How much does GLG pay? What the public record says, and what it doesn't

GLG pays whatever hourly rate you set for yourself, prorated by the minute, after the project is done. So the honest answer to "how much does GLG pay?" is "as much as you ask for, as long as clients keep picking you." GLG publishes no pay scale, and the specific GLG consultant pay figures online are either decades old or come from anonymous forum posts.

1. You set the rate, and GLG pays it by the minute

GLG's expert recruitment page says that after you describe your work history and sign its Terms and Conditions, you "set an hourly rate of your choosing." Its network members page adds that once a project is completed, you are paid "based on your set rate."

GLG's 2021 IPO filing (the S-1 it filed with the SEC) is more precise. It says network members are "generally" paid "a fixed hourly rate" for calls, "prorated for the minutes spent on the interaction." That is the closest thing to an official pay rule GLG has published.

Proration matters more than people expect. Here is a made-up example: Ingrid runs procurement at a regional hospital group and sets her GLG rate at $300 an hour. A client books an hour, gets what they need in 40 minutes, and thanks her. Ingrid is paid for 40 minutes, which is $200. (The client was efficient. Ingrid's bank account noticed.)

2. The public GLG pay numbers are old, anonymous or about something else

Here is what the public record says about GLG pay, and how much weight each source deserves.

The S-1 line about raising rates is worth reading twice. In its risk factors, GLG wrote that it "may be necessary" to increase the hourly rate it pays "to incentivize our Network Members to consult through our platform and to respond to project invitations," and that members are "almost always non-exclusively contracted." In plain terms: GLG competes for your time, and you can work with other networks at the same time.

Anonymous forum threads (on Blind and Reddit, for example) also trade hourly figures for GLG and its rivals. They contradict each other and nobody can check them, so this post leaves them out.

Be careful with numbers about what clients pay. That is a different figure from what you receive, and it does not tell you your share.

3. Pick a rate you would be glad to accept on a bad day

Choose the lowest amount you would happily take for an hour that lands at an awkward time, with a stranger, on a narrow question about your old job. Do not pad it to cover GLG. Clients pay GLG mostly through subscription contracts, according to its S-1, and GLG pays you the rate you set.

The tradeoff is demand. AlphaSights says on its expert page that high rates "typically lead to lower demand for your expertise," and GLG's network members page says "the faster you respond, the more likely you are to be selected." Both point the same way: price and speed decide how often you get picked.

Our recommendation:

1. Set one number you are comfortable defending. Do not try to guess GLG's internal average; nobody publishes it.
2. Keep it for your first few projects, so you learn how often you get chosen at that price.
3. Raise it when you are turning down more invitations than you accept.

It helps to see how other people describe themselves. Browse the management consultants or private equity consultants directories to see the kind of profile buyers look for. For a wider view of rates outside expert networks, see consultant hourly rates.

4. Compliance training comes before the first payment

GLG's compliance page says experts must sign, and re-sign every year, its terms and conditions, and complete GLG's interactive tutorial every year. Experts agree to decline any project that would break their other agreements, to end a call that moves into topics they cannot discuss, and never to give clients confidential information, including material non-public information.

Two rules from that page affect your earnings directly:

• Employed experts may not take projects about their own employer. For written, in-depth or ongoing projects, some employed experts need written confirmation of their employer's consent.
• If you end a project for compliance reasons and tell GLG, GLG says it will "pay them for the time they set aside."

You are selling experience and judgment, never your employer's confidential information. If you are unsure where that line sits, read our guide to material non-public information before your first call, and check your employment contract.

5. In the US, plan for self-employment tax

If an expert network pays you as an independent contractor rather than as an employee, the IRS says on its self-employment tax page that the rate is 15.3% (12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare), that it applies once net self-employment earnings reach $400, and that independent contractors generally report earnings on Schedule C. Set some of each payment aside, and ask an accountant how it fits your situation.

6. Compare GLG with the other networks before you commit your evenings

GLG says on its recruitment page that it created the category nearly 30 years ago, but its rivals publish more about how they pay.

• AlphaSights says on its expert page that experts are paid an agreed hourly rate pro rata for time with clients, that its standard payment terms are 30 days, and that you go through interactive compliance training before a first call.
• Guidepoint says on its expert page that invitations show "full scope, time commitment, and compensation up front," that there is "no minimum and no penalty" for passing, and that consultations are often completed within 72 hours of the request.
• Third Bridge says on its expert page that calls are typically one hour and that experts who respond within three hours are twice as likely to be selected.

Since GLG says its members are non-exclusive, joining more than one is normal. Our list of expert network companies covers more of them, and how to become an expert network consultant walks through signing up.

Instant Expert works differently: a buyer invites you to a specific paid call or written answer, the invitation shows the amount you would receive, and you can reply with the price you want instead. You can claim your profile to set the rate buyers start from, or browse open paid requests on the board.

Set your GLG rate once, at a number you would be glad to receive, and let your first few projects tell you whether to raise it.