Why are salaries in consulting so much lower in London?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-35106321.html

Hello hounslow!

Hey Guys,

I was looking at the management consulting salaries in the US and it seems that the salaries in the UK are lacking quite a fair bit from our American counterparts.

http://managementconsulted.com/consulting-salaries/2015-management-consulting-salaries-undergraduate-mba-interns/

The big 4 in London starts at around 32k and the pure consulting firms slightly more. It is quite ridiculous how much the pay disparity can be when the cost of living in London is the highest in the world.

mate, have you been to hounslow? My gf used to live there. Place is a chithole. Dingy as hell and there's nothing going on there at all. if you want cheap then sure, but it's the kinda of place you want to get out of as soon as you can.

Plus it's like a good hour away from central london...so makes having a social life that little bit more inconvenient. Only upside to the place is that it's relatively quite safe given the poverty of the place.

I can confirm this, most of the people who I know who received big 4 consulting offers are getting 32k. It is really crazy how in the US, they are almost getting 50k for doing the same job. I think salaries in the UK hasn't went up with inflation over the years, that is probably the reason why London lagged behind by so much today.

That's about the benchmark for graduate salaries in London. When you are a new graduate you don't know much and so the firm is not going to go overboard, they will pay the going rate. Most graduates in London live in houseshares similar to students, yes that might suck if you had ambitions of having your own studio flat or whatever when you graduated but if you want that you will have to move to another city (you can rent a nice riverside studio in Leeds / Manchester on a graduate salary).

The one good thing about rents being so high in those houseshares in London, is if you are sharing with a group of others in a place where you're paying £800 a month each in rent, it's a fair bet you are all on graduate jobs. You aren't likely to get a layabout in the group who just wants to stay up all night getting hammered and being noisy all the time, because they won't be able to afford it.

If you want to enjoy a better lifestyle you just have to be good and successful in your career. Your firm will work out pretty soon who is really needed and who isn't, and they will promote the ones who are really good.

On a salary of £45-50k which is perfectly reasonable in 3 or 4 years in most professional graduate schemes, if you get promoted, you can live a bit more comfortably in terms of renting in London however you might still struggle to save for a deposit so buying in London isn't going to be a go-er unless you are in a couple both on that sort of salary with some significant parental help.

Hi.

I know this is a little off topic but what are management consulting hours like and how does the pay compare to IB?

Additionally, is it true that MBB mainly recruit exclusively from Oxbridge? Is there like a list of 'target' unis like there is in IB or is it pretty much just Oxbridge?

Thanks.

If you graduate from uni and walk into a 32k job, you're doing quite alright.

I get the frustration about the pay disparity; and I'm afraid that I can't really help you out there. Perhaps it's more a case of American salaries being grossly puffed-up, as opposed to paltry UK counterparts? Idk.

All I know is that a starting salary of 32k is not to be sniffed at.

That's about the benchmark for graduate salaries in London. When you are a new graduate you don't know much and so the firm is not going to go overboard, they will pay the going rate. Most graduates in London live in houseshares similar to students, yes that might suck if you had ambitions of having your own studio flat or whatever when you graduated but if you want that you will have to move to another city (you can rent a nice riverside studio in Leeds / Manchester on a graduate salary).

The one good thing about rents being so high in those houseshares in London, is if you are sharing with a group of others in a place where you're paying £800 a month each in rent, it's a fair bet you are all on graduate jobs. You aren't likely to get a layabout in the group who just wants to stay up all night getting hammered and being noisy all the time, because they won't be able to afford it.

If you want to enjoy a better lifestyle you just have to be good and successful in your career. Your firm will work out pretty soon who is really needed and who isn't, and they will promote the ones who are really good.

On a salary of £45-50k which is perfectly reasonable in 3 or 4 years in most professional graduate schemes, if you get promoted, you can live a bit more comfortably in terms of renting in London however you might still struggle to save for a deposit so buying in London isn't going to be a go-er unless you are in a couple both on that sort of salary with some significant parental help.

mate, have you been to hounslow? My gf used to live there. Place is a chithole. Dingy as hell and there's nothing going on there at all. if you want cheap then sure, but it's the kinda of place you want to get out of as soon as you can.

Plus it's like a good hour away from central london...so makes having a social life that little bit more inconvenient. Only upside to the place is that it's relatively quite safe given the poverty of the place.

if its noticeably less than the us counterparts for the same work then it is to be sniffed at, and also finance is a bubble of grad schemes, you cant say things like walking into a 32k job, if youve gone into uni and throughout uni with a plan to get into finance it will seem the norm, not something special.

strategy consulting is probably the most competitive grad scheme in the country, doesnt mean it should follow the normal benchmark. but yes due to the limit of places, they can choose what salary to provide essentially. in ib where there are more firms, when a couple moved to 50k base this year the rest reluctantly had to follow.

The hours are long but nothing like IB. Base salary is usually from 45k-50k (most firms are at 50k now). Consulting base salaries range from 32k-40k.

MBB targets oxbridge heavily, though there are a few exceptions. I would say that MBB is a lot more homogenous than IB.

If pay is your main priority, go to IB, salaries in consulting are peanuts compared to what an Ibanker makes.

Thanks so would you say something like 7:00-20:00?

Do firms like Accenture also target Oxbridge heavily?

Whilst the pay in IB is better I think consulting sounds more fun. Which degrees tend to be best for consulting? - would something like Economics and/with Geography from LSE or UCL suffice?

Accenture and Big 4 recruit from a wider range, but obviously with a wider net comes greater competition.

Lse and UCL are good enough, just get at least a 2.1. Most importantly, build up your resume. Do tons of work experience and ECs. You should be fine, if you tick all these boxes.

Really? Do MBB recruit from LSE and UCL?

there are some places to rent in london under 1000 and some are not flat shares!!!
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/find.html?searchType=RENT&locationIdentifier=REGION%5E92824&insId=1&radius=0.0&minPrice=&maxPrice=800&minBedrooms=&maxBedrooms=&displayPropertyType=&maxDaysSinceAdded=&sortByPriceDescending=&_includeLetAgreed=on&primaryDisplayPropertyType=&secondaryDisplayPropertyType=&oldDisplayPropertyType=&oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType=&letType=&letFurnishType=&houseFlatShare=false