GS Salt Lake City compensation

Curious about the compensation for Goldman Sachs in SLC. My friend will be working in the credit risk group and told me his salary is only $46K and no signing bonus, althought he will still be paid an annual bonus based performance. Is this type of compensation typical in SLC? I know SLC is cheap to live in by wouldn't a salary of only $46k be too little? Especially considering that bonuses in MO or BO roles are only a small percentage of the base salary. Is it also possible some analysts are paid a different base salary?

 

That makes sense, I have heard people tell me making $50k in SLC is the equivalent of about $120k in Manhattan. Still $120k in Manhattan is like lower middle class at best, but I guess anyone who starts working out of college is expected to be underpaid.

Also, I'm interested in pursuing this position like my friend. Would it be reasonable to expect a bonus of on average $5k or more after tax?

 

let's do the math here. it's roughly 40% tax on bonus. 5k after tax is equivalent to about 8.3~8.5k. Assuming a 45~46k base salary, that is equivalent to 18%. do I think it is realistic/reasonable? no. but i don't live in slc nor do i work in BO, so i don't know the details. i would guess 10~15% is a reasonable estimate, if not less. i heard ppl get 4k after tax on average. to me, BO is equivalent to corp finance job. just my 2cents

 

i work in BO in SLC at a similar firm. 46k is A1 salary at GS (be advised that a out of UG you would start as a "New Analyst" = A0. and 10% bonus is on the higher end of your performance based review( so i heard from a buddy in BO there) . bump to A2 , you can expect a 200/ paycheck bump spread through the yr (24 checks).

 
Creolebway1:

i work in BO in SLC at a similar firm. 46k is A1 salary at GS (be advised that a out of UG you would start as a "New Analyst" = A0. and 10% bonus is on the higher end of your performance based review( so i heard from a buddy in BO there) . bump to A2 , you can expect a 200/ paycheck bump spread through the yr (24 checks).

I don't understand what you mean by A0, A1, or A2 salaries. Are they different levels of salary?

Also what did you mean by "200/ paycheck bump spread through the yr (24 checks)?"

Now I probably went overboard when I said $120k in Manhattan is "lower middle class at best" but I think it's generally agreed that it's still not considered a lot by NYC standards. Although certainly with income taxes and housing aside, there's definitely money left for a fairly decent living. If that cost of living calculator is fairly accurate, it estimates making $50k in SLC is equivalent to about $115 in Manhattan, which seems to mean that $46k with a $4k bonus after-tax (Probably a reasonable expectation) yields a similarly decent lifestyle.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but for an analyst in NYC today, isn't $115k in salary + bonus considered more on the high end?

 
Best Response

$120k is lower middle class at best if you work in manhattan? Your perception of reality is insane. Even if you give a reasonable after tax consideration of say $72k ($6k/month) you can live in a solid $4k/month apartment with a roommate for $2k to you or $24k annually. Go ahead and throw a reasonable misc expense budget for yourself, which needs to account for the fact that free time is limited, and you wind up with a ton of excess cash to sock away into retirement. The reality is that for someone working a ton of hours, making $120k or $300k has almost no noticeable difference in standard of living other than having the ability to afford a larger apartment that you will spend little time in anyway.

Just because some high level banking compensations throw off the average it doesn't mean anyone making something far above the actual middle class average in NYC is "lower middle class at best".

 

Felt the same way reading that comment, though I don’t agree that 120k vs. 300k are the same in NY. 120k enables you to live the life you want to live, but requires a certain level of prudence regarding your spending. 300k you’re pretty much good to go. 
 

But again, I agree with the essence of your point. 120k is more than livable (coming from someone who currently makes $120k in NY and lives very comfortably). 

 

I would say 115k is the average first year comp. Most of the base numbers from friends (not from what was read here) were between $70-$85k. $30k bonus on the high end gets you to 115k, which is a pretty reasonable estimate.

However, I have lived in many different areas and can tell you for sure that those cost of living calculators are very wrong. For example I just checked out the one from bankrate.com and did a comparative analysis on NYC (Manhattan) to SLC (Metro) and the first glaringly obvious mistake is in rent. It took NYC's (correct) average at $3900/month vs SLC's $900. Except that analysts don't pay this much. I pay $1400/month as my share, and I used $2k/month in my estimate above. It also shows energy bills as being much more expensive, but doesn't take into consideration the fact that you'll in all likelihood have a car/insurance/gas bill in a place like that, vs a simple (and cheap) subway card here. It also uses things like cost of various kinds of clothes, when I buy these online anyway and thus would be the same here or there.

If I were to give a more practical and realistic cost of living adjustment, I would say that $115k here would need to be about $75k there.

 

Your friend will not have a hard time living in SLC on $50k/yr, granted they are not too jet set.

"I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
 

You're not quite comparing apples to apples with that rent cost though. $900/month in SLC can get you a VERY nice one bedroom (or pretty nice 2 bedroom) all to yourself. That's a bit different than $1400/month to share a cramped little nook. For shared housing in SLC, the cost is almost negligible. I've got a buddy who shares a decent house with 5 other friends and pays $250/month for his own (fairly large) bedroom. You could easily get by paying ~$3-4k/yr for housing in SLC.

"I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
 

You could also live an extra subway stop or two away in queens or brooklyn and pay even less. I just looked at downtown SLC apartments, and with the exception of some dorm room looking ones, prices were pretty much in line with what I had thought, which is more than half the cost of the $2k estimate I used earlier. Either way you look at it, go ahead and make SLC rent as cheap as you want. You will still need a car with insurance and gas, and you aren't going to get expenses down so much to make up for a $60k shortfall in income and call it an equal standard of living. The cost of living calculators are incredibly exaggerated and unrealistic, period.

 

Optio eaque id sint qui minus architecto nostrum. Labore similique fuga impedit est. Voluptates eos eum nemo deleniti a quisquam harum eligendi. Sunt adipisci debitis dicta sequi enim. Quia impedit quae necessitatibus quam natus sed rem. Voluptatum odit distinctio eveniet vel ab fugit.

"I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”