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Vault Consulting 50

The Vault Consulting 50 is our signature list of the best consulting firms to work for.
Survey Methodology

When it comes to choosing an employer, there is no question that prestige is important. However, our survey data indicates time and again that many other factors come into play when weighing a choice--and even more affect employee satisfaction in the months and years after the decision has been made.

Did you know that for more than 40% of consulting firm candidates, firm culture was the most important factor in selecting an employer? Other top factors include practice strength and work-life balance, in addition to prestige and compensation.

But choosing an employer is only part of the equation--staying there over a period of time is something else entirely. And while elements like compensation and work-life balance remain important as part of that picture, other factors such as satisfaction and the ability to make career progress also emerge as critical differentiators of top employers--and these factors change over time as generations shift.

We continually monitor responses from the consultants we survey to ensure that our ranking methodology accurately reflects the concerns of the people currently employed in the industry.

In order to properly reflect a company's status as an employer within the consulting industry, the Vault Consulting 50 for 2021 is based on the following weighted formula:

30 percent prestige
15 percent firm culture
15 percent satisfaction
10 percent compensation
10 percent work/life balance
10 percent level of challenge
5 percent overall business outlook
5 percent promotion policies

As ever, our survey is only open to consultants who are currently employed at reputable firms in the industry. When rating quality of life issues, consultants are only permitted to rate their own firm. For prestige and practice area rankings, however, consultants are only allowed to rate competitors, and NOT their own firms.

Take Our Survey

Each year Vault invites eligible consulting firms to participate in our annual Consulting Survey. Please contact us if you’re interested in having your firm considered for inclusion.

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2021 Vault Consulting 50

#1
SCORE 9.219
2020 Rank 3

Bain & Company

Bain & Company is a global consultancy that helps the world’s most ambitious change-makers define the future.  Across 59 offices in 37 countries, the firm works alongside clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary...

Overview Survey Says Why Work Here Employee Reviews
#2
SCORE 9.168
2020 Rank 2

Boston Consulting Group

With nearly 21,000 employees in over 90 offices in more than 50 countries, Boston Consulting Group ranks as one of America's largest private companies, according to Forbes . The firm partners with leaders in business and society to help them...

Overview Survey Says Employee Reviews
#3
SCORE 9.103
2020 Rank 1

McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company is a privately owned management consulting firm. Roundly considered the most prestigious company of its kind, it has achieved a near-universal level of renown, despite a decades-long commitment to confidentiality that...

Overview Survey Says Why Work Here Employee Reviews
#4
SCORE 8.025
2020 Rank 6

Booz Allen Hamilton

Edwin G. Booz founded Booz Allen Hamilton in 1914, on the eve of World War I, to help businesses succeed through an outsider’s perspective and a human touch. Over the past century, Booz Allen Hamilton has carved its own place in the consulting...

Overview Survey Says Employee Reviews
#5
SCORE 7.779
2020 Rank 7

EY-Parthenon

EY-Parthenon is a strategy consulting outfit with 6,500+ professionals in 50+ office locations worldwide. EY-Parthenon professionals advise c-suite, business, and organizational leaders across multiple sectors, including consumer, advanced...

Overview Survey Says Why Work Here Employee Reviews
#6
SCORE 7.735
2020 Rank 5

Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman is part of the Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC), a global professional services network with brands and affiliates in more than 100 countries. The largest component of Oliver Wyman Group is Oliver Wyman, a management consulting...

Overview Survey Says Why Work Here Employee Reviews
#7
SCORE 7.626
2020 Rank 13

ClearView Healthcare Partners

ClearView is a boutique consulting firm in the life sciences strategy field that provides advice and insights across four main areas of focus: pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, and diagnostics. Founded in 2007, the company has...

Overview Survey Says Employee Reviews
#8
SCORE 7.607
2020 Rank 4

Deloitte Consulting LLP

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit and assurance, consulting, tax, and risk and financial advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 5,000 private and middle-market...

Overview Survey Says Employee Reviews
#9
SCORE 7.554
2020 Rank 8

PwC Advisory/Strategy&

PwC's (PricewaterhouseCoopers) Advisory practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services LLC ("PwC Advisory Services"), provides a mix of industry and functional expertise to help its clients address their most interesting and complex business...

Overview Survey Says Why Work Here Employee Reviews Jobs
#10
SCORE 7.534
2020 Rank 12

Putnam Associates

For more than 30 years Putnam Associates has grown into a premier strategy consulting firm serving biopharmaceutical, biotechnology (cell, gene and tissue therapies), diagnostics, medical device, and related clients in the healthcare space. The...

Overview Survey Says Why Work Here Employee Reviews
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