Finance seems like an incredibly bad deal compared to FAANG
Analysts make 100k, senior VPs 200. This is the same as random programmers at FAANG.
Stock is fine too. Nothing special about ib bonuses. If you were an early Uber eng you're making millions.
The only place it gets good is with MDs. MDs make 500k. But not worth the time to get there.
HFT pays good if you are an imo winner but seriously who does that?
Hf pm is the only real job in finance. Rest is mediocre vs FAANG.
I mean you can’t really compare them. One is a job that requires coding/lots of hard technical skill, is much more static (you code unless you get up to the managerial levels), and you’re limited to tech/start ups (not a bad thing, but it’s more limited). Finance is more about soft skills the higher you go up, the job changes... a lot. And you can exit to nearly any sector in finance. Not to mention you can go into tech companies (Corp dev). Tech is good if you like to code/like tech. Finance is good if you don’t and/or want more or different options.
Also, IB MDs can rake in $1MM+, top PE/HF Partners/PMs even more. Tech plateaus a lot more quickly. Finance has a higher ceiling for most people (barring the James Simons’s of the world).
What kind of analyst makes 100 fucking k? Evercore makes like 200k all in first year out of college
Look, I'm sure if you prepare more for your IBD interviews, you'll make it past the first round next time.
Look, I'm sure if you learn Java you'll pass the l3 Google screeb next time
The difference is, I'm not posting on a developer forum trying to flex so I probably didn't apply for any Google jobs.
https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/entry-opps-for-programmer
lol.
Top banks destroy top tech companies when it comes to pay. Sure, you might make like 10-30k less as a first year analyst at Moelis compared to Amazon, but pay scales much better for said banker.
Moelis Banker's career trajectory (Comp/opps are fluid and could move up or down 50k)- A1- 170k A2-180k -Move to PE-hours fall- A1- 250k A2-265k -MBA, which is the big downer but you can forgo it in HF industry- Post MBA A-300k VP1 (hours fall again)- 475k VP2-525k And it increases even more thereafter, unless you move to industry, where you'll likely make less until you make a more senior position.
Software engineer at FAANG-40-50 hours- A1- 200k A2-205k A3-210k A4-215k A5-215k on and on And you better hope your stock options work out
Bottom line: Finance pays better in the long-run, especially if you're half-good. Have fun looking for a job after the tech bubble pops dawg.
You’re a complete moron if you think people at FAANG take 5k raises for 5 straight years (less than 3%) given how hot the job market is.
Also hilarious that a non-target student aiming for credit risk jobs is talking about rising to VP or above at PE is a sure thing / nbd for anybody.
My FAANG friends who haven’t touched their initial stock grants have made over 3x in gains over a handful of years and that portion of comp is worth >300k now.
I posted the credit risk thread in my freshman year, and I already signed my offer for IB FT. It's interesting that you'd rag on credit considering your post history comprises corp dev/corp banking/ and a no name private equity firm that probably pays below first year analysts. Really couldn't make a good BB group from a target? Your FAANG friends don't make shit compared to my Point 72 and Top PE friends.
To the first replier, equity/stock options don't work out for most people that go to tech startups. They'll certainly fall after the tech bubble pops (really, who in their right mind would think that Amazon or Apple are really worth anywhere near 1 trillion?). I'd take carry at PE fund any day over overvalued stock. And check Blind, my comp numbers are standard. It's why the "ceiling is lower" in tech.
The talk seems to only be about comp but we all keep forgetting about sheer hours worked in banking (as well as the opportunity cost of giving up other pursuits, hobbies, relationships), as well other benefits often provided by tech cos (meals, gyms, nice offices, colleagues that are actually pleasant) etc. All of this adds up physically, mentally and emotionally. I do not have data on turnover in tech companies but it would not surprise me if it’s lower than in finance and if people are happier than they are in finance.
OP sounds like he or she may be a troll but the general point, in my opinion, is not an invalid one. Finance is nothing compared to what it used to be (comp-wise and rep-wise) and that is not changing barring any huge regulatory shifts globally (amongst other things).
Someone mentioned that tech is in a bubble. I do not dispute that but let’s not forget that financial services industry is extremely cyclical. Economy hits a rough patch? Companies won’t be expanding which means they won’t be raising capital, salaries will be pinched and so people will not be throwing money into products (flight to cash), this means less products which means less trading and of course less leverage etc etc etc. in short it means a ton of people in financial services will get chopped and most that stay won’t get paid and will gratefully cling onto their seats for dear life.
For anyone working in finance, look at the people above you who have been around for 15 plus years. They are survivors. It is worth asking them how they survived. The good ones will tell you that it was some combination involving luck, skill, the right boss, the right product, being junior or senior enough to be kept etc. It may also worth asking them how many they know that have left and or have been spit out by the machine (fired, laid off, chopped politically, automated out, quit, retired etc).
This is not to sound bearish by any means, but hopefully to provide some perspective.
Good Luck
Comparing Finance to FAANG isn't fair because FAANG is already attracting the best of the engineering grads while perhaps the majority of others take ho-hum jobs making $80k with a ceiling of $200k. Look at what the top 5% of Finance grads are making and that'd be a better comparison. Likewise Tech is experiencing a peak decade much like Medicine in the 80s (I'm a medical resident), Law before it diluted itself, and Finance maybe in the 90s/00s. It will not be like this forever, and even if it is god bless because the work sounds boring as fuck.
Anyone whining about making six figures straight outta college with tons of upward mobility potential is disconnected from reality. That's still a great gig regardless of the hours and needing to live in a high COL city. There are so many hardworking and bright people who never hit $100k. If it makes you feel better in Law you will often graduate law school in your mid-20s with six figs of debt with a median salary of ~$85k or shit no JD-requiring job at all. In Medicine you also take on loads of debt and then make ~50k working 80h/wk until your early 30s.
If you fixate on what others have you're gonna have a hard time. It's a moving target set to a hedonistic treadmill.