Consulting is not one industry. It is several hiring markets that share a case interview and disagree on everything else.
The Yale Office of Career Strategy consulting overview is a useful reminder that paths vary by firm, office, and function. This page is a candidate taxonomy: what the work is, what the interview rewards, and which title words will mislead you. Pay cliffs sit between types more than inside a class. See the consulting salary guide. CoachNed is independent and not affiliated with the firms named.
The seven types
| Type | What the client is buying | Interview you should expect | Pay context (2026 public bands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| MBB strategy | "What should we do?" | McKinsey interviewer-led + PEI + Solve; BCG/Bain candidate-led + Casey/SOVA | MBA base $190K–$192K; year-1 ~$267K–$285K |
| Independent Tier 2 strategy | Same question with a specialist slant | Candidate-led; OW FS, Kearney ops, L.E.K. diligence, Roland Berger restructuring | MBA headlines $175K–$190K; OW Associate median ~$209K |
| Big 4 strategy arms | Strategy with a parent platform | Monitor written case; Strategy& paired fit+case; EYP buy/no-buy | Often Tier 2 cash if the letter is the arm |
| Big 4 core consulting | "How do we implement at scale?" | Assessments + mixed cases + group exercises | Analyst/MBA core $80K–$115K base; $95K–$145K year-1 |
| Implementation / tech consultancies | Build and run | More structured cases, tech screens, less PEI theatre | Accenture Strategy ~$175K MBA base in the 2026 headline table; implementation offers are not that track |
| Economic / litigation | Expert reports, not CEO strategy | Econometrics cases, writing samples | Specialist; not in MBB tables |
| Restructuring / turnaround | Distressed cash and operations | Crisis cases; hours can exceed MBB | Senior niche pay can exceed MBB principals |
A eighth bucket, HR and org consultancies, exists; interviews skew behavioral and case-light. Do not treat them as MBB prep. Public-sector and development consultancies (and some Strategy& government streams) add mandate and stakeholder constraints that a private-profit tree misses. Healthcare commercial boutiques (ZS and L.E.K. life sciences) add patient-flow arithmetic. Type is about the object of the case, not the logo colour.
Title traps across types
- Monitor ≠ Deloitte Consulting. Strategy practice vs implementation machine.
- Strategy& ≠ PwC Advisory. Booz heritage vs transformation Advisory.
- EY-Parthenon ≠ EY Consulting. Diligence vs programme business case.
- Kearney Associate is typically MBA in the US; McKinsey Associate is MBA; L.E.K. Associate is undergraduate; Oliver Wyman Consultant is undergraduate and Associate is MBA.
Mixing those four lines is the most expensive reading-comprehension error in recruiting.
Headcount is not a type. Deloitte's 470,000+ people are not 470,000 strategy consultants. L.E.K. headcount appears as ~2,300, ~2,400, or ~4,100 depending on the CoachNed page. Quote a source or skip it.
Interviews versus McKinsey and BCG, by type
McKinsey is interviewer-led. BCG is candidate-led. Every other type is a modification:
- Tier 2 keeps BCG control and changes the object (procurement, combined ratio, indication TAM, automotive EBIT).
- Strategy arms keep BCG control and add written packets or a deal close.
- Big 4 core often steers more than BCG, scores next steps or values, and filters with SHL/Cappfinity/Launch Pad that MBB does not use.
- Economic firms may not run a profitability case at all.
- Restructuring firms run cash-first cases Roland Berger candidates will recognise.
Worked snippet: pick a type from the work, not the logo
Background. Mechanical engineer, two years in a plant, wants operations and still wants a strategy brand.
Wrong type. Applying only to McKinsey interviewer-led and quoting MBB pay, while every story ends at "I recommended."
Fit type. Kearney (ops/procurement, candidate-led, implementation close) or Roland Berger (industrial turnaround, group case) or Deloitte core operations, with Monitor only if the stories are where-to-play, not shop-floor.
Mini-math. Kearney BA realised total ~$106K (Levels.fyi) versus MBB undergrad ~$120K–$130K. The gap is real at year one. Kearney manager ~$278K sits near some MBB manager figures in the same Levels.fyi pull. If you will stay past the first promotion, type choice compounds; if you will leave in 24 months, MBB signalling may dominate.
Practise the format of the type you chose on CoachNed.
How to use this taxonomy
Write three lists: target type, backup type, reject type. Attach one official careers page and one case guide to each. Do not use a single "consulting" mock for McKinsey Solve and KPMG Launch Pad.
Sources
- Yale OCS consulting channel
- Consulting salary report 2026
- Firm pages linked from Kearney, L.E.K., OW, Deloitte, PwC, EY guides
- MBB vs boutique vs Tier 2
Frequently asked questions
Is Strategy& a Big 4 or a boutique?
Both: boutique-like work, PwC parent, separate interview.
Are boutiques easier interviews?
No. They are different. L.E.K. written cases and OW math wash people out.
Where is pay by type?
Consulting salary guide. CoachNed is independent practice, not affiliated with these firms. Cases on CoachNed are AI-simulated.