Far be it from us to criticize talented people earning significant compensation. However, we were a little taken back when we read a Wall Street Journal article “Behold, the New Starting Salary for Some Graduates Is $100,000 (March 10, 2022)” detailing how some college seniors were walking from the diploma ceremony into a six-figure starting salary in consulting firms.

Big Salaries for Investment Banking and Tech, Yes, But Consulting?

Wage inflation is real in a tight labor market. Investment banking always draws big bucks and tech firms are getting more aggressive in their courting of talent, particularly for emerging platforms in fintech and cryptocurrency.

Also, as the IPO market has cooled a bit with its most sluggish start in six years, employees who hoped for a future windfall may be looking for more upfront money. But it was this paragraph in WSJ that got us going:

McKinsey & Co. and Boston Consulting Group also bumped their bases to a new floor of $100,000, according to My Consulting Offer, which tracks the sector’s salaries. Rookies at Bain & Co. can expect to make six figures, too, says Keith Bevans, Bain’s global head of recruiting.

The age of the average TechCXO partner and staff skews a bit older in large part due to our value proposition that when you get a fractional or interim TechCXO executive, they have sat in a c-suite chair already. Maybe we’re just a bit resentful of the younger set, but we’ll get over it.