Management consultants are about average in terms of happiness.
At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, management consultants rate their career happiness 3.2 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 49% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy management consultants are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:
Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers
| Career | Satisfaction | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Product manager | 3.3 | $119k |
| Financial quantitative analyst | 3.3 | $98k |
| Money manager | 3.2 | $69k |
| Content manager | 3.2 | $70k |
| Consultant | 3.2 | $87k |
| Management consultant | 3.2 | $115k |
| Investment fund manager | 3.2 | $114k |
| Search marketing strategist | 3.2 | $90k |
| Statistician | 3.2 | $101k |
| Operations manager | 3.1 | $68k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are management consultants happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do management consultants find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as management consultants?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are management consultant’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are management consultants making the best use of their abilities?
Are management consultants happy with their salary?
Management consultants rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.6/5. The majority of management consultants are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked management consultants how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
630 management consultants
26% of management consultants rated their compensation 5 stars
33% of management consultants rated their compensation 4 stars
22% of management consultants rated their compensation 3 stars
12% of management consultants rated their compensation 2 stars
6% of management consultants rated their compensation 1 stars
Do management consultants find their jobs meaningful?
On average, management consultants rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.9/5. While most management consultants aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked management consultants how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
631 management consultants
13% of management consultants rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
19% of management consultants rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
27% of management consultants rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
23% of management consultants rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
18% of management consultants rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as management consultants?
Management consultants rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of management consultants find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked management consultants how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
709 management consultants
31% of management consultants rated their career fit 5 stars
37% of management consultants rated their career fit 4 stars
23% of management consultants rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of management consultants rated their career fit 2 stars
2% of management consultants rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a management consultant’s work environment?
As a whole, management consultants rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.5/5. A solid majority of management consultants enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a management consultant.
We asked management consultants how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
711 management consultants
20% of management consultants rated their work environment 5 stars
34% of management consultants rated their work environment 4 stars
27% of management consultants rated their work environment 3 stars
13% of management consultants rated their work environment 2 stars
6% of management consultants rated their work environment 1 stars
Are management consultants making the best use of their abilities?
Former management consultants on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.5/5. Most management consultants surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a management consultant, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked management consultants how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
708 management consultants
21% of management consultants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
33% of management consultants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
25% of management consultants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
15% of management consultants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
6% of management consultants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars