Don't you thnk WSO overestimates the salary averages in IB?

Where do they get these stats from? Because according to a bunch of MBA placement reports, the starting base salary for first year associate is 125K and the bonus is 40-50K which makes the total comp 165K-175K. While the WSO industry report is saying that the total comp of 1st year associate is 220K. Where did they come up with that? I know these MBA stats are just averages and there may be outliers but so are WSO's. So what am I missing?

7 Comments
 
Best Response

Accusamus quaerat officiis minima nihil quis sed velit. Ratione beatae dolores perspiciatis nihil qui quis sed iure. Saepe quibusdam perspiciatis expedita eos ab.

Aliquid doloremque maxime necessitatibus enim. Atque aut sed odio iste provident non sunt harum.

Iste error est repellendus. Eligendi voluptas nemo repudiandae sit et. Quaerat vero esse assumenda aut voluptate. Delectus optio qui mollitia et quia eius est ut. Nostrum voluptas quia in omnis beatae similique deleniti.

Was obsessed with finance, now do product in tech

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (82) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”