Does it still make sense to start a career in London? I guess the first year should be 80k GBP all-in vs ~100k EUR. COL is also significantly higher than in Frankfurt or Amsterdam. So what's the major advantage of London?
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In London you're close to the fire. Especially Amsterdam, but also Frankfurt: mainly satellite offices with less networking opportunities and less visibility for the bonus pool. In addition: London looks better on resume for exit and more exit opportunities as well.
80k GBP in first year? Isn't it closer to 60k? (ok maybe if it includes a signing bonus And in Amsterdam there's no way you'll earn 100k EUR as an analyst.
But as the other person rightfully pointed out, London is still better in terms of networking opportunities + looks better on the resume.
Additionally, if for whatever reason it is difficult for you to land an IBD job in London straight away, lateralling from Amsterdam or Frankfurt to London is a very common path as well.
Street is usually 50k base + 10k sign on +20-40k bonus depending on the year/bank/bucket. So you can effectively rack in 100k at a BB
I haven't heard of that many banks in London giving out sign-on bonuses anymore?I thought they primarily gave analysts relocation budgets of PS1-3k?
Analysts start out between PS50-65k (excluding bonus)with elite boutiques being on the higher end of that scale. I used to have colleagues in Amsterdam and they would earn 40-45kEUR first year. Frankfurt is more comparable to London in terms of pay.
Best paid places in Europe for IB for first-year analysts is Geneva, Zurich, Oslo, Stockholm, London in that order. The first four does require you to be fluent in the local language though, and those job markets are beyond competitive.
Edit: All of this is excluding bonuses. The different countries have different ways of taxing bonuses, but I would expect total comp to be somewhat similar in terms of orde. If you are in the top bracket in London you would probably be above the Nordics and on par with Switzerland. However, I think the average is slightly lower and I know that avg starting salary is lower.
And take in mind that the cost of living in Switzerland is by far the highest in Europe. You indeed earn more, but your purchasing power parity will be lower compared to someone with the same job working in, let's say, Amsterdam or Frankfurt.
Edit: Dutch banks tend to pay their analysts anywhere between €40k and €65k as far as I know. Satellite offices from international banks pay more than this.
Any idea on how much boutiques would pay in NL? For example Houlihan and Jefferies have an office in Amsterdam.
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