Compensation between different industries within Corporate Finance (FP&A/Controllership/Treasury/Corporate Development)
As a junior at a state school in the Metro area (NJ/NY/CT), it's likely I will end up in an F500 FLDP program after graduation. This is because I will be interning on an F500 Finance team this summer, and the majority of summer interns in this program transition into its 2-3 year FLDP at the company itself or one or another FLDP program.
From my understanding, most FLDPs predominantly offer exposure to functions such as FP&A, Controllership, and Treasury (rarely corp development). My state is predominantly Pharmaceutical/Consumer Product and I've been comparing salaries between companies at each industry. It seems that at the Sr Financial Analyst/Manager/Director level, comp is about 10-15% at nearly every Pharma/healthcare company than all the consumer product/manufacturing companies. My source of information is Glassdoor so I'm not saying this is necessarily true, but I've seen consistency and am wondering if this sounds about right. My career goal isn't necessarily to stay in corp finance my whole career, though if I were too I'd rather make an extra 10-15% for doing relatively similar work.
Main Questions:
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Assuming I want to stay in the Metro area (NJ/NY/CT) and make the extra 10-15% to cover the high cost of living, what specific industries would you recommend for someone looking to start their career out in Corp Finance?
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Is the comp difference between Pharma/CPG industries on Glassdoor reliable?
Based on the most helpful WSO content, it's not uncommon to see a variance in compensation between different industries within corporate finance roles. The pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors often offer higher compensation compared to consumer products or manufacturing, which aligns with the observations you've made from Glassdoor. This can be attributed to the higher margins and regulatory complexities in pharma that may demand more from finance professionals in terms of expertise and responsibilities.
To address your main questions:
For someone looking to start their career in corporate finance in the NJ/NY/CT Metro area, industries that typically offer higher compensation include pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and financial services. These sectors are well-represented in the region and are known for competitive pay scales, especially at the senior levels. Given the high cost of living in the Metro area, targeting these industries could be a strategic move to align with your compensation goals.
While Glassdoor can provide a general sense of compensation trends, it's important to take these figures with a grain of salt. The data on Glassdoor is self-reported and may not always represent the full spectrum of actual salaries, as it may be biased towards those who choose to share their compensation. For more accurate and up-to-date information, consider looking at multiple sources, including industry-specific salary surveys, networking with professionals in the field, and potentially reaching out to recruiters who specialize in corporate finance roles within your target industries.
Remember, while compensation is an important factor, also consider other aspects such as career growth opportunities, company culture, and the specific nature of the work when making your decision.
Sources: Discrepancy between salaries reported here and on Glassdoor, Compensation of commodities trading firms compared to supermajor oil and gas companies, Divergence in the Drug Businesses: Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, TMT vs Healthcare vs Consumer vs Industrials pros and cons, Q&A: Pharmaceutical/Biotech Industry
There are various listings on WSO of how pay varies by industries- off the top of my head the ranking is something like Tech > O&G > Pharma > CPG > Manufacturing.
However, I think you are focusing on the wrong thing. Forget the piddly 10-15% differences in comp. What far and away matters most is trajectory- which rotation/company/industry is going to advance your career the most and the quickest. I have some friends in FAANG Tech who tell me that the companies have become overly bureaucratic and it takes forever to get promoted, and while they make great salaries they aren't advancing to manager or director level work. Which means that when they are in their mid 30s as a (well paid) lead analyst, their peers at other companies are getting their director promos and have line of sight to VP and maybe even more, and will ultimately be better paid while doing more interesting work as they get to higher levels.
Think of your first 5-6 years (or more!) out of college as medical residency, judicial clerkship, etc- don't seek the pay, seek what will set you on the highest trajectory. Obviously, I'm not advocating for boomer-tier "unpaid internships"- I'm just saying that taking the job that pays $80k at a company with young managers and directors, interesting work, and more exec facetime is much, much better than the job that pays 88k but you are at some one-off factory, buried deep within the company and the *youngest* director at the company is 40.
In your shoes I'd be scouring LinkedIn to study target companies, looking for multiple young (26-28) managers, young (30s) directors, young (40s) VPs. Look at if the FLDPs stay or if most leave- that is a huge indicator if the best and brightest think it's a good place to keep growing their career.
Forget the low percentage differences in pay- getting later career promotions can double your comp off a much higher base. That is the prize.
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