How many years are spent at the Associate level?

Hey Monkeys,

How many years are typically spent at the Associate level before promotion to VP? It seems like it differs from firm to firm and competency of the individual, but is it safe to say as follows:

Analyst: 2-3 years Associate: 2-3 years

Thus, are there many 28 year old IB VPs out there?

12 Comments
 
Best Response

Its generally 3.5 years. When you graduate B-School or are direct promoted to analyst it is usually with a July start so the calendar looks like:

July 1 - Dec 31: Associate 0 Jan 1 - Dec 31: Associate 1 Jan 1 - Dec 31: Associate 2 Jan 1 - Dec 31: Associate 3 Jan 1 - forward: VP 1

At the analyst level some banks are doing 2-2.5 year promotes (I believe at Citi analysts are promoted to Associate after 2.5 years and then spend a whole year as an Associate 0, hence 2.5 years as an analyst and theoretically 4 as an Associate).

Thus putting this together, assuming you graduate college as a 22 year old, the fastest you could be a VP is probably 28-29 on a normal track.

 

What a contrast from the biotech industry, it takes five to ten years just to make it to manager.

Want to Lose the body fat, keep the muscles, I can help.
 

Aut eum dolores expedita qui. Sint vel sint in aut.

Voluptas et consequatur quia. Ut quisquam ea pariatur atque iusto et. Cum aut alias incidunt a.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 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

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

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

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”