Booz Allen Hamilton: An insider guide - Gymkhana

CompensationConsulting firms are in direct competition for top talent, so starting salariesdon’t vary a great deal from one firm to the next. There are differences, however,between salaries on Booz Allen’s government and commercial business sides.Those on the government side reportedly earn less because of differences in feestructure and the partner-to-staff team ratios. “WTB is a more classic corporatestructure with long careers—people stay for 20 to 25 years,” says an insider.“There’s a lot of stability because there’s no forced up-or-out model. The pricewe pay for stability is lower salaries and not as boutique-y a kind of image,though in our market in the federal sector, we are very much a top-drawer firm.”Although the firm says its salary structures are based on market rates ratherthan on less quantifiable elements such as lifestyle, insiders report that thelifestyle differences are the very reason they find the salary gap acceptable. “It’sa trade-off,” says one. “If you want a job where you’re not working until midnightand traveling all the time, you’re going to be paid less. If you want a fastpace, you’re compensated accordingly.” WTB insiders, however, insist that theirlight travel schedules and regular work hours are dictated by the nature of theirwork: “I think one reason that the [WTB side could be] perceived as being laidbackis because our clients are government and they work a very prescribedschedule during the week. On holidays, weekends, etc., they don’t work. If I amsent to, say, the FBI on a national holiday and they’re closed, I cannot go in andwork. In some cases I cannot even work [off premises] and charge it to theproject. Sometimes we can’t access the clients after 5:00.”The WorkplaceWe expect salaries to rise across the industry for 2004–05. Booz Allen does notrelease specific salary information, but as an insider tells us, “With the war for49