“AI is killing consulting” has become a lazy headline, and one of its favourite pieces of evidence is that firms have stopped hiring juniors. The data tells a different story.
In this session, Honeycomb’s Deri Hughes is joined by Richard Longstreet, founder of Tarka Talent, a recruitment consultancy specialising in the management consulting market. They discuss Tarka Talent’s 2026 Consulting Salary & Benefits Report - which draws on a survey of around 500 consultants and roughly 3,000 salary data points gathered over the year - to examine what is really happening to consulting pay, hiring, and the shape of the profession.
What’s covered:
Why core salary brackets have barely moved since 2022, even as year-on-year pay rises reached around 6% last year and bonuses rose on both frequency and size.
A striking finding on fairness: consultants in smaller firms of 200 heads or fewer feel more fairly rewarded than those in the largest firms, despite broadly similar pay.
The hiring rebound, with entry-level hiring intention jumping from roughly a fifth of firms to over 40%, and demand strongest at senior consultant and senior manager level.
The “graft versus craft” distinction, why AI-enabled firms still need juniors to drive the inputs and apply judgement, and why there is no such thing as “Claude and done”.
How firms are starting to assess for AI skills, where curiosity and critical judgement matter more than fluency with any particular tool.
Why benchmarking salaries only works if you look past job titles, since a manager at one firm can be a senior manager at another.
What the strongest boutique offers get right, from career development and working culture to real client case studies, rather than pay alone.
Practical advice for consultants weighing a move, including the reminder that the grass is not always greener, and when frustration with a firm is really frustration with consulting itself.
One to watch if you lead or hire for a consulting team and want a clear, data-grounded read on where pay, hiring, and talent are heading.
You can download the full report here:
The Skilled Consultant is written by Deri Hughes and Colin Mann, Managing Directors of Honeycomb Consulting Skills Training. We help consulting leaders develop exceptional teams with world-class training to support every career transition.
If this discussion raised a question about your own team, do drop a comment below or book a 30-minute call with Deri or with Colin to discuss how we could help you.
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