Earning super low salary in small family PE shop
I didn't go to a target. My gpa wasn't top tier.
I realized early on I made a mistake so I did everything in my power to get relevant internships, worked my ass off and with half luck ended up landing this full time role in Canada.
I get paid 40K USD plus 15k/deal the team closes (we close 1-3 per year)
This is a full time private equity analyst role. I am involved in all parts of the deal throughout diligence and it's in the specific industry niche which I want to work in. Overall I do enjoy the work because I feel it gives me a lot of experience in structuring a deal from start to finish. The owner of the fund doesn't believe in modeling though, so the only time I'm improving my modeling is when I'm using "breaking into Wall Street" for practice.
Am I making a mistake doing this job!? My plan was to work for 2 years then try to leverage myself into a decent MBA.
Appreciate any advice.
If this is in the US, this is insultingly low.
If this is actually in South America, per the region tag on the post, then I can't comment.
This is Canada - don’t know why it says South America I must have set that by accident
In this market you have to take it, start applying 8 months in
$40k + 2 deals = $70k USD which is $95k cad first year out of school? How is that under market?
It’s obviously a pretty good salary, but pension funds and funds live Novacap pay more than that.
I had some gigs fall through at the last second when I was graduating undergrad (~5-10 years ago) and ended up with the exact job you are talking about but in Texas. $40k/yr, voiceover was that bonus would be the main driver of comp, naturally my bonus ended up being $0. I think I might have gotten a $500 annual raise or some just insanely low number at some point too, more of an insult than anything.
Can absolutely feel your pain, at least it sounds like you are doing deals and learning. I wouldn't worry about an MBA yet, I was able to recruit out to a real shop (after endless interviews, literally 50+ to convert to a job). The lesson I learned from that was how to sell your story -- mine was horrific at the beginning, once I got it down interviews became easier. Neither investment banks or private credit would get why I was wanting to work with them as I was already in PE; hard to explain how horrific it was without trashing your employer. I lied through my teeth about it (in an effort not to explain pay was dogshit, working conditions were terrible and the team was idiotic).
Careers are long. Your experience is going to blow -- not just at work, even just trying to pay fucking rent -- but good news is 1) you'll learn to develop a drive to work yourself out of the gig 2) you'll be able to get another role eventually and 3) it will be hilarious in a few years once you've gotten a little bit of cash in your pocket. Doesn't seem like it for you now, but I still randomly have a good laugh on how completely insane everything about that job was. Classic case of how YMMV with family offices.
I'v read your reply 10 times now and each time I get a wave of relief and it makes me smile. Thank you seriously I appreciate the advice. 🙏🙏 It's reassuring to see someone else with the same situation find success. Hope you have a nice evening.
Question as someone in a similar-ish situation also open to IB and PC - couldn't you just say after trying PE you realized you actually preferred being on the sell-side/lender's side? How did you eventually sell your story?
What is your end goal OP? As in, what would you like to do after your MBA?
I will comment saying $70k USD / $95k CAD (assuming 2 deals) is extremely below market for an Analyst 1 in Canada. Assuming you are in Toronto, market for Analyst 1 is around $120-160k CAD (edit: for pensions and reputable MM firms). If you plan to stay for 2 years, I would ask for a pay raise, either in the form of cash or carry + ability to co-invest at attractive terms.
Ideally I see myself staying in PE but moving to the US after building my network within grad school. I am also American so I feel as though after 2 years work experience and an MBA I can somewhat distance myself from my not so stellar gpa and the fact that I went to a non target.
Do you also think it would be better for me to not do an MBA and just try to network my way into a US PE analyst role?
Where are you getting $120-160k as market?
CPP analyst all in is ~160k
$120-160k is not market for an analyst 1 out of school in LMM PE in Canada. LMM associate roles after some work experience are like $150k all in in Canada
Agree with this. OP, I know it sucks seeing people here quoting huge numbers on other threads, but those are at top BB/EB or top PE firms, and often in HCOL areas like NYC. You are going to take a massive pay discount for being in Canada, LMM and sounds like a no-name shop.
$95k CAD all in is not too bad considering you admit you didn't have a great profile out of school. You don't need to do an MBA, just do 12-18 months and then use your experience to latera to a bigger firm.
Pensions funds and funds with a good reputation like Novacap (I assume it’s the same for Onex and co) definitely pay 120-150k all-in. If you’re talking about base then you’re right.
That's market in Canada, especially for a lower tier family office. Why do you think that's under?
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