6 Criteria to Identify Tier 1 & Tier 2 Consulting Firms

Have you ever heard of Tier 1 and Tier 2 consulting firms? Do you wonder why consulting firms are divided into different groups?

In this article, the definitions of these two tiers of consulting firms will be stated. Additionally, we’ll also show you 6 criteria used to categorize these firms, namely size and presence, salary, career opportunities, expertise, support network, and acceptance rate. 

Keep reading to discover more!

What are “Tier 1” and “Tier 2”?

Tier 1 consulting firms are the top players in consulting. They work with big companies worldwide on important projects. They are well-known for their tough hiring and big impact on business.

Tier 2 consulting firms are also big and successful but not as famous as Tier 1. They work internationally but do not handle as many high-profile projects or have offices everywhere as Tier 1 firms do. They're strong in their own industries but aren't as visible in some areas as the top-tier firms.

Which consulting firms are considered “Tier 1” and “Tier 2”?

Tier 1 and Tier 2 consulting firms

Tier 1 consulting firms 

MBBs, including McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company, are considered to be Tier 1 consulting firms. They are also called the Big Three firms.

• McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company is a consulting firm that started in Chicago in 1926 and is now headquartered in New York City. 

It's famous worldwide for its work across many different industries. McKinsey is well-known for its focus on helping businesses with strategy and making organizations work better. 

It has offices all around the globe, making it a major player in the consulting industry.

• Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Boston Consulting Group was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

It's recognized for its deep knowledge of innovation and technology, helping businesses find new ways to grow and succeed. 

BCG is all about helping clients stay ahead of their competition in a way that lasts, aiming for long-term success and strong market positions.

• Bain & Company

Bain & Company was founded in 1973 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. 

It's well-known for its specialty in private equity and for helping clients achieve their goals with a practical approach. 

Bain is also famous for its strong company culture that values teamwork, which helps it stand out in the consulting world.

Tier 1 consulting firms

Tier 2 consulting firms

Tier 2 includes 5 consulting firms, namely Oliver Wyman, Roland Berger, Kearney, L.E.K. Consulting, and Accenture.

• Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman is a consulting firm that started in New York City in 1984 and is still headquartered there. 

It works worldwide and specializes in helping companies in financial services, energy, retail, and healthcare. 

Oliver Wyman is known for its strong analytical skills and creative solutions, helping clients solve complex problems.

• Roland Berger

Roland Berger is a consulting firm that started in Munich in 1967 and is still based there today. 

It is the top consulting firm in Germany and works in many industries, including automotive, aviation, telecommunications, and energy. 

Roland Berger is famous for its strong strategic skills and has a solid international presence, helping businesses around the world.

• Kearney

Kearney is a consulting firm that started in Chicago in 1926 and has its headquarters at Franklin Center in Chicago, United States. 

It’s a global firm that specializes in strategic management consulting. Kearney works in various industries, such as consumer goods, automotive, energy, and healthcare. 

The firm is known for its strong analytical skills and close, collaborative approach with clients.

• L.E.K. Consulting

L.E.K. Consulting is a management consulting firm that started in 1983 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. 

It's a global company that helps businesses improve their strategy and performance. L.E.K. works in many industries, like technology, healthcare, retail, and private equity. 

They are well-known for using data to find solutions and focusing on results that can be measured.

• Accenture

Accenture is a consulting firm founded in 1989, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and New York City, U.S. 

It specializes in helping businesses with their strategies, especially in areas like business strategy, technology strategy, and operations strategy. This means Accenture helps companies plan how to run their businesses better, use technology effectively, and improve their day-to-day operations.

Tier 2 consulting firms

What are the differences between “Tier 1” and “Tier 2” consulting firms?

Differences between tier 1 and tier 2 consulting firms

Size and presence

Tier 1 consulting firms are the biggest in the consulting industry, which gives them advantages in scale and reach. 

For example, McKinsey has offices in over 130 cities across 65 countries, employing more than 35,000 people who speak over 135 languages and represent more than 140 nationalities. BCG operates in over 100 cities in more than 50 countries, and Bain has offices in 65 cities across 40 countries.

Tier 2 consulting firms, while also strong and influential, generally have a smaller scale and visibility compared to Tier 1 firms. 

For instance, Oliver Wyman is present in 70 cities across 30 countries, Roland Berger has 50 offices in 35 countries, Kearney operates in 40 countries, L.E.K. Consulting has 20 offices globally, and Accenture has offices and operations in 49 countries and over 200 cities. 

Although they have a significant market position, they don't match the extensive global presence and large-scale operations of Tier 1 firms.

Consulting firms’ size and presence

Salaries and benefits

Salaries at Tier 1 consulting firms are generally higher than those at Tier 2 firms because of their prestigious reputation and the complex projects they handle.

In McKinsey & Company, the salary of junior consultants ranges from $100,000 to $140,000 annually. Other positions have different numbers.

• A junior-level consultant: $100,000 to $140,000 

• An MBA-level/experienced associate: over $200,000 

• An engagement manager: around $300,000 to $400,000 

• A partner & director: up to $1,000,000 

At BCG, a consultant's salary starts at $140,000 per year.

• A junior-level consultant: up to $147,000 

• An MBA-level/experienced associate: over $200,000 

• An engagement manager: nearly $300,000 

• A partner & director: up to $1,000,000 

At Bain & Company, the starting salary of a consultant is up to $166,000 annually. 

• A junior associate consultant: up to $166,000 

• An MBA-level/experienced consultants: over $240,000 

• A manager: up to $340,000 

• A partner & director: $1,000,000 

In Tier 2 consulting firms, the salary of equivalent positions has a significant difference. 

At Oliver Wyman, the starting salary of an intern-level consultant can be $79,000 annually. This number increases according to the consultant's experience and positions.

• An intern-level consultant: up to $79,000

• A junior-level consultant: up to $164,000

• An MBA-level/experienced consultant: up to $215,000

• A manager: up to $342,000

• A partner & director: up to $717,000

At Roland Berger, a consultant can start his career at intern-level positions at a salary of $77,000 annually. The salary increases based on the consultant's positions and experience.

• An intern-level consultant: up to $77,000

• A junior-level consultant: up to $125,000

• An MBA-level/experienced associate: up to $199,000

• A manager: up to $216,000

• A partner & director: $671,000

At Kearney, the starting salary of a consultant is up to $87,000 per year. The salary increases significantly based on the positions and experience.

• An intern-level consultant: up to $87,000

• A junior-level consultant: up to $166,000

• An MBA-level/experienced associate: up to $224,000

• A manager: up to $322,000

• A partner & director: up to $610,000

At L.E.K. Consulting, a consultant can start his career at a salary of $91,000 annually. And this number increases with years of experience and higher positions.

• An intern-level consultant: up to $91,000

• A junior-level consultant: up to $186,000

• An MBA-level/experienced consultant: up to $243,000

• A manager: up to $342,000

• A partner & director: up to $680,000

At Accenture, the starting salary of a consultant is a little bit higher compared to other Tier 2 consulting firms. 

• An entry-level consultant: up to $134,000

• An MBA-level/experienced associate: more than $150,000

• An engagement consultant: around $200,000

• A partner & director: more than $500,000

Tier 1 and Tier 2 consulting firms’ salaries

Career opportunities

Career growth in firms

Tier 1 and Tier 2 consulting firms have both similarities and differences in career opportunities for consultants. 

Both Tier 1 and Tier 2 consulting firms have the same traditional track career growth. The difference is that Tier 1 consulting firms have an additional track career growth called “supporting track”.

In the traditional track, the career ladder at management consulting firms usually has 4 to 5 levels. The first level is intern, followed by junior consultant, senior consultant, project manager, and the highest level is partner and director. 

Traditional career path in consulting firms

The supporting track in Tier 1 consulting firms is divided into two centers: research and knowledge centers, and miscellaneous centers.

The research and knowledge centers include industry, functional, and local centers. They are in charge of researching and providing extensive information, data for project teams.

The miscellaneous centers consist of design, writing, and spreadsheet centers. They focus on writing, and designing reports, slides based on consultants’ ideas. This helps consultants express their ideas more clearly to clients. 

You can read more about two career paths in consulting firms through this article.

Exit opportunities

Besides career growth opportunities in firms, consultants exit from tier 1 and tier 2 consulting firms also have great opportunities. Many join and take high positions in their favorite clients. Many join Venture Capital, which deals with unicorn start-ups and has more exposure to businesses outside the Fortune 500 list. Others can start their own business and succeed in their own way. 

Generally, consultants exiting from Tier 1 can have much better opportunities than Tier 2.

Consultants exiting from Tier 1 consulting firms can move through industries easily, but some Tier 2 consulting firms only help you to move through some specific industries. 

Most MBBs alumni are recruited into CEO, Vice President, or other leadership positions at Fortune 100 companies. 

There is a fun fact that many consultants start their careers at a tier 2 consulting firm, and later make the jump to tier 1 consulting firms. 

The expertise

McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company independently cover almost all industries and all regions. Meanwhile, each company in Tier 2 focuses on some industries and regions. 

For Oliver Wyman, it services a lot of industries but is best known for their expertise in the financial services sector such as: finance and risk, retail and business banking, wealth and asset management, and insurance. Its major types of projects are strategy, actuarial, corporate finance and restructuring, risk management, pricing, sales, and marketing.

For Roland Berger, its practice areas include corporate development, corporate finance, information management, operations strategy, performance improvement. It works mainly in Germany and is best known for serving industrial clients, particularly the automobile industry and capital goods sector.

For Kearney, it is the best sourcing, procurement, and operations consulting firm in the world. And, it works on consulting projects in nearly every industry.

For L.E.K. Consulting, it has 4 key practice areas namely strategy, marketing and sales, operations, and M&A. It is best known for its work in healthcare and private equity.

For Accenture, it is more operations focused and usually focuses on efficiency, cost-cutting, and operations management. Other practice areas of the firm include analytics, business process management, change management, sales, and customer service.

Consulting firms’ expertise 

The support network

Both Tier 1 and Tier 2 consulting firms have strong support networks from consultants and partners around the world. 

However, Tier 1 consulting firms have even larger networks because they also have supporting teams that include research and knowledge centers, as well as various other specialized centers. 

This extensive support allows Tier 1 firms to take on bigger and more complex projects than Tier 2 firms. The additional resources and global connections help Tier 1 firms provide top-notch services to their clients and address challenging business problems effectively.

The acceptance rate

Getting a job at a Tier 1 consulting firm is very tough because their acceptance rate is only 1-3%. This means that out of every 100 people who apply, only 1 to 3 get hired. 

On the other hand, Tier 2 consulting firms have a higher acceptance rate of 5-15%. So, for every 100 applicants, 5 to 15 people are likely to get the job. 

While both types of firms are selective, it's much harder to get into a Tier 1 firm compared to a Tier 2 firm.

Consulting firms’ acceptance rate

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