After around four years at Dynatrace, I earn $55K (40%) less than the median consultant salary based on the data provided here, despite residing in a higher-than-average cost-of-living area, close to Portland. From the reported salaries, I see that most newly hired consultants are making 10-20k more starting off than I currently am, most of them in areas with a lower cost of living. It feels a bit like a slap in the face and makes me feel downtrodden.
In my experience, work-life balance can be somewhat difficult for those seeking promotions or better-paying roles if joining the company as a consultant. I am consistently stretched pretty thin due to high expectations from both my customer and Dynatrace leadership. The latter's expectations include continuous certification requirements (Dynatrace and external), regular training, participation in global/services/team calls, preparation and presentation of quarterly business reviews and value stories, and maintenance of a planner tool the customer does not even use, on top of fulfilling the numerous core responsibilities of a full-time consultant for a demanding client. These pressures would feel justified if I made the additional 55k that the average consultant here appears to make.