Lost a high performing SM to an industry job earlier this month. They were on track to becoming a Partner in 2022 but still decided to take an industry job which pays $400K. I tried to explain that they would make $600K as a first year partner and the income can go up to $1M in next 5-6 years. They still refused to stay in consulting because they think that becoming a Partner is just the beginning of the rat race and did not want to deal with sales/revenue targets for the next 20 years 😔😔

Seems legit.

I’m 1-2 years away from ppmd and told a strong performer.

I’ll be looking for jobs in December/January. Long term, ppmd might make more. But it’s not even just the sales/revenue.

It’s the firm eminence. It’s the diversity inclusion. It’s the required certifications. It’s the additional counseling and other voluntolding activities.

At its core, I want to do my job and focus on it. I want to put in my hours and be done vs the norm having early am calls with Europe, late night calls with USI, other calls during the day, and sometime in there I work, then do the other stuff on weekend...

My time has become precious. I can’t fathom making the sacrifices I made to my health and free time in my single 20s in my married 30s now. I have a wife I have to give time to, and in future a child.

So it’s less about the salary...more about the time and energy that I want to commit to other aspects of life.

If Deloitte said “well give you equivalent 200k salary to be 20 hr part time partner” as a potential track, I’d sign up for that.

OP, I’m a female SM at D and high performing. Unfortunately because I moved too quickly through the ranks, I’m severely underpaid and feel incredibly undervalued. At the same time, the partner path seem less and less worth it everyday. This is pushing me to look for opportunities outside the firm. It’s very sad because once I have an offer, the firm will try to match it, but by then, it will be too late. There are Partners in my network that will be disappointed like you, having supported me throughout my career. I feel sorry to know how this path will play out.

I expect this trend to continue with millennials. After $400k who really needs money more than time?

This is shaping up to be one of the more insightful threads in a while.

I know it’s not that likely but he/she may promote in the industry and make more than partners in the future.

I see that people in consulting tend live in their bubble and think that the only way to make money is consulting. If you are good at your job, you can make money regardless. I know 2-3 realtors in my hometown, each makes over a million every year...

SVP and above (in my industry) makes around a million. Also a much better lifestyle.

Maybe just wanted to go to industry. $$ isn’t everyone’s primary motivation

I was 1-2 years from partner at a B4 making $260k TC. Also well respected, high performer, seen as future leader, etc. I left for a $450k TC gig bc:

1) Guaranteed money vs maybe making partner
2) Based on peer performance in my practice / Service Line, I could see 1-2 years become 3-4 years
3) $450k was more TC than what I would make at years 1-3 as partner
4) I realized I wanted to be recognized and viewed as a "partner" more than actually wanting to be a "partner"
5) Substantial increase of "other" activities over time as opposed to just delivering good, solid work to clients
6) Open door for me to return

At the end of the day, the appeal of being partner has dramatically decreased over time for me.

Probably for the better OP. Better to realize now than as a first year partner.

To be fair, many high performing SMs were promised partnerships and didn't get it

I left big 4 as a SM for FAANG and realize how broken the culture was. The partnership model creates incentives bringing out the worst in individuals. Plus I make as much money as a early tenure partner with ~half as much work which gives me time to spend with family.

This was me about a decade ago. I left for industry just as I was a couple of years away from partner. For me it was a desire to be an operator, to run a "real P&L", to build products that consumers around the world used, and most importantly to see if the BS strategy I was peddling as a consultant actually did what we claimed it did. Short answer... it didn't.

I came back to consulting because I missed the variety of work, the calibre of colleagues, the variety of projects, etc. The biggest draw was I wanted to bring my practical experience back to consulting because in the decade I spent in industry I bought countless projects from every MBB and several boutiques and was constantly disappointed by career consultants trying to do strategy without any real operating experience.

From a pure comp level as an EVP at a F500, I was making roughly the same as what I make now. Factors like comp and job security were at the very bottom of a long list of reasons why I went to industry and why I eventually came back.

My reaction is what an odd response to say an exit to a $400k salary is a waste. They could have have upside potential where they’re going and maybe equity. They don’t want what you have, so they must be wrong...

My question is: are they wrong about the rat race? At my old firm they wouldn’t be wrong.

High performing female leaving that is 2 years from partner. Sounds like a couple people from my group.

Maybe they didn’t like how the partners treated employees and doesn’t want to be a part of that? Higher moral and ethical standards and wanted to better represent their employees and not leave it to closed door group?

This thread is fascinating. I’ll jump in with my thoughts. I am a year out from PWC director and told by my partners have high potential and have always been rated well. I’m on a line between pushing through or exiting in next 2 years to start a business (like a franchise). Money potential is likely similar if if does well and I could always open a second for more. It would be mine from the ground up and any failure rests on me.

We work so hard at these firms but there is so much useless noise and activity required. I’m not even talking the regulation pieces but just the mechanics of making the leader of the moment Achieve whatever shallow goals and “accelerator” being pushed. I do great work for clients , enjoy the relationships with them and staff, but hate the grind. Politics is not my thing at all.

I realized I can do a lot of what I love in my own business - even if it’s a franchise. Will it be groundbreaking work ? No. But neither is what I do in consulting. It will be meaningful to my customers though. It’s a hard decision to give up the “what if” and a significant amount of work and risk but I feel a calling to do it. Haven’t felt that way for the partnership. Money is important but there are lots of ways to make it.

I’m an SD at EY In similar boat as OPs mentee. On track to submit papers next winter so 1.5 years away from partner. I have great support from other partners and a strong sponsor. Female, early mid 30s, as well.

I am strongly considering walking away too. I actually am very confident I could do the partner job well, it’s just that I’m not sure this job is worth it. My husband and I both make good money (almost $1m between us) and we have no kids.

Things holding me back are: i) constantly “on” - no real breaks, ii) so much time spent on admin / non-client work - networking, reviews, internal meetings, compliance, managing project economics, staffing, etc. (could my time be spent better) which only increases as partner, iii) stress of sales goals always there, iv) lack of predictably on volume of work - hard to plan life around, and v) if travel comes back, I’m not willing to do that again. I see what I was sacrificing health and relationship wise for constant travel.

The only things holding me back is the prestige of partner and being so close, and the disappointment from my mentors/mentees if I left.

Is this at D? If yes given how leadership is treating talent at the firm in recent times I am not surprised with most good people leaving.

Thanks for posting this. Some very interesting comments, overall great food for thought.

My personal take is that 400k and 600k are really not that different. After a certain point, it’s about the other factors. I think the SM who left told you the truth. The sales targets is probably one of her concerns. There may be others that she didn’t want to share. (WLB? Uncertainty about promotion given covid? Loss of trust in leadership? Personal reasons?)

Not that you asked but - best thing you can do is probably maintain the relationship. Get over your hurt feelings. She might be a client someday.

That you define the decision in purely monetary terms explains why you don't understand the SM's decision. Probably they care more about the family and content with making 400k and spending more time with family than making $1m and not having any time to spend that money. I was a high performer on partner track in 2 years. I left as well. The culture and rat race pushed me out.

OP, don't have much of substance to add here, but wanted to say thanks for starting an interesting thread, but especially for making an effort to engage with/learn from the responses.

Since there's been a lot of discussion of the possible *push* factors here, I wonder if it's worth thinking about the *pull* side of the equation. Things like financial upside, stability, and WLB in industry are all plausible, albeit unverifiable (by us), but reading over the post there may be something more fundamental going on. The outgoing SM clearly has a great deal of consulting experience, industry expertise, and clarity about what her future in consulting would look like; it sounds to me like she decided that was no longer appealing, even if your financial case makes sense. Is it possible that she just decided that she was ready for a new challenge, or simply wanted out? Consulting attracts a lot of restless minds, and reading between the lines it sounds like she knew what she was in for, and was happy to let it go...