Absurdly high pay at Qatalyst, any truth to the rumors?

Heard that Qatalyst pays $500k+ to first year associates and VPs are regularly pulling in a million. The numbers in the WSO comp database and Glassdoor seem to back this up.

If this is true why would their analysts ever leave to PE or VC? I know comp isn't the only factor but if you're at a place where you can make seven figures a year in your late 20s I would think that's hard to turn down

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Typical base + bonus is a bit higher than street, but I know for a fact that there is a profit-sharing system there for associate and above when deals close. On good years (like last) comp does reach those numbers. Analyst comp however is just a little higher than street (180-220k) and they don't get to participate in profit-sharing. Not trying to pump the firm, just trying to give accurate info. 

 
Controversial

Qatalyst is by far the best firm on the street in terms of comp. 250k+ for analysts, 500k+ for associates easily. They are more selective/prestigious than any other banks on the street, and nobody leaves to pursue buyside opportunities because they pay better than any MFs.

 

I don’t know where people get numbers or what people have heard from a friend of a friend of a friend but here are ranges for a solid year. Believe it or not but these are the numbers for folks that are actually interested 

associate 1: $175 base + $200-250ish bonus + $50-75k profit sharing, all cash

Associate 3: $225 base + $400-450 bonus + $150-200 profit sharing all cash

VP base is $275 across all levels.  Mid level Vp last year got around $600-650 bonus, 275-325 profit sharing all cash

I would imagine MDs are $2.5-3.5 a year all in and the huge upside really comes in as a partner where I imagine partners are Making $5-20+ Based on contributions for a given year, excluding George of course who makes a lot more

for the question on WLB, you’re going to work hard obviously.  There are no weekend policies and it’s not uncommon for analysts and associates to be working both Saturday and Sunday.  I would say culture is still better than a BB and the quality of work is a night and day difference. You’re not sitting around at the office all night for FaceTime or waiting for comments but there is a lot of real, stressful work to do most of the time and you will run on lean teams.  Just look at the number of deals done a year, and assume that at least 3-4x the number of announced transactions were worked on and look at the size of the team. You can do the math.  I would argue a skill set an analyst develops at Qatalyst is second to none on Wall Street, you will just see and be exposed to a lot more than your peers elsewhere, and you will get paid for your work but you’re going to work around the clock for 2 years or longer if you stay.  Think you would be hard pressed to find a current or former analyst that would complain about consistently doing busy/ mundane work or lack of solid experience.

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