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McKinsey PhD Salary: What to Expect in 2023

Are you considering pursuing a PhD with McKinsey? Get a glimpse into what your salary could look like in 2023 with our comprehensive guide.

Posted May 18, 2023

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Are you interested in embarking on a career at McKinsey & Company with a PhD degree? If so, it is important to know what kind of salary you can expect, and how it compares to other consulting firms. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive guide to McKinsey PhD Salary and what to expect in 2023.

Introduction to McKinsey PhD Salary

McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm that serves clients across various industries and sectors. The firm is known for its rigorous analytical approach and draws top talent from around the world, including PhD graduates.

For many recent PhD graduates, McKinsey offers an exciting and rewarding career path. One aspect that may be of particular interest is the salary. McKinsey PhD Salary is highly competitive, and the firm offers various benefits and incentives to attract and retain top talent.

In addition to competitive salaries, McKinsey also offers its employees a range of benefits and incentives. These include health and wellness programs, retirement plans, and opportunities for professional development and advancement. The firm also places a strong emphasis on work-life balance, offering flexible work arrangements and generous vacation time. Overall, the combination of a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package makes McKinsey an attractive option for many PhD graduates seeking a fulfilling and rewarding career in management consulting.

The Importance of Knowing McKinsey PhD Salary

Knowing what kind of salary to expect at McKinsey is crucial for making informed career decisions. The salary and benefits package can influence whether a job offer is accepted, and can also affect long-term job satisfaction and motivation.

Furthermore, having a good understanding of McKinsey PhD Salary can help candidates prepare for the rigorous recruitment process and better negotiate offers. By knowing what the competitive salary range is, candidates can enter negotiations with a clear idea of what they are worth and what they can reasonably expect.

It is important to note that McKinsey PhD Salary can vary depending on a number of factors, including location, years of experience, and specific role within the company. Candidates should research and consider these factors when evaluating potential job offers and negotiating salary.

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What is McKinsey & Company?

McKinsey & Company is one of the world's leading management consulting firms, with offices in over 130 cities and a diverse and talented workforce comprising over 30,000 consultants. The firm works with clients from a wide range of industries and sectors, such as healthcare, financial services, energy, and technology.

A career at McKinsey can be both challenging and rewarding, providing opportunities to work on high-impact projects, gain exposure to top clients, and develop valuable skills and expertise.

McKinsey & Company has a strong reputation for delivering innovative and effective solutions to complex business problems. The firm's approach is based on rigorous analysis, deep industry knowledge, and a commitment to collaboration with clients.

In addition to consulting services, McKinsey also offers a range of other business solutions, such as digital transformation, organizational design, and leadership development. These services are designed to help clients achieve their strategic goals and stay ahead of the competition in a rapidly changing business environment.

Overview of McKinsey PhD Salary in 2022

The McKinsey PhD Salary varies depending on several factors, such as location, experience, and academic background. According to Glassdoor, the average McKinsey PhD Salary in the United States is around $191,000 per year, while salaries in Europe and Asia range from €80,000 to €150,000.

In addition to a base salary, McKinsey offers a performance-based bonus, which can range from 10% to 30% of the base salary and varies depending on individual and team performance. The firm also provides various benefits and perks, such as health insurance, retirement plans, and generous PTO.

It is worth noting that the McKinsey PhD Salary is highly competitive within the consulting industry. In addition to the financial benefits, McKinsey also offers its employees opportunities for professional development and growth, including access to training programs and mentorship from experienced consultants. This makes McKinsey an attractive option for PhD graduates who are looking to build a successful career in consulting.

Factors That Affect McKinsey PhD Salary

Several factors can influence the McKinsey PhD Salary, including:

• Location: Salaries can vary depending on where the consultant is based, with higher rates in major metropolitan areas.
• Experience: More experienced consultants can command higher salaries, with McKinsey offering several levels of seniority.
• Academic background: McKinsey places a premium on intellectual curiosity and academic excellence, and candidates with PhDs from top programs may receive higher offers.
• Performance: McKinsey operates on a "up or out" model, meaning that consultants are evaluated regularly based on their work and those who do not perform well may be asked to leave the firm.

Another factor that can affect the McKinsey PhD Salary is the industry or sector in which the consultant is working. McKinsey works with clients across a wide range of industries, including healthcare, finance, and technology. Consultants who specialize in high-demand industries may receive higher salaries due to the increased demand for their expertise. Additionally, consultants who work on high-profile projects or with high-profile clients may also receive higher salaries as a result of the prestige associated with their work.

Trends in McKinsey PhD Salary over the Years

McKinsey PhD Salary has been steadily increasing over the years, reflecting the firm's commitment to attracting and retaining top talent. In recent years, however, the firm has also faced criticism for its lack of diversity and inclusion, prompting efforts to address these issues.

Some experts predict that in the coming years, McKinsey may offer more flexible work arrangements to retain talent and improve work-life balance, while also leveraging new technologies to deliver more efficient and innovative solutions to clients.

Additionally, McKinsey has also been investing in sustainability and social impact initiatives, recognizing the importance of corporate responsibility in today's business landscape. The firm has launched several programs aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and promoting diversity and inclusion in the communities it operates in. These efforts not only align with the values of many of its clients but also help attract and retain talent who are passionate about making a positive impact on society.

Predictions for McKinsey PhD Salary in 2023

While it is difficult to predict exactly what McKinsey PhD Salary will be in 2023, it is likely that they will continue to be highly competitive and attractive for top talent.

As the firm adapts to changing market trends and client needs, it may also offer new benefits and perks designed to attract and retain diverse talent and promote work-life balance.

One potential factor that could impact McKinsey PhD Salary in 2023 is the increasing demand for expertise in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. As McKinsey continues to expand its capabilities in these areas, it may need to offer higher salaries and bonuses to attract and retain top talent with specialized skills in these fields.

How to Prepare for the Recruitment Process at McKinsey & Company

The recruitment process at McKinsey & Company is highly competitive and rigorous. PhD candidates interested in applying should prepare well in advance, researching the firm's values, culture, and client work, as well as brushing up on key consulting skills such as data analysis and client communication.

McKinsey also places a premium on intellectual curiosity, so candidates should be prepared to demonstrate their passion for learning and innovative thinking in interviews and case studies.

It is also important for candidates to network with current and former McKinsey employees to gain insights into the firm's culture and values. Attending information sessions and career fairs hosted by McKinsey can also provide valuable opportunities to connect with recruiters and learn more about the recruitment process.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Working at McKinsey & Company

Working at McKinsey & Company comes with both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages include exposure to top clients and projects, opportunities for rapid career advancement, and a supportive and collaborative culture that promotes learning and growth.

Disadvantages include a demanding and high-pressure work environment, limited work-life balance, and a lack of diversity and inclusion in some offices.

Another advantage of working at McKinsey & Company is the opportunity to work with a diverse group of colleagues from different backgrounds and experiences. This can lead to a more well-rounded perspective and a better understanding of different cultures and industries.

Comparison of McKinsey PhD Salary with Other Consulting Firms

Compared to other consulting firms, McKinsey PhD Salary is highly competitive and attractive for top talent. However, it is worth noting that salaries and benefits packages can vary widely depending on the firm, location, and seniority level.

Some other top consulting firms for which PhD graduates may consider applying include Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Company, and Accenture.

It is important to consider not only the salary and benefits package, but also the company culture, work-life balance, and opportunities for growth and development when evaluating consulting firms. McKinsey, for example, is known for its rigorous and demanding work environment, while Bain & Company places a strong emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. Ultimately, the best consulting firm for a PhD graduate will depend on their individual priorities and career goals.

Tips for Negotiating a Higher McKinsey PhD Salary

If you are interested in negotiating a higher McKinsey PhD Salary, here are some tips:

• Research comparable offers from other firms and have a clear idea of your worth.
• Be prepared to demonstrate your value and unique skills and experience.
• Be willing to compromise on other aspects of the offer, such as benefits or relocation packages.
• Approach negotiations in a collaborative and respectful manner, focusing on mutual benefit.

It is also important to consider the timing of your negotiation. If you have just started at McKinsey, it may be more difficult to negotiate a higher salary. However, if you have been with the company for a few years and have consistently demonstrated your value, you may have more leverage in negotiations. Additionally, it can be helpful to have a clear understanding of the company's salary structure and policies, as this can inform your negotiation strategy.

Understanding the Benefits That Come with Your McKinsey PhD Salary

Aside from the competitive base salary and performance-based bonus, McKinsey offers various benefits and perks to its employees. These can include health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, and professional development opportunities.

It is important to understand and take advantage of these benefits, which can help enhance job satisfaction and well-being.

Conclusion: Is a Career at McKinsey & Company Worth It?

A career at McKinsey & Company can be both challenging and rewarding, providing opportunities to work on high-impact projects, gain exposure to top clients, and develop valuable skills and expertise.

While the demands of the job can be significant, McKinsey offers a supportive and collaborative culture that promotes learning and growth. Furthermore, McKinsey PhD Salary is highly competitive and attractive for top talent.

Ultimately, whether a career at McKinsey & Company is worth it depends on individual preferences, goals, and values. By understanding the company's culture, values, and compensation package, PhD graduates can make informed decisions about their career path and achieve their professional aspirations.

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How to transition from PhD to consulting?

Going from PhD to consulting can feel intimidating. It's hard to know which consulting firms recruit PhDs, and at which level. And it can also sometimes feel unclear if you'll be using your PhD skills at all or completely starting from scratch.

So let's walk through how you should manage your transition from PhD to consulting step by step. From which firms to target to how much you will be paid and how to ace your applications and interviews.

Click here to get expert help on your resume from a consultant recruiter

Which companies recruit phds and at which level.

Consulting firms help clients solve some of the most difficult problems they face in their business. As a consequence, firms like McKinsey, BCG and Bain have always been competing with each other to recruit the smartest talent possible. Historically, top consulting firms were mainly hiring MBAs but that has changed over the past few decades and they now also target undergraduate and PhD students.

However, not all firms recruit PhDs at the same level. Some firms like Bain or Oliver Wyman recruit PhDs at their undergraduate entry level which they respectively call Associate Consultant and Consultant. This recruiting approach can feel a little bit frustrating as a PhD given you've spent much more time studying and also usually have more work experience than a typical undergraduate.

But the good news is that some firms have started to recognise this issue and to hire PhDs at the level just above the entry level one. This most notably includes McKinsey and BCG which respectively hire PhDs at Junior Associate and Senior Associate levels. As you can see in the graph below, these are equivalent levels despite the fact that the two firms call them differently.

As you've probably understood by now, McKinsey and BCG are great firms to target as a PhD because you will get in a at higher level than other firms which has got a few advantages:

• First, you'll receive a higher base salary from the start. ~$95k instead of the typical ~$80k for undergraduate entry level.
• Second, you'll be further along in your career and be given more responsibility from day one.

If you want to target these two firms, we would recommend taking a look at the recruiting events they regularly organise for PhDs: the McKinsey Insight Programme and the Bridge to BCG Programme . Both are one to two day workshops during which you get a chance to network with people from McKinsey / BCG , participate in realistic case experiences and get a better feel for whether you'd enjoy being a consultant. We would definitely encourage you to apply if you can.

In addition, if you have done a PhD in life sciences, we would also encourage you to take a look at consulting firms which have a strong focus on healthcare and pharma. This includes LEK , ClearView , Navigant and ZS Associates among others. These are smaller firms than McKinsey or BCG in terms of size but they have a strong culture of hiring PhDs and could be a good addition to your list.

Finally, McKinsey, BCG and the other consulting firms we have mentioned above take part to the PhD to consulting conference every year in the UK. We would recommend attending if you are based in London.

Why should you become a management consultant?

Consulting is intense and your interviewers will want to make sure you have carefully thought about why you want to become a management consultant . In our experience here are the top 3 aspects of management consulting that are most relevant to PhD students.

First, management consulting is not completely unlike doing research. A big part of a management consultant's job is to solve client problems. Going to work for firms like McKinsey or BCG will therefore give you the opportunity to continue using the skills you have developped while doing your PhD: from gathering data, to breaking down problems into manageable pieces and to articulating your ideas in a structured way. Here are a few case examples if you want a more precise idea of the type of projects consultants work on.

Second, one of the differences between management consulting and academia is the pace at which things go. You typically go less deep in the problems you solve in management consulting. But you are asked to solve them much faster. There's an emphasis on speed over depth. The bright side of this is that you will typically see the results of your work much faster as a consultant. On some projects you could even see your recommendations being implemented and have a direct impact on revenues / profits while you are still working at the client site.

Third, if you've decided academia isn't for you and are attracted to the business world, consulting can be a great stepping stone. McKinsey, BCG and Bain are sometimes referred to as " CEO factories " because a lot of their alumnus go on to manage Fortune 500 companies. For instance, both Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO) and Sundar Pichai (Google CEO) are former McKinsey consultants. Not all consultants go on to do great things but some do!

Having a clear idea of why you want to be a consultant is important because it's a demanding job which often involves long hours and a lot of travel.

How to land and ace consulting interviews?

Now that you know what firms to target, let's talk about the consulting application process. For most firms it looks something like this:

• Resume and cover letter
• Maths and logic test
• 1st round interviews
• 2nd round interviews

Each round of interview typically includes 2 to 5 interviews where you will be asked a mix of case questions and fit questions .

The first hurdle you will need to overcome is writing a great PhD consulting resume (template available here) . Our four main tips to achieve this as a PhD student are as follows:

• First, you should use a consulting specific structure for your documents: "Education", "Work experience", "Extra-curricular achievements" and "Additional skills". There's no need for specific sections on your publications or the conferences you attended.
• Second, you should write result-oriented bullet points. This means all your bullet points should start with action verbs (e.g. lead, analyse, etc.) and quantify the impact you've had as much as possible (e.g. lead a collaboration between 4 researchers which resulted in 3 publications)
• Third, you should work hard to simplify the topic of your research. The person reviewing your resume won't know more about your field than the average Financial Times reader. You need to dumb it down for them. They don't need to understand what you did in detail. Conveying a high level idea of your field is often enough.
• Finally, some recruiters have small prejudice against PhD students. They think they are good problem solvers but lack soft skills. In your resume, you should therefore make every effort to show off your soft skills. Two easy ways to do this are to talk about the different collaborations you've worked on, and the different presentations you've made at conferences.

Once your resume and cover letter have been accepted you will need to start preparing for case interviews . This type of interviews lasts about 30 minutes during which you will analyse and solve a business problem. These cases are usually inspired from past consulting projects your interviewer will have worked on.

For example, your interviewer could ask you: "Your client is Coca-Cola, and their profits have been declining in recent years. Can you help find the root-cause of the profit decline and turn the situation around?"

We've helped more than 20,000 students prepare for consulting interviews in the past and in our experience the following four-step approach makes for a great preparation.

• First, you should aim to develop fast and reliable maths skills . All case interviews involve some maths but PhD students in sciences often underestimate that part because they are used to doing more complex maths in their research. But doing simple additions, subtractions, divisions and multiplications QUICKLY and ACCURATELY is a completely different skillset to solving complex integrals (as an example). It requires some practice!
• Second, the real secret to case interviews is CONSISTENCY. You will have 5 to 10 interviews before getting an offer. In order to succeed you therefore need to consistently crack cases. In our experience, the best way to achieve this is to always use the same step by step method. We've developed our own method which you can learn about in our case interview programmes. Or you can also develop your own.
• Third, you should practice as many case interviews as possible. Practicing with peers and playing the role of the interviewer / candidate in turns is extremely helpful. But in addition, we would also recommend practicing by yourself as this gives you more time to think about the questions and about the perfect answer you can give. In addition, some candidates also use a consulting interview coach to fine-tune their preparation.
• Finally, you should not forget to spend some of your preparation time on fit and PEI questions . These are questions such as " Why McKinsey? " or "Tell me about a time you lead a team through a difficult situation?" These are often overlooked by candidates but carry an important weight in interviewers' final decision.

Consulting can be a great stepping stone for PhD students who aren't willing to go into academia and would like to enter the business world. McKinsey and BCG are particularly active in the PhD recruiting space. And so are other smaller firms with a strong presence in healthcare and life sciences such as Navigant, Clearview or ZS Associates. Getting an offer in consulting can be a bit challenging but if you follow our guidance on resumes, cover letters and case interviews your chances are actually quite high.

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McKinsey, Recruiting Advanced Professional Degree Candidates

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Learn more about our recruiting process and opportunities to become a full-time Associate. Let’s connect to explore your future with us. MIT McKinsey: Advanced Professional Degree Candidates Calendar of Events: On-line Events 2025 graduates:  We invite you to learn more about McKinsey, our people, a career in consulting and the application process through our upcoming events. Registration information is below. Please check back for more information on our fulltime application deadline, coming soon.

What Is Advanced Professional Degree?

Advanced Professional Degree (APD) represents candidates who are postdocs or working toward the following degrees: PhD, MD (including medical interns, residents and fellows), JD, PharmD, Nursing, and non-MBA Masters. Non-MBA Master candidates must have at least four years in between the completion of their undergraduate degree and graduate degree to be qualified as having an APD. If a non-MBA Masters candidate does not have four years in between completion of their undergraduate and graduate degrees, they would qualify for our business analyst positions .

Resources for 2025 graduates interested in fulltime roles at McKinsey To ensure you’re in the loop with upcoming events, announcements and deadlines, complete our  Connect with APD  interest form. Note: this is not a job application.  The form will be open until the Associate application deadline (typically Mid-June).

Insight and Diversity Connect, The Series Each year, we invite qualified APD candidates to apply to attend our Insight or Diversity Connect, The Series events. These are our two flagship events for APD recruiting. This year, we welcome those graduating in 2025 to apply to these programs. 

Note: these are event applications, not job applications. Any student chosen to attend Insight or Diversity Connect, The Series will still be required to complete the full time Associate application.

Complete the Connect with APD form Learn about Insight 2024 Learn about Diversity Connect, The Series 2024

What Roles Are Available?

APDs typically join us as full-time  associates . They can work as generalists or expert consultants if they have a specific function or industry on which they would like to focus such as digital, analytics, or operations.  We encourage APD candidates to explore all  job openings —consulting or non-consulting—that fit their professional interests and academic or research expertise. These roles include data scientists, software engineers, product managers, data engineers, designers, agile coaches, digital marketers and a variety of other positions.

Available roles

Apply below: Apply to be an Associate Apply to Technical Roles (Advanced Analytics, Digital, Technology) Search for all open roles

Find your McKinsey recruiting contact through your university information page . For recruiting updates, events, and deadlines, please contact our McKinsey offices in Canada or Mexico.

Here's how much you'll make at McKinsey, Bain and BCG in the U.S.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought on a big freeze in salaries in the consulting industry as participants cut costs, bringing to an end the generous pay rises of precedng years. 

The 2021 salary report from industry coaching firm  Management Consulted shows that salaries at the top three firms – McKinsey,  Bain  and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) – known collectively as MBB, remained flat compared with 2020. This is confirmed by the latest Harvard MBA employment report, which puts salaries for Harvard MBAs going into consulting at $165k for 2021, the same as one year previously. 

Until this year, however, pay at the big consulting firms had been climbing. Management Consulted says the rise was most notable in 2019, when firms hiked salaries as they fought a war for talent with tech firms.  Tech firms haven't gone away, so consulting firms have taken measures to soften the blow of stagnant pay. U nlimited paid time off (PTO) (E&Y), profit sharing (L.E.K.), and one-time work-from-home bonuses have become more common.

Below is an analysis of pay at the MBB firms: McKinsey & Co., Bain & Co., and BCG. The figures are drawn from Management Consulted. 

Undergraduate hires

Salaries and signing on bonuses for undergraduates remained flat at the MBB firms compared with 2020.  The only big difference was that McKinsey doubled the threshold of its maximum performance bonus to $30,000.

While MBB firms froze salaries, they offered other perks, and there are some differences here.  Bain offers relocation of $5,000, a housing allowance of up to $5,000 along with 20 days paid time off (PTO) vacation per year.

BCG offers relocation expenses up to $8,000, profit-sharing of up to $4,400 and 15 days a year PTO.

McKinsey which offers the biggest total comp package for those who hit the top performance bonus of $30,000, provides up to $10,000 in relocation expenses and 19 days PTO per year.

MBA/PhD hires

For MBA and PhD hires, salaries and bonuses for the MBB firms remained unchanged, with Bain and BCG edging ahead of McKinsey in terms of total compensation for the second year running.

Again, there are some nuances when it comes to perks for MBA and PhD hires. 

McKinsey was a bit more generous with retirement assistance, setting aside 7.5% of salary for an employee's 401k.  BCG held its  retirement contribution a $10,312, after a big hike in 2019 – while Bain has kept its contribution steady at $8k.

There is also some variance over the size of relocation packages, with Bain being the most generous.  It offers $8,000 for relocation distances of less than 400 miles, and $16,000 thereafter. BCG offers between $2k and $8k, while McKinsey upped its allowance slightly to a maximum of $10k. McKinsey also offers to pay 50% of MBA tuition for returning interns.

Overall, i f you want to work for the top three consulting firms then there’s not much in it. 

Download our full salary and bonus survey here.  

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact:  [email protected]  in the first instance. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram also available (Telegram: @SarahButcher)

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)

These 2019 salaries are pretty accurate for first year hires who just graduated with their MBA/PhD. They are slightly higher for 2020.

The comments below seem to miss the point that the salaries provided were for newly hired MBA/PhD students who just graduated. The article did not discuss the specific tiles that each of the three firms uses.

agree, these aren't close to the actual salaries you earn (particularly at the senior levels).

These aren't remotely accurate and aren't even the correct job titles.

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McKinsey & Company

Analyst – quito, ecuador.

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You will be based in one of our Latin America Offices and will work in teams and directly with our clients.

Your team colleagues will make you feel welcome and help you be at your best during client engagements. The Professional Development team will complement your experience by tailoring a learning and training program for you, considering your strengths and development needs.

When you join McKinsey as an analyst, you are joining a firm that will challenge you and invest heavily in your professional development. In this role you will have the opportunity to work on teams and help the best organizations in the world – across the private, public, and social sectors – solve some of their most difficult problems, while you discover coaches, mentors, sponsors and friends in your learning program.

McKinsey has offices in 130+ cities in 65+ countries

When the PhD path leads to career struggles

A doctoral degree is a major commitment. Think carefully.

I appreciated reading Kara Miller’s The Big Idea column “PhD: Pretty heavily disappointed” (Business, May 22), about people with doctoral degrees struggling to build careers in academia. It made me think back to a conversation I had when I was about to graduate from high school.

I happened to run into a former track coach of mine, and as we were reminiscing he asked me what I planned as a major in college. “History,” I responded. He said, “Why don’t you take some computer classes also? It never hurts to be able to do something useful.”

I did not reflect on his motivation at the time, but my track coach was a young guy, and he was probably giving me advice straight from his own life, as a parent trying to raise his own young children. I did take computer classes in college and ultimately received a PhD in chemical engineering. I always remember that conversation as being a kind of turning point.

Earning a doctoral degree is a life commitment of great proportion. It can take, as Miller notes, between four and seven years. If we think of working life as roughly between the ages of 22 and 65, then a PhD requires more than 10 percent of a person’s working life. People need to think carefully about that investment.

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Two powerful arguments in favor of the path of science, technology, engineering, and math are that there tend to be more STEM jobs for PhDs, and many universities’ STEM departments are generous in covering their PhD students’ tuition and cost of studies, including a stipend toward food, rent, and other expenses.

Stuart Gallant

Not much has changed in 30 years

As I prepared to graduate in 1995 with a doctor of education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, my mother memorably said to me, “Of my four children, you are the one with the most education and the smallest salary.” Apparently not much has changed in 30 years.

I must congratulate these students, however, on following their passion rather than following the money. I can’t help but think that their lives, though stressful, may contain greater happiness.

Peggy Clark

Lawyers & electricians & philosophers, oh my!

Kara Miller’s column on the career challenges for people with doctoral degrees generated more than 260 comments on Boston.Globe.com. The following is an edited sample of readers’ reactions:

Lots of law school grads are underemployed as well. (PL)

So true, PL. The market in Massachusetts is flooded with talented lawyers seeking work. (Roforma)

Supply and demand, the market at work. (guk)

Investing in education and research in all fields is the hallmark of a society with staying power. Disinvesting from these endeavors signals decline and decay. (Massachusetts citizen)

Electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and other skilled technical professions have no problems getting $100k jobs with great benefits. (ramsen)

Not enough turnover from tenured professors, leaving little space for new faculty. Although the tenured, well-established professors are needed, it’s the junior faculty who are hungry and with new ideas that help build new programs. The whole graduate program model is a bad model. I worked two jobs, had my tuition and some type of minimal student health insurance and could barely cover the rent with my stipend, and the second job paid for everything else. Though I was working on many faculty projects, it was the faculty who said this would be good for me. Never did they say it was also good for them. (TravelerofNJ2)

I just retired from a tenured faculty position in science. I’m in my early 70s. I have colleagues who are still doing what they do well into their 70s, a couple approaching 80. There is no active incentive from the university to move the older faculty on, to make way for a new generation. (Lola-lola)

The next step is for adjuncts to go on strike across the nation and hold colleges and universities accountable. The current system is completely absurd. (Wordsmith2358)

Universities should be required to release disclosure data about the fate of their PhD graduates. (davidman820)

I knew an attorney who managed a Cheesecake Factory. She had worked in food services through school. As an attorney, she really did not make that much money and was not doing the field of law of her choice. How many real estate closings can you do without dying of boredom? She went into management in the food industry and makes the same salary. (Antietem)

It was always a question and puzzling to me why people study philosophy. (Blazer27)

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What Do Students at Elite Colleges Really Want?

Many of Harvard’s Generation Z say “sellout” is not an insult.

Credit... Jeff Hinchee

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By Francesca Mari

• Published May 22, 2024 Updated May 24, 2024

The meme was an image of a head with “I need to get rich” slapped across it. “Freshmen after spending 0.02 seconds on campus,” read the caption, posted in 2023 to the anonymous messaging app Sidechat.

The campus in question was Harvard, where, at a wood-paneled dining hall last year, two juniors explained how to assess a fellow undergraduate’s earning potential. It’s easy, they said, as we ate mussels, beets and sautéed chard: You can tell by who’s getting a bulge bracket internship.

“What?” Benny Goldman, a then-28-year-old economics P.h.D. student and their residential tutor, was confused.

One of the students paused, surprised that he was unfamiliar with the term: A bulge bracket bank, like Goldman Sachs , JPMorgan Chase or Citi. The biggest, most prestigious global investment banks. A B.B., her friend explained. Not to be confused with M.B.B. , which stands for three of the most prestigious management consulting firms: McKinsey, Bain and Boston Consulting Group.

While the main image of elite campuses during this commencement season might be activists in kaffiyehs pitching tents on electric green lawns, most students on campus are focused not on protesting the war in Gaza, but on what will come after graduation.

Despite the popular image of this generation — that of Greta Thunberg and the Parkland activists — as one driven by idealism, GenZ students at these schools appear to be strikingly corporate-minded. Even when they arrive at college wanting something very different, an increasing number of students at elite universities seek the imprimatur of employment by a powerful firm and “making a bag” (slang for a sack of money) as quickly as possible.

Elite universities have always been major feeders into finance and consulting, and students have always wanted to make money. According to the annual American Freshman Survey , the biggest increase in students wanting to become “very well off financially” happened between the 1970s and 1980s, and it’s been creeping up since then.

But in the last five years, faculty and administrators say, the pull of these industries has become supercharged. In an age of astronomical housing costs, high tuition and inequality, students and their parents increasingly see college as a means to a lucrative job, more than a place to explore.

A ‘Herd Mentality’

At Harvard, a graduating senior, who passed on a full scholarship to another school, told me that he felt immense pressure to show his parents that their $400,000 investment in his Harvard education would allow him to get the sort of job where he could make a million dollars a year. Upon graduation, he will join the private equity firm Blackstone, where, he believes, he will learn and achieve more in six years than 30 years in a public-service-oriented organization.

Another student, from Uruguay, who spent his second summer in a row practicing case studies in preparation for management consulting internship interviews, told me that everyone arrived on campus hoping to change the world. But what they learn at Harvard, he said, is that actually doing anything meaningful is too hard. People give up on their dreams, he told me, and decide they might as well make money. Someone else told me it was common at parties to hear their peers say they just want to sell out.

“There’s definitely a herd mentality,” Joshua Parker, a 21-year-old Harvard junior from Oahu, said. “If you’re not doing finance or tech, it can feel like you’re doing something wrong.”

As a freshman, he planned to major in environmental engineering. As a sophomore, he switched to economics, joining five of his six roommates. One of those roommates told me that he hoped to run a hedge fund by the time he was in his 30s. Before that, he wanted to earn a good salary, which he defined as $500,000 a year.

According to a Harvard Crimson survey of Harvard Seniors, the share of 2024 graduates going into finance and consulting is 34 percent. (In 2022 and 2023 it exceeded 40 percent. The official Harvard Institutional Research survey yields lower percentages for those fields than the Crimson survey, because it includes students who aren’t entering the work force.)

These statistics approach the previous highs in 2007, after which the global financial crisis drove the share down to a recent low of 20 percent in 2009, from which it’s been regaining ground since.

Fifteen years ago, fewer students went into tech. Adding in that sector, the share of graduates starting what some students non-disparagingly refer to as “sellout jobs” is more than half. (It was a record-shattering 60 percent in 2022 and nearly 54 percent in 2023.)

“When people say ‘selling out,’ I mean, obviously, there’s some implicit judgment there,” said Aden Barton, a 23-year-old Harvard senior who wrote an opinion column for the student newspaper headlined, “How Harvard Careerism Killed the Classroom.”

“But it really is just almost a descriptive term at this point for people pursuing certain career paths,” he continued. “I’m not trying to denigrate anybody’s career path nor my own.” (He interned at a hedge fund last summer.)

David Halek, director of employer relations at Yale’s Office of Career Strategy, thinks students may use the term “sell out” because of the perceived certainty: “It’s the easy path to follow. It is well defined,” he said.

“It’s hard to conceptualize other things,” said Andy Wang, a social studies concentrator at Harvard who recently graduated.

Some students talk about turning to a different career later on, after they’ve made enough money. “Nowadays, English concentrators often say they’re going into finance or management consulting for a couple of years before writing their novel,” said James Wood, a Harvard professor of the practice of literary criticism.

And a surprising number of students explain their desire for a corporate job by drawing on the ethos of effective altruism : Whether they are conscious of the movement or not, they believe they can have greater impact by maximizing earnings to donate to a cause than working for that cause.

But once students board the prestige escalator and become accustomed to a certain salary, walking away can feel funny. Like, well, walking off an escalator.

Financial Pressures

The change is striking to those who have been in academia for years, and not just at Harvard.

Roger Woolsey, executive director of the career center at Union College, a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, N.Y, said he first noticed a change around 2015, with students who had been in high school during the Great Recession and who therefore prioritized financial security.

“The students saw what their parents went through, and the parents saw what happened to themselves,” he said. “You couple that with college tuition continuing to rise,” he continued, and students started looking for monetary payoffs right after graduation.

Sara Lazenby, an institutional policy analyst for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that might be why students and their parents were much more focused on professional outcomes than they used to be. “In the past few years,” she said, “I’ve seen a higher level of interest in this first-destination data” — stats on what jobs graduates are getting out of college.

“Twenty years ago, an ‘introduction to investment banking’ event was held at the undergraduate library at Harvard,” said Howard Gardner, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “Forty students showed up, all men, and when asked to define ‘investment banking,’ none raised their hands.”

Now, according to Goldman Sachs, the bank had six times as many applicants this year for summer internships as it did 10 years ago, and was 20 percent more selective for this summer’s class than it was last year. JPMorgan also saw a record number of undergraduate applications for internships and full-time positions this year.

The director of the Mignone Center for Career Success at Harvard, Manny Contomanolis, also chalked up the change, in part, to financial pressure. “Harvard is more diverse than ever before,” Mr. Contomanolis said, with nearly one in five students eligible for a low-income Pell Grant . Those students, he said, weigh whether to, for instance, “take a job back in my border town community in Texas and make a big impact in a kind of public service sense” or get a job with “a salary that would be life changing for my family.”

However, according to The Harvard Crimson’s senior survey, as Mr. Barton noted in his opinion column, “The aggregate rate of ‘selling out’ is about the same — around 60 percent — for all income brackets.” The main distinction is that students from low-income families are comparatively more likely to go into technology than finance.

In other words, there is something additional at play, which Mr. Barton argues has to do with the nature of prestige. “If you tell me you’re working at Goldman Sachs or McKinsey, that’s amazing , their eyes are going to light up,” Mr. Barton said. “If you tell somebody, ‘Oh, I took this random nonprofit job,’ or even a journalism job, even if you’re going to a huge name, it’s going to be a little bit of a question mark.”

Maibritt Henkel, a 21-year-old junior at Harvard, is an economics major with moral reservations about banking and consulting. Ms. Henkel sometimes worries that others might misread her decision not to go into those industries as evidence that she couldn’t hack it.

“Even if you don’t want to do it for the rest of your life, it’s seen kind of as the golden standard of a smart, hardworking person,” she said.

Some students have also become skeptical about traditional avenues of social change, like government and nonprofits, which have attracted fewer Harvard students since the pandemic, according to the Harvard Office of Institutional Research.

Matine Khalighi, 22, founded a nonprofit to award scholarships to homeless youth when he was in eighth grade. When he began studying economics at Harvard, his nonprofit, EEqual, was granting 50 scholarships a year. But some of the corporations that funded EEqual were contributing to inequality that created homelessness, he said. Philanthropy wasn’t the solution for systemic change, he decided. Instead, he turned to finance, with the idea that the sector could marshal capital quickly for social impact.

Employers encourage this way of thinking. “We often talk about the fact that we work with some of the biggest emitters on the planet because we believe that’s how we actually affect climate change,” said Blair Ciesil, the global leader of talent attraction at McKinsey.

The Recruitment Ratchet

Princeton’s senior survey results are nearly identical to The Crimson’s Senior Survey: about 38 percent of 2023 graduates who were employed took jobs in finance and consulting; adding tech and engineering, the rate is close to 60 percent, compared with 53 percent in 2016, the earliest year for which the data is available.

This isn’t solely an Ivy League phenomenon. Schools slice their data differently, but at many colleges, a large percentage of students pursue these fields. At Amherst , in 2022, 32 percent of employed undergrads went into finance and consulting, and 11 percent went into internet and software, for a total of about 43 percent. Between 2017 and 2019, the University of California, Los Angeles, sent about 21 percent of employed students into engineering and computer science, 9 percent into consulting and nearly 10 percent into finance, for a total of roughly 40 percent

Part of that has to do with recruitment; the most prestigious banks and consulting firms do so only at certain colleges, and they have intensified their presence on those campuses in recent years. Over the last five years or so, “the idea of thinking about your professional path has moved much earlier in the undergraduate experience,” Ms. Ciesil said. She said the banks first began talking to students earlier, and it was the entrance of Big Tech onto the scene, asking for junior summer applications by the end of sophomore year, that accelerated recruitment timelines.

“At first, we tried to fight back by saying, ‘No, no, no, no, no, sophomores aren’t ready, and what does a sophomore know about financial modeling?’” said Mr. Woolsey at Union College. But, he added, schools “don’t want to push back too much, because then you’re going to lose revenue,” since firms often pay to recruit on campus.

The Effective Altruist Influence

The marker that really distinguishes Gen Z is how pessimistic its members are, and how much they feel like life is beyond their control, according to Jean Twenge, a psychologist who analyzed data from national surveys of high school students and first-year college students in her book “Generations.”

Money, of course, helps give people a sense of control. And because of income inequality, “there’s this idea that you either make it or you don’t, so you better make it,” Ms. Twenge said.

Mihir Desai, a professor at Harvard’s business and law schools, wrote a 2017 essay in The Crimson titled “ The Trouble With Optionality ,” arguing that students who habitually pursue the security of prestigious employment foreclose the risk-taking and longer-range thinking necessary for more unusual or idealistic achievements. Mr. Desai believes that’s often because they are responding to the bigger picture, like threats to workers from artificial intelligence, and political and financial upheaval.

In recent years, he’s observed two trends among students pursuing wealth. There’s “the option-buyer,” the student who takes a job in finance or consulting to buy more time or to keep options open. Then there’s what he calls “the lottery ticket buyer,” the students who go all-in on a risky venture, like a start-up or new technology, hoping to make a windfall.

“They know people who bought Bitcoin at $2,000. They know people who bought Tesla at $20,” he said.

Some faculty see the influence of effective altruism among this generation: In the last five years, Roosevelt Montás, a senior lecturer at Columbia University and the former director of its Center for the Core Curriculum, has noticed a new trend when he asks students in his American Political Thought classes to consider their future.

“Almost every discussion, someone will come in and say, ‘Well, I can go and make a lot of money and do more good with that money than I could by doing some kind of charitable or service profession,’” Mr. Montás said. “It’s there constantly — a way of justifying a career that is organized around making money.”

Mr. Desai said all of this logic goes, “‘Make the bag so you can do good in the world, make the bag so you can go into retirement, make the bag so you can then go do what you really want to do.’”

But this “really underestimates how important work is to people’s lives,” he said. “What it gets wrong is, you spend 15 years at the hedge fund, you’re going to be a different person. You don’t just go work and make a lot of money, you go work and you become a different person.”

Inside the World of Gen Z

The generation of people born between 1997 and 2012 is changing fashion, culture, politics, the workplace and more..

Many of Harvard’s Generation Z say “sellout” is not an insult, instead it appears to mean something strikingly corporate-minded .

A younger generation of crossword constructors is using an old form to reflect their identities, language and world. Here’s how Gen Z made the puzzle their own .

For many Gen-Zers without much disposable income, Facebook isn’t a place to socialize online — it’s where they can get deals on items  they wouldn’t normally be able to afford.

Dating apps are struggling to live up to investors’ expectations . Blame the members of Generation Z, who are often not willing to shell out for paid subscriptions.

Young people tend to lean more liberal on issues pertaining to relationship norms. But when it comes to dating, the idea that men should pay in heterosexual courtships  still prevails among Gen Z-ers .

We asked Gen Z-ers to tell us about their living situations and the challenges of keeping a roof over their heads. Here’s what they said .

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My McKinsey performance rating is ruining my job prospects months after leaving the firm

• A former McKinsey consultant says the firm pushes employees out with contrived  performance ratings .
• He says the stigma of a low rating impacted his job search after leaving the firm.
• He also said his mental health took a hit, and it was tough to project confidence.

This is an as-told-to conversation with a former associate at McKinsey & Company. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to privacy concerns. Business Insider has verified their identity and employment at McKinsey. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I was an associate at McKinsey & Company for almost two years. During that time, it became clear to me that McKinsey hired too many consultants by overestimating the market. It was tough to get on projects, but I managed to get on four during my tenure.

I performed well in my first year and never received any negative feedback. I was told my performance was above the bar at my first review. My higher-ups supported my presence at the firm, and my clients were happy with the outcome of my work.

At my next review, six months later, things completely changed. I was put on "concerns," a rating McKinsey gives to consultants whose performance it deems unsatisfactory. I was told I'd have six months to improve or be put on track to leave.

The firm gave me vague reasons for my rating. I was told I wasn't taking "end-to-end ownership" of projects and implementing "top-down communication," which are hard to develop within a year of joining the firm.

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I found it hard to keep up with the job. In previous years, if you had been put on "concerns," they'd try to find work to help you improve, but the firm explicitly said they would not help me. It was clear they just wanted people to leave. Just two months after I received the rating, I left and started looking for another job.

McKinsey's shadow followed me on my job search

My performance rating impacted my job search, too.

Third-party recruiting agencies asked me for my rating. I also contacted the McKinsey alumni network to find a job, and some asked me for my rating up front. The minute my interviewers found out I'd been a "low-performer," the dynamic of the interview process completely changed. They'd low-ball salary offers because they knew people like me needed a job, and we weren't just looking to upgrade from our current position.

My mental health also took a huge hit , and that was reflected in my interviews. McKinsey hires overachievers, so it's tough to project confidence when you're told you're a low performer. I couldn't leave my house for months and I kept agonizing over how to land my next job.

And since I wasn't able to get on many projects, I wasn't able to build my skill set. It was hard to justify to potential employers why I should be hired into a better position. At times, I worried that I'd have to take a step back and accept a lower title.

It took me almost five months to land another job. I'm happy with my new role even though I had to take a 20% pay cut. But my advice to McKinsey: Just do layoffs so your former employees don't need to explain themselves so much in interviews.

McKinsey & Company declined a request for comment from Business Insider.

Are you a consultant who's being haunted by a bad performance review? We would like to hear from you. Contact reporter Lakshmi Varanasi at [email protected] .

Watch: Marketing leaders from Amazon, LinkedIn, Lego Group and more tell Insider what pandemic-fueled business changes are likely to stick around

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