Management Consulting Report: Pay Is Rising, But New Skills Are Needed

Change is inevitable. React too slowly? You’ll land in Chapter 11. React too quickly? You’ll produce a half-measure that’s quickly surpassed. That’s why companies onboard management consultants – to understand what change means…and how to capitalize on it.

With the advent of AI and analytics, you might expect the consulting industry to be experiencing a renaissance with record engagements, revenue, and hiring. The reality, however, is far more complicated based on Management Consulted’s 2025 Management Consulting Industry Report.

‘NO ROOM TO NEGOTIATE’

The good news? According to the report, industry hiring rose 22% over the past year. The bad news? That hiring is concentrated in specific regions (with Atlanta, Boston, and Denver cited for growth). Possess AI expertise? According to Management Consulted data, you can earn 10% more than your counterparts. That number is balanced out, however, by a different finding. When seasoned professionals – eight or more years of professional experience – make lateral moves into consulting, they are often commanding lower base and bonus than entry-level MBA hires.

While consulting firms are bumping up performance bonuses, these increases are targeted to the highest performance levels, making them far higher to attain. Even more, Management Consulted’s survey findings also contain a stark warning for graduating MBAs and business majors:

“Candidates recruiting through on-campus channels or those with non-premium experience have no room to negotiate.”

That doesn’t mean new hires are starting behind their predecessors. “Despite base salary freezes at many top firms,” the report continues, “many new hires are being offered extra sign-on bonuses to start early following the completion of their respective undergraduate or MBA degrees.”

CRITICAL SKILLS THAT CONSULTING FIRMS NEED

The industry report was produced by Management Consulted, best known for being the definitive source for consulting pay in its annual Consulting Salaries Report. To produce the report, Management Consulted reached out to 1,000 potential respondents. In the end, the survey was completed by over 100 analysts, consultants, managers, principals, and partners, with the survey covering over 10 firms. Along with surveying industry leaders on pay and trends, Management Consulted provides a variety of services to current and prospective consultants, including resume reviews, professional training, virtual panels and events, digital assessments, and case prep.

Based on survey responses, consulting firms are increasingly seeking out hires who can operate in positions like technology lead, corporate strategist, information security manager, project manager and transformation specialist. From a technical standpoint, survey respondents listed several skills in demand at their firms, including cloud architecture, curriculum design, advanced analytics and data storytelling, supply chain optimization, and generative AI consulting frameworks. By the same token, survey-takers noted critical “soft” skills that their firms were seeking: executive presence, hypothesis-driven problem-solving, results-oriented mindset, and client relationship management.

Looking at survey responses, two skills stood out to Namaan Mian, the chief operating officer at Management Consulted: AI frameworks and data storytelling.

“Why? AI frameworks now define how consultants design, deliver, and measure impact,” Mian tells Poets&Quants. “Data storytelling remains one of the most critical consulting skills because firms are no longer judged solely on analytics, but on their ability to translate complex data into compelling, actionable narratives that drive client decision-making and demonstrate measurable impact. This is one of the reasons that the biggest growth area of Management Consulted’s business is our data storytelling training.”

McKINSEY LEADS THE WAY IN AI

Those skills will come in handy in the current marketplace according to survey respondents. They reported “momentum” in areas like “technology, digital transformation, AI, and advanced analytics,” though the report added that strategy consulting was being painted as a “shrinking practice” alongside M&A and ESG. However, strategy consulting is more evolving than declining according to Mian.

“Strategy consulting’s share of the overall market is declining relative to the post-COVID peak, but the sector is still larger than in 2019. The relative decline reflects current client skepticism toward abstract strategy work and the demand for implementation-heavy engagements. As AI becomes embedded in enterprise transformation, firms that integrate strategy with execution and AI literacy will redefine the relevance of strategy engagements.”

Mian adds that McKinsey & Company is ahead of its MBB counterparts in the AI space. “McKinsey is aggressively restructuring through AI-driven operational redesigns. Bain maintains stable entry-level hiring and a strong digital transformation focus due to its balanced adaptation. BCG seems to have focused more on client research (i.e., their AI investment survey), indicating thought leadership but an operational lag in AI adoption. In short, McKinsey appears to be the MBB leader in managing the AI shift and implementing the “dual imperative” due to its emphasis on internal AI enablement and operational redesign rather than external signaling alone.”

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

That said, Mian adds that McKinsey isn’t alone in excelling in AI engagements, as boutique firms are also  carving out a space in this growing market. “Firms like RGP, Elixirr, CGI, and Accenture are positioned to succeed due to their agility, specialization, and AI-centric delivery models, which gives them execution credibility in the current market.”

Looking ahead, survey respondents could be described as “cautious”…at best. The Management Consulting Industry Report points to half of respondents expressing “neutral outlooks” – with the remainder carrying views more “bearish” in nature. That is reinforced by three-quarters reporting client demand being either steady or declining. That same percentage also anticipate revenues “to either decline or remain flat over the next two years.”

“Clients are also shifting behavior,” adds the report. “There’s growing pressure for outcome-based pricing, a trend toward in-house capability building, and signs of longer sales cycles, greater price sensitivity, and hesitancy to launch new initiatives. At the same time, clients are launching larger, multi-year transformations with heightened expectations for speed and digital impact.”

To read the full report, including advice for job seekers, click here.

To read application deadlines for the top consulting firms and boutiques, click here.

DON’T MISS: CONSULTING PAY: WHAT MBAS EARNED IN 2024

The post Management Consulting Report: Pay Is Rising, But New Skills Are Needed appeared first on Poets&Quants.