How much money do you make?

We all know a career in financial services makes some real fucking money. So how much do you make and in what way did your career change your life(if at all)?

Firm type: BB/EB/MF
Industry: IB/PE/HF
Title/Position: MD/ED/VP/AS/A
Compensation: $XXX
Savings: $XXX
Assets: $XXX

Also curious to know if it was worth it spending a good portion of your life as a monkey in a sweat shop? And if your peers or people in general have a specific perspective of you (e.g. show you more respect for what you do as a career)?If you left the industry and felt all this money wasn't worth it, would also like to hear your input.

 

Something's not adding up unless they're at some small boutique that's killing it or maybe a CVP/Q type of shop. None of the big ones are at 140k base for an analyst

 

I feel your pain bro. I work at a boutique in Canada and my base is CAD $45K, first bonus stub was $10K and they said I was doing a great job. Worst part is that my MD says he cannot afford to pay us more, yet he lives in a $7m house. Absolute sweat shop as well, and the other reason why comps is low is because they pay us for "quality of life". On top of that I've had 2 racist remarks thrown at me.   

If you find something better, just pick your shit up and go. 

 

I know someone in the same boat. $60K base and $5000 bonus at a small PE shop. He was working 100-120 hours a week. They said he was doing a great job too. Even admitted he was “grossly underpaid” when he quit. They wanted him to stay even with nothing in writing. He really liked the team but after the 5k bonus they lost all credibility. Just left to go to a EB making more than 4 times that all in. 

 

There's a huge amount of data/threads out there about how much people make in IB at different levels and banks, so I won't be specific other than to say that in the last few years I've been in the fortunate position of being at the very top of the comp ranges you might be aware of. VP3 at an EB, much less savings and assets than I really ought to have at this point because I have been living quite well and am dumb at investing. 100% worth the analyst/associate sweat if you can make it to VP, provided you're at a shop/in a team like I am where VP and above is not sweaty. If VP and above was still sweaty I think I would have burned out by now. But if it's not sweaty then it's just a super interesting job that pays great.

I don't think my peers have any elevated opinion of me, it's still not "no mortgage" money. Just a good job :)

 

sweaty means a million different things on this website, though. I've seen people saying their culture is amazing because hours are generally "only" 80. Would love a number behind how much youd estimate you work weekly.

 

Probably 45 hours a week on average over the course of a given year. I have periods where my projects are all humming along nicely and I'm doing a few hours a day living the absolute dream. Other periods where I'm working until 9 or 10 every weeknight for a couple of weeks in a row. A more standard day would be 6-8 hours, but spread over 10-12 hours with gaps in between. And then very very rarely doing midnight or later... can't even remember the last time I worked until midnight, months ago at least

Helps to have very strong Associates and very reasonable, confident, 80/20 type MDs though which I realize is pretty rare

 

As someone that's still junior, honestly, how does this happen? I can't imagine making 250k+ and not having any savings whatsoever. I dont believe I'll ever fall victim to the hedonistic treadmill. As it stands I am even looking to downsize my apartment so I can have more cash and I am barely making half what you make. 

Ive heard some MDs saving they make 7 figures with barely one years savings in the bank or in investments and these guys are in their late 50s. 

Where does all that money go?

 

For the MDs? Ex-wife, private school tuition, fully supporting a wanna-be influencer daughter.... That can burn seven figs easy.

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

Obviously, you're quite well paid in structured finance - would you mind sharing the main products you work with (i.e. RMBS/CMBS, Auto/aircraft ABS, esoteric, etc)? Also, what's your general outlook on a career in the space? It's quite niche but ABS instruments don't seem like they're going anywhere, so do you think it's a good field to go into?

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

I’m trying to hear how miserable y’all were so it can give me the courage to quit

 

Firm type: BB
Industry: S&T
Title/Position: VP, 28Y
Compensation: $450k last year
Net Worth: ~$1 mio

My net worth probably 3x last year from PA + good comp. I'm actually also a home owner. TBH looking to leave industry very soon. I think you need to be aggressive with your PA with your bonuses once you hit that 2nd year analyst/associate level. ~45 hours a week at this point in my career. Was closer to ~60 hours when I was an analyst, and just incremently got better and better.  

 

Associate 2 @ EB

Base comp: 225k

Bonus: last year (which was my first full year bonus after stub previously) was 115% of base so all in comp this year should be 450-500k before a covid increase people are expecting.

Net worth: ~700k but I was teacher before and spent half my savings from the first 6 years of my career in my MBA. Have been putting away 60% of my post tax income since I started banking.

 

Don’t be tricked into it being “sad.” It’s because we’re living. I’m associate 2 at a bank that pays above street and I have ~$200k saved and making significantly more than that.

My cheap as fuck friends have more but they also live like absolute losers while I take memorable (to say the least) vacations, have a beautiful apartment, go to all of the restaurants I like, buy myself what I want. We pretty clearly have a path to being wealthy, not trying to live off ramen right now in some shit apartment. 

 

How the fuck are y’all pulling over 200k and have no savings by the time you’re 28+? Y’all living life that good?

 

Just depends how people got there. If you have student loans when you graduate, comp progression (not everyone starts right at $120-150k off the bat), business school, HCOL (I.e. NYC) then you may be “behind” on savings. You can’t just look at a point in time, as that comp may be pretty new. 

There was a point in my career where I jumped from $350k -> $600k in a year and my savings looked a lot more like someone who had been earning $300 than the $600. 

 

IB Analyst 1:

100k base, 50-60% bonus

75k other income

~5m in illiquid assets 

No savings but I got a dope watch and shoe collection 

 

Age: 27.5

Firm type: EB

School: West Coast Target
Industry: IBD
Title/Position: Associate (A1); 2yrs Analyst IBD, 1yr Corp Dev M&A, 0.5yr Analyst/1yr Associate IBD
Compensation: Base $150; Expected 12/31 Bonus $250 (Total 2021 - $400; was promoted 1/1/2021)
Savings: Current - Liquid $150; Illiquid $100 (Total $250)

Notes: Had to pay ~$50k for college; have loaned (and never had returned) ~$15k to family (so total should be closer to $300 if family had planned for my college better...or if I'd gotten scholarships...)

 

Firm type: BB

Industry: Quant/S&T/In-business risk

Title/Position: VP2

Compensation: $175 + $125 (75% cash) last year as VP1, $200 base currently

Savings: (Incluiding wife) ~$100k cash, $1.1mm PAs, $400k 401ks

Never really was a monkey in a sweat shop, probably topped out ~52.5 hrs/wk as an Analyst 1 and down from there. Currently work 8-5 basically, 3 days/wk from home, will be 2 days/wk starting in the new year. No idea of perception of people in general but I think that most people I know outside of finance have no idea how much I make and would be shocked if they found out. 

 

So I'm likely older than most people here, married with a kid. I've run the math and I'd say that the "number" is highly variable on things like how much I want to be able to help my kid and how comfortable we want our lives to be. The number I think about when discussing retirement is more related to my target age (from a financial comfort standpoint, I could probably retire shortly after my kid goes to uni) and what if anything I want to do after I'm retired. For example, I'm thinking about being a college professor afterwards. Don't know that I'd ever truly "retire"... But ask me again in 10 years.

 

No worries this trips people up a lot on this site. At least at the two BB's Ive worked at, we follow the same hierarchy as IB/rest of the bank, so analyst->associate->VP->Director->MD. Where it gets confusing is the MD is also called the senior analyst for a stock. I usually just stick to the regular corporate structure on wall street oasis. To answer your question, I have 4 years work experience.

 

Firm type: EB
Industry: M&A
Title/Position: VP2, 30Y
Compensation: High 6 figures
Net Worth: PA (savings + retirement + crypto) low 7 figures, other assets (mostly watches/jewelry) mid 6 figures

Worth noting that I am a notoriously poor saver, but benefitted from dollar cost averaging and setting up a dd into a trading account when I was fresh out of college.

 

That’s awesome. Mid 6 figs in watches / jewelry, I wish I was that comfortable buying. I know there’s insurance and there’s a lot of people who wear expensive jewelry but I don’t feel comfortable even with a watch worth 4 figs. Constantly feeling like you gotta check for it, etc.

Simple gold chains etc are different though

 

I was fortunate enough to buy a few pieces right as the secondary market was heating up, and ended up flipping them/trading for other pieces that I wanted more. Have a good relationship with a Rolex AD that has granted me access to watches at MSRP which certainly helps. I have a gun safe and additional insurance, and store the "investment" types in a lockbox at my bank. 

 

Type: boutique

Industry: real estate and AM

Title: owner

Compensation: on papers (100k which is a lot for my region already). But I put it on company papers and write it off as paid to thousands of employees to drop the tax to 5%

Net worth: idk i am still young. don't want to look at it yet or want to remind ill one day have to retire my ship

Age: younger than Pizz

 

BB type bank

VP

All in 500k

Hours not bad since I have competent juniors and anti-facetime seniors

401k close to 750k

Cash close to 200k

Apartment and one investment property.

To be fair, I didn't have loser parents so I was able to go to an Ivy with no debt ruining my start.

EDIT: triggered the people whose parents didn’t save and live below their means I guess. Such is the snowflake / cancel culture we live in.

 
Most Helpful
Smoke Frog

BB type bank

VP

All in 500k

Hours not bad since I have competent juniors and anti-facetime seniors

401k close to 750k

Cash close to 200k

Apartment and one investment property.

To be fair, I didn't have loser parents so I was able to go to an Ivy with no debt ruining my start.

What a crap comment to throw in at the end. I’m very thankful for my “loser” parents, I learned a lot from them. 

I hope that is just a trolling joke and not representative of your attitude. If it is, you really need to grow up a bit. 

 
Controversial

I said parents not me. If you don’t live below your means and help your kids, you’re selfish and a loser in my eyes.

If you can’t help your kid pay for college or guide them to a college that’s reasonably priced, you’re a failure as a parent.

But I see parents all the time, but themselves fancy things while their kids 529 plan stays unfunded. I know I come off harsh and people get triggered when someone denigrates their folks, but truth hurts snowflake.

 

dumbest, most entitled pos post I've read in a while. My parents came from a poor, impoverished background in a developing nation with $150. My dad worked as a security guard, and my mom a cleaner, all to put towards another education here in the US. My dad was able to become a state auditor after obtaining his bachelors (a 2nd time) and masters in taxation. Now we were considered lower middle class, and my parents were not the flashy type in any sense and we lived frugally. But to suggest that they couldn't afford an ivy league education for me, is a failure on their part is mind-boggling. The failure here is your parents, and the school which clearly did not see the ailing deficies you have.

Guess what, I went to a non-target and still ended up in IB.

 

Guess you have comprehension problems. I said parents who cannot provide a debt free education or guide their kids to a debt free education in America (which has scholarships galore for the poor, cheap state schools and even community colleges) are failures.

of course I don’t think every parent can afford to pay a full Ivy League education and I never said that once.

but people are so eager to argue over the Internet they latch onto one sentence taken out of context and try to pretend that’s what someone meant.

wow you went to a non target and are IB. That literally happens to thousands of others.

I said any kid that carries student debt in this country has failure for parents. Period. Full stop. You either save for your kids education, help them get assistance to the plethora of options available in the US for the poor or guide them to a state school. Wtf is triggering all of you with non-wealthy parents. Mine has nothing too, but they weren’t selfish and lived below their means. Simple concept, expect for the whiny and selfish of America to understand.

 

What is it with people on this site and god awful comprehension skills? It’s like they read one sentence of an entire post and then build a rebuttal around that one sentence without taking into account the whole picture.

1. If what you say is true, then you were dirt poor and went to college on full merit scholarship or full financial assistance right? So you got a higher education with no debt, correct? So then I would not classify your mom as a loser. You think my point was parents who can’t pay for college are losers? Or did you read the part where I said parents who could have provided a debt free education for their kids and chose not are losers. Good thing you work in finance and not literature.

2. You really should not be motivated by random comments on a random forum. The inner fire should be borne from something else. It would be truly sad if forum comments were your main motivating factor to rise in life.

3. Single parents is an interesting topic, especially single parents with multiple children. There are of course horrible, unfair and unpredictable tragedies in life that cause someone to become a single parent. However, the majority of single parents tend to have made terrible life partner decisions. Your mom was responsible for three kids? What happened with your dad / dads?

 

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