays again being that day either working from home or coming with shorter work hours.
However, if you’re on a due diligence task, you could expect to work from 9am to 11pm, with Friday again being shorter.
Luckily, weekends are generally well protected.
However, if you can stomach this, and like the idea of a truly boutique firm culture, L.E.K might just be the consulting firm for you!
All things considered, L.E.K is still a great place for you to work at if you’re serious about building a name for yourself in the consulting world, but very rarely would anyone pick L.E.K over something more prestigious like an MBB firm.
Considerations:
- High compensation - Boutique culture - Lower prestige out of the tier two firms - Poorer work life balance
Accenture Strategy
Last but not least on this list, I have Accenture Strategy.
Now, before I get bombarded, I’d like to quickly explain this decision.
Accenture is primarily a technology-based company, and the majority of their consulting work is done with a big tech focus.
Chances are, if you’re working at Accenture, you’re working on digital solutions, and not necessarily pure strategy cases.
Now, if tech is your thing and it’s what you’d prefer to work with, then Accenture could easily be near the top of your list.
However, for the rest of us who probably aren’t so tech-savvy, it’s probably not our thing.
Accenture is one of the largest consulting firms, bringing in $64 billion USD of revenue in 2023, which is larger than the revenue brought in by the entire Deloitte network in 2022, which was $59.3 billion USD.
This large firm size does carry large amounts of prestige as well, probably on par with a firm like Oliver Wyman.
Again, due to the sheer size of the firm and the number of people you’ll be working alongside in your office, it’s difficult to establish those strong coworker relationships.
Chance are, you’d be less likely to go and grab a beer after work at Accenture than you would at a company like Bain or BCG.
In terms of compensation, you can once again expect something along the lines of a $100,000 base salary in the USA, and some discrepancy in other job markets.
You’ll also be expected to work pretty long hours, probably at a level comparable to that of Bain or BCG.
Considerations:
- Tech focused - High prestige - Very large company - Poorer work environment and culture - High compensation
Closing Thoughts
All in all, any of the firms on this list would be an absolutely stellar place to work at, both in terms of enjoyability, as well as career perks and advantages that you’d benefit from.
Of course, the MBB firms still do stand as the most reputable and prestigious firms, but the other firms on this list can be great, or even potentially better options for you as well!
Do your own research, apply for everything you can, and the best of luck to you in your consulting endeavors!
I hope you’ve managed to learn something from this article and have been able to learn something from it!
Hopefully it gives you a bit more clarity as to which firms you might want to be looking to work with.
On a side note, if you’d like to learn more about excelling as a student and doing everything (beyond simply academics) that you can set yourself up for a successful career after graduating, check out the rest of my Medium publication, Grad Excel!
Other than that, all the best to you.