There is no universal winner because consulting, banking and tech build different kinds of career capital. Banking concentrates finance and transaction skills, tech can build deeper product or functional ownership, and consulting gives broader exposure to industries and business problems.

If you care mainly about first-year cash compensation, the ranking can be different from the ranking on hours, flexibility, learning or exits. A higher salary can be offset by much longer hours or by work that is less aligned with the skills you want to build.

Think in two- to three-year terms. Ask which role gives you the strongest combination of mentorship, useful skills, credible experience and options that you actually value, rather than assuming one path is best because it is more selective.

Write down your top three priorities and score each offer against them. The right answer often becomes much clearer once you separate compensation, learning, lifestyle and long-term direction. For more detail, see the management consultant salary guide.

I had the same three-way comparison and the answer changed once I wrote down what I actually cared about besides salary.

Banking may win on near-term cash, tech on product ownership, and consulting on breadth, so the weighting matters.

The specific team and manager can matter more than the industry label for the first two years.

If you only plan to stay two years, would you weight exits more heavily than first-year pay?