Historical BB Bonuses
For those with a lot of experience on the street - has there historically been this big of a delta between boutiques and BBs in terms of bonuses, or is this a unique phenomenon over the past few years? I’m hearing 2nd year associates at boutiques are making $400k+ all in, while solid associate performers at BBs are getting $45k bonuses. Has this always been the case / why have I been blind this entire time to how large the pay discrepancy is?
Also wondering what bonuses were at BBs pre-covid, in more “normal” years. I started in 2021 so it’s hard to get a vantage point on bonus ranges for the long term. What were bonuses like in 2016-2019, for example?
It’s frustrating working until midnight every day, canceling plans, etc. for 3+ years just to get ~$30k more all-in annually compared to my peers who work a couple of hours per day in other fields, have hobbies, etc. I’m waiting for the payoff and ramp in pay, have been a solid performer, and it’s been almost 3 years.
Debating sticking it out in the hopes of a good bonus finally (will probably just get fooled again LOL), or just dipping and taking the sunk cost.
Curious what kind of perspective more experienced people have.
I don't know if all BBs are paying that low of a bonus. Look at the Wells numbers for example. Sounds like ASO1s got $100k and ASO2s got $140k. Appreciate it's still a big delta between boutiques. Part of it is that Boutique hours are considerably sweatier than BBs. Any incremental hours above 80 are exponentially worse. The difference between 50 and 60 hours isn't that bad. However, the difference between 80 and 90 is awful. I know for a fact that Associates at Bank of America were not getting clapped all year, and the bonus certainly reflects that. Associates at BofA probably worked an average of 55 hours.
Yeah I worked like 45 hours avg last year at Bofa. Coincidentally got a 45k bonus, meanwhile my friend at Moelis worked 90 hours avg and got $200k+ bonus. Honestly fair
~215-240k TC working 45 hours? No one can complain with that.
Sounds like 90% of the exit ops people ask about... "Where can I work 40-50 hours a week with 250k TC?"
Nostrum nemo ut laboriosam sapiente rerum cum. Praesentium odio quia facere maxime corporis laudantium et culpa.
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