Want to be a consultant? Here are the specialisms you should aim for if you want the highest salary
Consultants: they may come in for their fair share of flack, but it's generally worth it at the end of the month.
Consultancy may be one of the City's biggest industries – but which specialisms bring in the highest wages?
Salary benchmarking site Emolument.com has investigated, and found those working in strategy consulting are bringing home the largest paycheques – in fact, their combined annual £61,000 is 1.5 times higher than their colleagues in financial accounting.
Read more: These are the highest-paying specialisms in the finance sector
Meanwhile, those in risk and trusts and pensions are also doing pretty well, with combined salaries of £52,000 and £55,000 respectively.
The research suggested that the best-paid consultants are in the strategy consulting departments at Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group, who can earn up to £100,000 a year.
| Specialisation | Salary | Bonus | Total |
| Strategy Consulting | £56,000 | £5,000 | £61,000 |
| Customer and Growth | £50,000 | £5,000 | £55,000 |
| Trusts and Pensions | £50,000 | £5,000 | £55,000 |
| Corporate Finance Advisory | £49,000 | £4,000 | £53,000 |
| Operational Transaction Services | £51,000 | £2,000 | £53,000 |
| Investment & Divestiture Advisory Services | £50,000 | £3,000 | £53,000 |
| Financial Risk Management | £52,000 | n/a | £52,000 |
| Economic Consulting | £48,000 | £3,000 | £51,000 |
| People and Change | £49,000 | £2,000 | £51,000 |
| Operational Transformation | £48,000 | £2,000 | £50,000 |
| Financial Advisory | £48,000 | £2,000 | £50,000 |
| Regulatory Compliance | £49,000 | n/a | £49,000 |
| Tax Accounting | £46,000 | £1,000 | £47,000 |
| Business Process Management | £47,000 | n/a | £47,000 |
| IT Advisory | £47,000 | n/a | £47,000 |
| Performance Improvement | £46,000 | £1,000 | £47,000 |
| External Audit | £45,000 | n/a | £45,000 |
| Financial Accounting | £41,000 | n/a | £41,000 |
But it also warned that if it's a big bonus you're after, consultancy might not be your best bet: "Compared to bankers whose bonuses can amount to more than their annual salary, even the highest paid consultants receive relatively low bonuses (here's some advice on how to increase that, FYI).
"Consulting is a fee-based business which makes recommendations to clients while not directly benefiting from the improving performance brought about by their work. A consequence of this process is that consultants are far removed from direct bottom-line increase at their clients', which has a direct impact on their total compensation."
Read more: These banks awarded the best bonuses this year
Nevertheless, Alice Leguay, Emolument.com's co-founder, pointed out that there are advantages to working in consultancy.
"Working across industries and being embedded within different firm on a rotating basis is incredibly enriching and varied. The job does not get stale and professionals expand their networks exponentially, building relationships on every project both with client teams as well as assigned colleagues.
"Consulting might pay less than banking in the short to medium term, but is a fantastic way to build a solid professional network and dip one's toes in many industries looking to solve different problems, a certain way to open doors later on in life.'