Bain Consultant Salary | What Could You Earn At Bain & Company?

Are you an aspiring management consultant? Find out what salary you could earn at Bain & Company after an MBA or master’s degree

Bain & Company ranks among Glassdoor's best companies to work for in 2024 and a lot of that comes down to the impressive, six-figure salaries Bain offers its consultant hires.

Despite freezing starting salaries for MBA and master's grads this year, along with the other Big Three consulting firms, Bain remains one of the consultancies where you can earn the highest compensation packages.

Each year, Bain recruits MBA and master’s level consultants from top US business schools including Harvard, Wharton, and Stanford as well as schools outside the US like INSEAD, HEC Paris, and London Business School.

So what Bain consultant salary can you expect to earn after graduation?

Bain Consultant Salary & Bonuses

Bain consultant salary prospects are especially strong for incoming MBA hires who earn base salaries of $192,000. Master’s-level graduates get offered around $112,000 in base salary at Bain.

MBA hires at Bain receive performance bonuses of up to $63,000 and a signing bonus of $30,000. Master’s-level hires get performance bonuses of up to $22,500 and signing bonuses of $5,000.

These numbers are just starting salaries. Bain consultant salaries and bonuses tend to grow by 10-to-20% each year, according to ManagementConsulted. Each promotion to a higher level will also coincide with a salary leap.

Master’s-level hires tend to come in at the Bain business analyst salary level while MBA hires come in at the Bain associate salary level.

Two-to-three years out of an MBA program, Bain manager salary prospects are around $220-to-$240,000 in base salary and $100-to-$140,000 in bonuses.

A Bain associate principal salary sits at around $275-to-$350,000, while Bain partner salary prospects start at around $375,000 and go up to $500-to-$700,000 for a senior partner with potential bonuses of over $500,000.

You’ll find similar colossal consultant salaries across all the Big Three consulting firms: Bain, Boston Consulting Group, and McKinsey.

Bain Careers

As well as Bain consultant salary benefits, careers at Bain come with many perks. Bain compares well to companies across industries and is a leader within the consulting sector.

MBA hires at Bain get PTO vacation of 25 days per year—the most among the Big Three—and they get paid $8,000 for relocations of under 600 miles and $15,000 for over 600 miles. Bain also makes a 401(k) retirement contribution of up to $8,000 for US employees.

Master’s level hires at Bain get a housing allowance of up to $5,000, PTO vacation of 20 days per year, and $5,000 for relocation.

Business school grads turned Bain consultants interviewed by BusinessBecause have praised Bain’s exciting work culture, but say work-life balance can be challenging:

Michele Valente, HKUST Business School MBA:

Find out if consulting is what you really want to do. It's a very interesting job which gives strong basics to problem solving and data analysis, but this often comes with big cons, such as continuous travel and a not-ideal work-life balance.

How to get hired by Bain

How can you get hired by Bain? Keith Bevans, head of global consultant recruitment at Bain & Company, tells BusinessBecause Bain values problem solvers and those who are looking to make an impact in their career. The firm also values people who are keen to learn at a rapid pace.

“We're looking for people who have demonstrated analytic experience, people that can get down the learning curve very quickly, people that get excited about problem solving, and get excited about making a difference,” he says.

The firm also prioritizes hiring people who are capable and self-motivated, and Bain is more than prepared to coach any gaps in your knowledge.

“I like to say, if you're a good athlete, we can teach you the sport. Right? And so what we're looking for in a lot of ways is good athletes.”

To apply for jobs at Bain, you'll need to submit the following items, plus any requirements specific to the office you’re applying for: resume/CV; educational background information; work experience; relevant test scores.

The data in this article was sourced from Management Consulted’s 2024 Consulting Salary Report. The salary figures in this article are for those joining management consulting positions in 2024. This article is updated annually.