It will depend on when you enter into the consulting firm. For consulting firms that are looking to hire advanced degree candidates (PhD, MD, DO, PharmD, etc...), they will often want to hire someone either straight from residency or graduate school or someone with less than 5 years of experience. Those candidates will enter into the program full time. These candidates are ideal because they have not reach their peak earning potentials. For others that are looking to transition into consulting after getting board certified or have experience, you will likely have to take a pay cut initially when you transition into consulting. Eventually, as you move up the ladder, you will eventually match or exceed your medical salary, depending on your specialty. There are very few consulting firms that will allow an advanced degree candidate to work in clinical practice part time, while working at the consulting firm.
On the other hand, many pharma positions, especially in medical affairs, will allow the MD/DO to work part time to help maintain their licensure.
One of the dilemma that some of my physician colleagues in my MBA program and I faced is the fact that we will have to take a pay cut if we transition out of our medical profession. The experienced neurosurgeon and the interventional cardiologist in my class had a hard time finding a consulting or pharma position that would initially pay anywhere close to what they earn in the medicine world.
