The Top-Consultant.com report on salaries in the consulting industry has just recently been published – and confirms what many in the industry have long suspected.

The industry is now polarised between the Haves and the Have Nots.

For those whose skills are in demand, earnings, promotion and bonus prospects have rebounded to the levels seen in the years when the industry was booming. Whilst pay rises have accelerated to 5.6% for those who received one, nearly 4 in 10 consulting professionals received no pay rise this last year. There’s a similar pattern to bonus payments too – with significant bonuses being paid to many, but a sizeable minority receiving no bonus payment at all.

Promotions are also back with a vengeance, the consulting industry having promoted nearly 1 in 3 of its staff this last year. That’s significantly up on 2009, when the fast-track promotions that our industry has come to see as the norm simply dried up.

“Faced with waves of consultants leaving their firms when the hiring market picked up, consultancies have been compelled to act this last year” comments Tony Restell, Director of Top-Consultant.com. “The reality has been that many who stayed put during the downturn were also frustrated by how their careers had stalled. As employers have turned the hiring taps back on, many consultants have been seriously assessing where best to progress their careers to the next level. The resurgence in pay rises, promotions and bonuses has been consulting firms’ primary means of addressing this situation; but it’s been paid for by those consultants whose sector skills are not in demand and whose remuneration has largely stagnated” concludes Restell.

The 23 page report is based on survey data from 1,000+ Top-Consultant readers and is freely available for download from the following URL:
http://www.top-consultant.com/Top-Consultant_Salary_Report.pdf