I've been in this position. The feeling of satisfaction wears off in a few minutes. My resume was updated later that week and I was on to the next adventure within two months.
And this was with a DR who stuck up for me and mentioned to the CEO directly that we paid a consultancy big bucks to tell us something a chorus of engineering team members have been saying for years.
I haven't seen enlightened management who appreciate people who are proven right. It is mostly interested in people proven wrong face consequences. Those who got it right are just doing their day job.
McK will bill $3 million, the 23 year old may get at best same as your $100k salary. Which makes everyone feel sour, esp the youngster for getting 3% of what their boss charged the client...!
If you look at entry-level consultant salaries at McKinsey and then divide by the fact that they're often working 7-day, 100-hour workweeks... you'll quickly discover that your "23 year old snot" is actually making around minimum wage on an hourly basis. They could be flipping burgers instead with a lot less stress.
The consultants aren't the ones taking the money home, the firm is. So don't blame the 23 year old. He or she is honestly just doing their insane best to pay off their huge student loans.
But federal minimum wage ($7.25) is a lot smaller than, say, the NYC minimum wage ($15), which is more relevant. At the NYC minimum wage, 100-hour work weeks get you about 80k a year, which is about the base pay for an undergraduate new hire at McKinsey.
