How long to progress to $200k?
At more established companies (F500), how many YoE does it generally take to break 200k (and maybe even 300k) total comp in NYC, for both someone starting in corporate and for someone switching from IB? Heard that the comp and progression is much slower on the corporate side, so is it better to make a move every few years to try and get a substantial comp increase? For those that made a switch from IB / consulting, how did you end up feeling about the paycut and do you feel it was worth it for the wlb?
Can't speak to NYC- I don't know how much corporate comp inflates for COL in NYC. Also can't speak to jumping from IB- just moving up within corporations.
Outside NYC and SF, 200k at a F500 company is somewhere above manager and below Director- call it Sr. Manager, associate Director, whatever. Directors normally have a base of around 200k. Sr. Managers have a base around 150-170k and can bonus up to 200k.
To hit Sr. Manager ($200k level- not just an inflated title) you're looking at 7-10 years exp if you manage your career right. High talent plus being at the right place at the right time can get you there in 5-6 years, but I'd say that's a 0.5% kind of outcome.
When it comes to making a move every few years- I'd recommend that more from a title perspective than a pay perspective. If you're in a role where you just don't see the next promo coming (after signaling you're interested in it, networking and applying internally, etc), that's when I'd recommend you jump. If you are getting promoted but are paid below market, better to ride that train for a few years and then jump for market pay once you get to the manager+ level. You want to stay on the path of 2yrs FA -> 2-3yrs SFA -> 2-3yrs Manager -> Sr. Manager (and then hitting director at the 10-12 year point).
I imagine there might be a slight premium for NYC - received an analyst offer after one year IB in NYC for 100k base+20% bonus+10k signing with an aim to hit manager in 1-2 years but I don't think the comp jump would be as significant as other places. Seems decent but cognizant of the discount from IB and that progression expectation would be much slower than in banking.
Was it a Sr. Analyst role? or just analyst? That seems about right if we assume a 30% NYC premium.. Dividing base by 1.3 gets you to 77k which is high for an analyst, mid/low for a Sr. Analyst. Not sure if you are evaluating that offer- personally I'd stay 2-4 years in banking/buyside and then jump. The analyst years in corporate are where you can most easily lose time (have promos delayed a year or two), where you do the least interesting work and are paid the least.
Corporate Strategy at a top tier Financial Institution in HCOL.
Analyst (0-2 YOE) level is 100-120k TC.
Associate (2-5 YOE) level is 125-150k TC.
AVP (5-8 YOE) 175k-200k+ TC.
So to answer your question, between the 5-8 year mark.
I'm in a MCOL area and at the local level from what I've seen it tends to happen around the Senior Manager / Director level where you're able to get $200k all in. These roles typically are around the 8-10 YOE mark.
That being said I've seen a lot of remote roles (such as my corp dev current role) where Senior Manager hits the $200k all in mark and requires more 6-8 YOE. These roles hire out of higher comp markets (e.g., San Francisco, New York, etc.) and don't seem to adjust much due to location so I'd assume it'll take 6-8 YOE in New York. Also keep in mind that corp dev / strategic finance roles tend to pay more than FP&A roles (i.e., roles that require IB experience).
From what I've experienced immediately switching to an FP&A / Strategic Finance role from a regional IB boutique gave me a 25%+ premium compensation over my peers in similar roles. I think the pay cut was worth it to finally get nice WLB and actually have a life after 3+ years of grinding. After switching a few times I'm finally at my current role that hits $200k+ all in comp in a MCOL with good WLB. I'm probably not going to be buying a yacht anytime soon, but where I live I can afford an upper middle class suburban lifestyle and then some since I'm still young and saved early on, so definitely worth the switch in my opinion. In the next year or two I'll probably try looking for Director level positions and around then hope all in comp hits the $250k-$300k range depending on the company.
Can you describe your comp in regional IB at the time of the switch and the comp you were comfortable leaving for? I am at IB in NYC and looking at roles still in NYC so understand there is a different calculation here to be financially comfortable but trying to get an idea of what to expect.
Sure, as a first year associate the same year I left my total comp was targeted at around $140k. At the time most FP&A / corporate finance (excluding corpdev) roles were around $80-100k total comp at the local level for senior analyst and some manager roles. At the role I accepted my total comp was $110k compared to other senior analysts there making around $80-90k.
This was ~5 years ago so things were pretty different then (pre COVID and inflation). For example, it's crazy to me thinking one of the regional boutique IB firms I got an offer for that had similar pay to my past role is now paying associates 2x more than what I was making when I was on my out of IB.
Anyway, I'm sure these numbers are low for NYC right now, but for a MCOL city as a mid 20's adult it was pretty great and worth it to get the WLB.
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