What is a consultant?
Consultants or “associates” provide professional and expert advice to businesses and individuals on a range of subjects. They offer expertise in areas where the client doesn’t have it themselves.
A well-known type of consultant is a management consultant, who advises clients on how to manage people and processes in their companies. But this is just one type of consultant, and since the profession of consultant isn’t legally protected or defined, you can find consultants that specialise in almost any sector, including:
- recruitment/HR
- environment
- finance
- IT
- operations
- strategy
What does a consultant do to earn their salary?
Consultancy can be a demanding job involving a high level of responsibility and pressure due to deadlines and client expectations. You’ll be travelling to see clients a lot, and this may include overseas travel. A brief job description of a consultant looks something like this:
- visiting clients to discuss their needs
- analysing data and preparing reports
- researching clients’ businesses
- delivering presentations to clients
- drawing up plans with clients
- providing ongoing support to clients
How much does a consultant earn?
The average salary for a fully-fledged consultant is between £52,000 and £59,000 in the UK. But these numbers are a little simplified. Exactly how much you could earn in consultancy depends on your specialism. For example, consultants specialising in strategy tend to earn the most while operations consultants generally earn slightly less than average.
Similarly, salaries vary across various companies. Consultants can work at independent consultancy businesses, on an independent, freelance basis, in-house for non-consultant companies or in larger, specialist consulting firms such as the “Big Four”, namely Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Larger firms usually offer more competitive salaries (£80,000 or more at consultant and up to £125,000 at senior consultant level).
So, what about starting salaries for a consulting job?
There are roughly three levels of consulting job: junior consultant/analyst (entry level), consultant/associate (approx. 6 years of experience) and senior consultant. Contrary to the above, starting salaries at Big Four firms are generally lower than at smaller, boutique firms, but the salary progression curve is steeper. The average junior consultant starting salary is £40,000 – but this can vary wildly from £25,000 to £50,000 given the salary-influencing factors mentioned above.
Sources:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
www.consultancy.uk
www.prospects.ac.uk
www.managementconsulted.com