Which employees earn more than their bosses?

Employees in sectors such as consulting, financial services, and sales can sometimes earn more than their bosses, because of performance-related pay. One of the sectors with the highest salaries is real estate consulting, with a senior broker’s income comparable to that of a top manager in real estate (around 10,000 euros). In some cases, a consultant’s commission amounts to 50% of the profit. A good real estate consultant can earn as much as 10,000 euros a month, but there have been exceptions when annual income has reached a staggering one million euros. “In real estate, fixed salaries are usually very low, but what counts in the salary package is the bonus,” explains Daniela Necefor, managing partner of Total Business Solutions, which deals in real estate consulting. The bonus system is also behind the big earnings of consultants working in other fields. “A senior consultant has a fixed salary, to which a sales percentage is added. If they work on a 30,000-euro consulting project, to which a 10% bonus is added, they stand to make 3,000 euros. In consulting, bonuses range from 5% to 40%,” says Mihaela Damian, partner & associate with executive search company Stanton Chase. Depending on the package negotiated, bank traders and brokers can earn more than their managers. In addition, in small companies there are sales managers whose earnings sometimes exceed those of the general manager. Read more about it in ZF’s Profesii section.