NB – All salary data has been converted to AUD$

Basic salary progression
by company type

Basic salaries vary by company type

Startups (-22%) pay below average and investing (+11%) is consistently above average.

Basic pay in Tech, traditional industries and consulting is very similar, particularly at more senior levels.

AUD $k  Average salary by industry and seniority

Associate level pay rises

The war for talent is most evident at Associate level

Associate level basic salaries have increased 36% in 3 years, however, basic salaries at senior levels have stayed more consistent.

Years of experience

Basic salaries climb steadily in line with the number of years of experience.

Consultants with McKinsey, Bain or BCG experience command, on average, an 17% basic salary premium.

Industry deep dive Index

Functional basic salary variance compared to the overall average

Functional salary increase

As seniority progresses, the variance between basic salaries in different functions increases from ~12% at Associate level to ~30% at Director.

Functional pay index

Total compensation breakdown

Across all company types, non-cash compensation (bonus & equity) becomes more important as seniority increases.

Start-ups offer the highest level of equity at most seniority levels, while the high bonuses provided by Private Equity mean that the share of base salaries as a percentage of total compensation is lowest in these companies.

% Breakdown of total compensation by company type

Pay rises and satisfaction
breakdown

The average basic salary increase in the last 12 months was 12%.

Pay rises across consulting, investing, startups and tech have been extremely similar and outpacing both traditional industries and the 3rd sector.

Satisfaction with compensation

Satisfaction with compensation is below average in consulting and investing.

Work-life balance

Working hours don’t vary significantly but are highest in consulting.

Satisfaction with working hours

Satisfaction with working hours: remains lowest in consulting (12% below average) and also below average in investing, despite hours being below average.

Overall satisfaction

Job satisfaction overall is broadly flat vs 2020

Job satisfaction overall ranges from 4% above average to 6% below average (Consulting)

New job search

Job seeking is relatively active across all company types.

50% of respondents were looking at new opportunities on a weekly or monthly basis.

Job satisfaction
freelance V consulting

Freelancers are happiest overall, with their working hours and with their compensation.

Overall satisfaction for permanent employees in corporates (including satisfaction with hours) is broadly similar to freelancers, however, satisfaction with compensation is ~10% lower.

Freelance day rates

The average freelance day rate is approximately equal to dividing the average permanent basic salary by 110.

Freelance day rates are dictated by a range of factors: project length, working hours per day required, client type, client budget and rarity of expertise being offered.