4.5k is real. I'm personally from Deals, lateralled in so havent personally went through ACE program but all salaries in big 4 is somewhat an open secret.

Let's say u want to go into advisory / consulting, which is separate in PwC's operating structure. I say it's good, 4.5k is the highest any A1 would get in PwC, excluding S& whose pay is kind of a blackbox.

However, looking at trajectory and salary you are going to get in next few years, I say other consulting firms pay a lot higher. A 1st year manager in deals strategy gets around 6.5k after ~5-6 years of experience. A 1st year manager in ACN Consulting gets around 9k after also ~5-6 years of exp. Note: years of exp based on average performer.

My opinion: good starting point, bad progression, decent exit opportunities. A lot of people leave for F500 MNC, get 20-25% salary bump in 2-3 years earning 6-7k. Not extremely high, but decent enough. Turnover extremely high in mid seniority levels (SA/M), which is also why I got hired.