Frustrated with my bonus - need some help/advice

I accepted a job at a regional “boutique” because they offered me before my junior year at Chaifetz. My dad was college roommates with my MD, and that’s why I was offered so early. However I’m starting to regret it after just finishing my first year as an analyst at this bucket shop - is it too early for me to jump ship?

The first reason for leaving is that my bonus was lower than I was expecting. My base is only $120k, and this past week I was informed that my bonus is $80k. We had a pretty solid year (closed 5 deals & I was staffed on 2 of them) and I never had any major bang ups. I do live in a LCOL midwestern city, which could warrant the lower bonus (plz lmk if I’m off base with this thinking).

The second reason for leaving is the grind isn’t what I had envisioned. I was expecting to work a lot more based on what I heard about banking, and I think my longest week was maybe 65 hours. I feel as if I’m not getting the experience compared to BB/EB firms, and I regret not going through on-cycle recruitment every day because of this. Now my peers are lapping me and I’ve excommunicated myself from jumping to private equity at the prestige level that I want to.

I really want to bring this up with my MD, but I’m assuming he will just say the lower base+bonus is because I work less hours compared to other first year analysts. I’m looking for any advice on how to address these concerns - thank you in advance!

31 Comments
 
Most Helpful

So, you got an EB AN1 base and a bonus equivalent to most BB AN1 top buckets, while only working 65 hour weeks max, and you’re complaining?? You’re either baiting or you’re extremely out of touch with reality.

 

OP is in touch with reality. These numbers are lower than expected. I’d likely jump ship.

 
Funniest

Bro shut the fuck up. You made $200K working 60 hours a week in fucking missouri. i’m in nyc getting bent over 100 hrs a week for half that and eating eggs out of a mug. Hope your bonus gets cut in half next year lmao


 

 

ExcelSexcel:

Bro shut the fuck up. You made $200K working 60 hours a week in fucking missouri. i’m in nyc getting bent over 100 hrs a week for half that and eating eggs out of a mug. Hope your bonus gets cut in half next year lmao




 


Actually funny

 

$200K in a LCOL city with max 65 hours in a week and you think that's low? Am I hearing that right?

I made barely more last year as an A1 at an EB before NY taxes (and rent), and my longest week was nearly double yours. If you leave it should be because you want to move to UMM / MF PE down the line, not because of comp...

 

Assuming this entire thread is not bait, I promise you that comp would be competitive among top banks in NY / SF for a fraction of the hours and COL. It goes incredibly far in midwest, especially if you're not in Chicago. What comp were you even expecting to think $200K is discouraging? I say that as someone born and raised in midwest - pitchers are like $4, rent is like $1K and the ppl probably are (presumably) not dickheads. 

Ultimately optimize for whatever you want, but as other and I are trying to convey, you are objectively being comped extremely well for your hours and COL, regardless of what you feel.

If you really want to move after an entire thread of ppl are telling you you're delusional, try moving to an EB or BB to have a chance at UMM / MF PE.

 

Voluptatem quis porro rerum velit quia ea voluptatum pariatur. Nostrum cumque architecto ea laboriosam non iste error. Sint alias beatae rerum repellat nihil nihil nihil.

Earum molestias asperiores non iure. Dolores libero molestias eaque hic voluptas assumenda non quas. Sint earum aut sed quae ut.

Architecto consequatur voluptas debitis sit expedita ratione necessitatibus et. Et iusto eos ea. Qui velit ut nobis et illo nulla velit animi.

Ea ut ipsam sapiente. Exercitationem quis officia explicabo. Et nobis saepe placeat fuga.

 

Similique ut enim quod ipsum consequuntur et. Expedita voluptatibus et autem eveniet voluptatibus.

Rerum quae sunt qui vitae eligendi. Minus aut et odit pariatur in dolor illum. Repellendus iste modi ab aliquam. Omnis porro impedit molestias totam accusantium. Rerum dolor minima ut. Eius aliquam ut autem maiores aut at qui omnis. Ut rerum placeat exercitationem quod libero necessitatibus. Itaque totam sunt magni.

Qui iure cumque odio sit reiciendis voluptas est exercitationem. Rerum rerum voluptatum quia et. Nesciunt voluptate vitae quis vitae. Quidem commodi vel reprehenderit animi sequi. Nihil consequatur odio autem sunt non ducimus in nihil. Et totam delectus rerum corporis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • 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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”