Junior Consultant in Spain Earns €1,400 at Big Four Firm

€1,400 per month for over 40 hours: The salary of a junior consultant at a Big Four firm

How much does one of the major consulting firms pay to exploit a fresh graduate? The answer circulating on social media is a salary of €1,400 paid in 14 installments, without bonuses, for more than 40 hours a week. The breakdown, shared as proof of what consultants earn in Spain, has been enough to reopen a discussion that goes far beyond a specific company: first salaries, the prestige of the brand on a CV, and the brain drain of young talent.

What you actually earn when joining a Big Four firm

The figure is not an isolated case. In the same conversation, there are references to €1,200 in 12 installments for a junior, and €1,700 in 14 installments at a significant consultancy that was not one of the big four. There are also those who recall a first paycheck of €723 almost twenty years ago, and those who place the start of their career at 168,300 pesetas net at a tech firm from the late last century, with laptops and meal vouchers as extras.

The pattern repeats itself: the first year pays little and requires hard work. The most common defense of these conditions is that a junior without experience contributes little and that the salary rises once they learn. Critics, however, point out that the consultancy's brand functions as part of the payment: the real bonus is putting on your CV that you worked for them.

Over 40 hours, pressure, and tur The real cost of the role

Salary is not the only data point. The working hours accompanying that paycheck exceed 40 hours a week and come with client pressure and deadlines. Some describe projects where the user takes months to decide and then demands immediate deliveries, while others summarize the profession with a known rule: good, cheap, fast—pick two.

Turnover is the consequence. The most repeated advice is to endure just long enough to learn and leave: after six months, or sooner, if there is no prior experience. The opposite warning also appears: staying too long in a consultancy can close doors in other departments, because some companies discard profiles trained in these firms.

The CV as currency

Here lies the core of the issue. The consultancy does not just sell a salary: it sells a credential. That credential explains why people with languages and degrees accept low wages for a limited time. It also explains why the phenomenon repeats every year, with new graduates willing to enter.

The problem arises when the credential stops compensating. With the current cost of living, €1,400 in 14 installments falls short for moving out in major cities, and the comparison with public employment becomes inevitable: the stability and schedule of a permanent position weigh more than the brand on the CV.

Why the debate turns to taxes and emigration

The conversation quickly jumps from gross to net salary. One part of the analysis argues that tax burden and social contributions explain why the final paycheck is so low; another responds that countries with higher net salaries have equal or higher tax pressure. The exchange closes with the usual argument: if you don't like it, there are other countries.

And here enters the recommendation most repeated among profiles with language skills: emigrate. The thesis is that abroad you earn more for the same work, even with shorter hours, and that this explains why many young people aspire to a public job. The rebuttal does not deny the data: it denies that the alternative is better in every way.

The public sector enters the equation

The comparison with the civil service runs through the entire discussion. Some argue that many levels of the General State Administration do not reach those €1,400, although they work fewer hours and with less stress. Others respond that rural positions difficult to fill remain vacant, which would question whether the problem is only about money.

The exchange gets heated when real experience and statistics intersect: those who have dealt with consultancies in the Administration speak of jobs that leave wreckage; defenders of the system recall that, in their opinion, 5-10% of public posts bear the actual workload. No one moves their position.

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The €1,400 salary is not the news. The news is that no one disputes the figure, only its justification. And that the most repeated response to a low salary continues to be enduring, learning, and leaving.