As business travel makes its gradual return from its pandemic hiatus, professionals looking to see the world are once again weighing up which industries might suit their globe-trotting ambitions. Research suggests the consulting industry is one of the best-paid jobs for jet-setters.
With global consumers feeling comfortable to travel again, as the Covid-19 pandemic seems to be receding, business travel seems to be recovering a mite faster than leisure travel. Research conducted last year by Oliver Wyman found that even the most cautious of nations saw a big up-tick in business travel – to the extent that 31% of those polled are travelling ‘more than expected’ amid the continued pandemic.
At the same time, with the great resignation seeing historic numbers of employees exit their jobs, determined to find something better suited to their ambitions, a large number of workers are currently weighing up new careers along a number of key factors. Alongside pay and conditions, one of these is the possibility of travel; with employees who were couped up in a single, stale office environment pre-pandemic – and at home, during – now determined to see more of the world. But where is the best place to look for a role to enable this?
According to research by Compare My Jet, consulting work is the best field for individuals looking to shift industry, and take advantage of business travel. While the highest-paid jobs for travel lovers were aerospace engineers – at an average salary of nearly £90,000 per annum – and airline pilots at more than £80,000, both these fields require extensive training and qualifications before entry. In comparison, and in spite of attempts to launch a chartered consulting qualification, there is still no compulsory, standardised qualification necessary to become a consultant in the UK.
With an average salary around £79,000, and no requirement for a chartered qualification to enter the market, Compare My Jet found consulting to be the ideal industry for workers looking to shift into a new industry and satisfy their appetite for travel. This was ahead of ‘offshore driller’, which is also a job which does not require qualifications, but has an average salary of around £12,000 less.
Ian Wright, CEO and founder of Compare My Jet noted, “These can also be extremely rewarding in terms of personal satisfaction and income.”
In terms of salary metrics, the data for the study was sourced and reviewed from career websites such as Indeed and WiseStep. However, it should be pointed out that jobs on the higher end of the pay scale may have skewed the ‘average salary’ of the consulting industry. While Directors or Vice Presidents may indeed enjoy an average base salary of between £79,000 and £106,000 per annum, research by Consultancy.uk and Movemeon suggests that Analyst or Junior Consultant level – where individuals without specific qualifications of experience would join – sees an average basic salary between £40,000 and £50,000 per year.
It is also common that positions lower down the pecking order simply advertise as having a “competitive” salary, keeping these figures from adding to such averages. Even beyond this, while travel is indeed a staple part of consulting work, the pay may not reach the heights of a six-figure salary for some time. At Associate or Consultant level, this amount rises to between £52,000 and £59,000 per year. Meanwhile, a Manager in consulting – a consultant with typically between six to nine years of experience – earns £64,000 and £74,000 per annum.
