I also work in consulting and think it's a bad comparison. At the top levels of consulting most of your job and a good portion of your comp are tied up in sales/profitability, and client/account management with a pretty crappy lifestyle and work/life balance to match. It's significantly more grueling and less of a "coast to riches" path by far than big tech, although you're right that take-home comp can definitely be higher if the aforementioned job type is up your alley.