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I’ll be amazed if you get simple, honest answers to any of these questions. My guess is:
A: it’s a secret
B: it depends
C: it depends
D: it depends
E: it depends
Coach
Let’s not pretend most of this info isn’t already out on the internet
A) ask a partner you know to explain it to you.
B) it’s usually presented as an option to you but not in the form of “choose door a or door b” but rather more like “door a isn’t going to happen so would you like door b?”
C) once you make director, it’s 3 years to D3A. More often that not, you have to make it there before going into the PCLDE and often it’s a year or two past that point. From there, it’s usually 3 years to partner.
D) partners typically make more but also have equity and therefore share in downside risk. There isn’t a “cohort” for MDs as was said earlier. Again, ask a partner you know well to help with this answer.
E) ability be accretive in the long haul, ability to build a practice, ability to sell, age, independence, other things.
(FYI - I’m a PwC Partner)
Subject Expert
A) it doesn’t matter. You get can get a loan for it and you make money on the loan. The details are entirely irrelevant until you’re actually in destination.
B) that’s not a question with a single answer — it depends on what you do, how your team views the role of MDs, etc. And it may not entirely be up to you. But it’s way too early to worry about it now — this is something to figure out when you’re a director.
C) it depends. I’ve seen as short as 3 years and as long as forever.
D) MDs are staff. They are on the same scheme as you are, base and bonus and bonus is determined largely by tier assignment. There’s a wide range; some MDs make more than some partners. Partner pay is structured differently; we get paid based on the profitability of the firm and how much of the firm’s equity we own. Putting numbers around it isn’t going to be helpful for you; they’ll be different by the time you go up for partner anyway.
E) the only real factors that matter are if you like the job and think you are willing to put in the work. Literally everything else is a detail.
Another NP1 here. In my case, my NP1 income will be significantly more than my D income (and I was at the top of D cohorts). I believe for most people the advertised pay bump applies. That said, I do know of a few cases where this is not true. My guess is that this is administrative (i.e. bad implementation) and will get fixed - at least I hope so.
The questions asked by the OP have already been answered as well as can be on an open forum. Here are my additional two cents..
A) On my list of things to do, this is item number 99999. As several partners have commented above, it literally doesn’t matter. In fact, I don’t even know what my buy in number is. I am sure it is one of the million documents I have. But it is unimportant (and says very little about my compensation). The firm basically covers the cost of this.
B) You don’t choose to be MD. You aspire to be partner. In some situations, the partnership route may not be possible for you. In such an event, the MD path maybe a better alternative than renaming a D or moving elsewhere. Examples of situations like this maybe (i) you are so close to the mandatory partnership retirement age that it is not worth the hassle - given OPs age, I do not believe this is the case (ii) you are excellent at delivery but really really hate sales (iii) you see yourself as more of an individual contributor than a team builder (iv) your RL and immediate partner group don’t view you as a partner, for whatever reason.
C) It took five years for me. Most people were in the 5 to 7 years range. This year there were certainly those who made it quicker. I didn’t go through the SM level but I believe if used wisely, it can be used as a transition level from delivery to business building in a way that you can really accelerate your entry into PCLDE once you’re a D
D) The MD comp range varies a lot. From little more than a new D to mid-partner comp. That said, it really depends as every MD is unique. Your overall earning potential is significant more as a partner.
E) Main thing is for you to decide if you want to be a partner. Do you enjoy building a business? Ultimately this is what it’s all about. If you believe you’ll enjoy it, the next step is to talk to your RL and other partners to see how they view you. Most people will be very forthcoming and will tell you the areas you need to work on and whether they see you as a partner or not.
NP1 here. P1’s responses may not be considered sufficient, but they are not wrong, and tbh not sure if you can get a lot of in depth answers in this fishbowl app. Talk with your partners in your group, you will get better answers in person than from a chat board. Making partner is not the finish line, it is a beginning to a new career. Stepping in to a new role in your group and serving clients at this level should excite you. There are unlimited variations of what you can be after. Not before though. I gave some responses below too. Not sure if these are helpful, but what you can get in the fishbowl app.
A) is the least important thing for me to think about.
B) you can make this decision today. Think about the opportunities and what you would like to do.
C) varies a lot. Mine was 6 years. Some does it in 8 and others 4-5.
D) partners in the mid / long run will make more.
E) being an employer, owning your own business / portfolio. These are exciting to me. I can fix a lot of things which I found wrong on my path here. I have more power to do things for my teams and clients.
PwC 2 - I am not happy either. But love what I do and don’t have time to focus on all negatives. It is too time consuming. People do what they believe is right and it doesn’t have to be right by you. Focus on what you can change and always remember you can always change your fate.
Thanks for the honesty!
PwC 1 has the exact correct answers. The reason the buy-in amount is brushed off is because partners consider it confidential to the partnership - and it really is objectively inconsequential. If you finance the buy in, then it’s a liability to you at a favorable interest rate. However, it’s also an asset to you since it’s a deposit with the firm.
F) Why we’re NP1s this year given 33% less units, effectively making their pay barely better than a D3?
Coach
Oh boy I can’t wait to get even less units when I’m up
As a new partner this year, we are fine. I was at the highest cohort for Director last year and will make way more as an NP1. Don’t believe everything you hear PwC 2.
For sure, I definitely am not aware of all nuances and maybe there is a way to catch up on units even during the first 5 (which would be great). Thank you all for honest replies!
Depends on your definition of significant I guess. In the long run, it’s not even worth getting upset about IMO. Those that are chattering about this are looking at it very short term.
This bowl is open to anyone - this question would be better suited for the PwC bowl (you might get some better answers there too).
A lot of these answers vary across the firm from group to group. I would highly recommend talking to someone in your practice about it because you will only get very broad/generic answers from the larger group.
A) i agree with the others responses here. I’m curious why / how you see this as a factor that changes anything you’re doing today. The net is if you have the opportunity to be a partner, whatever this number is won’t be a determining factor. Once I understood the mechanics P1 noted, I basically ignored the whole concept and will see what the number is whenever the loan hits.
B) director level for sure but you can decide what you’re targeting now. Just know that not everyone who makes a run at it gets there.
C) I would assume 5-7years at least. I think SM level is still a work in progress and I don’t know of any partners yet who came through the sm level. And most directors have been 5-7 range. I was 6.
D) i think other answers have addressed this but employee/salary vs owner/ profit sharing is the key distinction here
E) do you actually like consulting? Do you like the idea of having sales targets? Do associates and seniors see you as someone they can look up to?
I love how absolutely nobody really answered question A. Trash 🗑
Coach
Kpmg1, I appreciate you stepping up against the partners, but this information isn’t a black box to people at pwc. We just understand it’s not wise to share on a public forum. And this has nothing to do with partner compensation, which also isn’t a secret to people here
P7- I’m interested because my age plays a factor in the equation of question A. I’m a late-bloomer and don’t expect to be partner before 48-49. How would you factor that into things?
Doesn’t exist at PwC
Can anyone clarify the responsibility income portion of pay? I know it’s a much smaller portion of the overall take home but would be nice to get a view of what does this start at, does it stay the same throughout the partner tenure or does it move based on the share amount you have. Thanks!
Ask a partner you know well to explain this to you. Or, DM me and we can setup a time to talk and walk through how it works.