Real discussion on compensation as a highschooler
So I've made posts before on here, and have been an active "lurker" for quite some time now. That being said, I had some questions about finance. I was watching Rareliquid on compensation and he threw out this calucation, 80 hours a week for 50 weeks (assuming 2 weeks vacation) for like 225k (don't remember the exact number) and it came out to 225k/4000 hours so hourly rate of 56.25. Now, I understand that not every week is 80 hours, it varies but how much is the pay? And is it really worth it? I see all these dudes making like 150-200 all in as an analyst and if your living and New York, and after taxes, it doesn't seem like all that much?
There also seems to be the light at the end of the tunnel; becoming an MD/SVP or something like that. How much do they make? Can anyone comment on that?
This is just me as a high school hardo trying to figure if IB/PE/HF is worth my time compensation wise. For context, I grew up (still growing up) in a very upper/middle class family. My mom is a real estate agent for Sothebys and my dad is a anesthesiologist at a big hospital, net family income is above 500k (big house lotta cars whatnot). Does top tier finance give you this level of wealth? I don't know what would be comparable to a big city because I live in the suburbs.
Anyways, Thanks for the time!
Btw, the Rareliquid thing was their just because 56-60$ an hour seems very low
“150-200k doesn’t seem like that much”? Unsure whether to label this innocently naive or totally insufferable.
What do you want me to say? “Yeah, how can we expect 21 year olds to live off 200k per year :(“
Your parents have done very well for
themselves each earning 250k per year (500k household), after what I assume has been a 30+ year career, you’d be matching that straight out of college with fewer expenses than them (mortgage, kids).
There are hundreds of forum posts here talking about comp ladder in every finance field and even in the rareliquid videos you watch, he mentions the compensation ranges for each rung of the ladder.
Anyway, to answer your question: in general the range is something like this in the US:
VP (I.e. age ~28): 500-650
D (I.e. age ~32): 600-800
MD (I.e. age ~36): 700-1m+
These numbers are a quick WSO search away, same for HF, PE, any other job related to finance.
Good luck.
Second this
I think I see where he’s coming from; 200k per year is definitely a lot but is pouring that much blood, sweat, and tears into banking worth the money. Since banking high finance roles pretty much destroy WLB, i think the question might better be rephrased as “Is $200k living in NY actually worth the time I’m sacrificing?” When someone in high school who has never actually made any money at all looks at it like that and is only looking at high finance roles, salary expectations tends to get pretty inflated.
Yes! this is definitely what I meant. TYSM
Also real quick, is this before or after taxes?
Before
Sorry I didn't mean to come off as totally insufferable and pretentious, I was just also wondering about the pay to work ratio not the compensation, because on the main reasons people want to banking is the high starting salary which I get. But the 60$ an hour for 80 hour work weeks seems like a lot of work, and not a lot of time, given that various other jobs pay 60 an hour, (yes less hours but more stimulating/work life balance) idk
Similar boat to you…
Thinking about pay per hour once you have a full time job is mostly irrelevant
You work, you sleep, and you fill the rest of your time with other things that you enjoy
As a high schooler, I assume you’ve had jobs where you are payed hourly. Work 10 hours a week, $20/hr. $200 a week for spending money on the weekends with friends etc.
A career is different. Especially as your rise the ranks you aren’t payed for your hourly work (like an hourly job (food service, tutoring, camp counselor, other high school jobs)), you are payed for what you accomplish and how much revenue you produce.
Ultimately it’s up to you to figure out what kind of work/life balance and income level is best. Everyone has a different perspective.
Bullying is sometimes needed, this is further proof. Go play with your friends and pick up chicks like a normal high schooler. I swear new banking juniors keep getting more and more hardo + nerdy.
Given the competitive nature of the roles I feel like as a high schooler you need to be set on IB already to have a decent shot at making it in, no?
Not really, many of the people who end up in banking roles decide they want to do it in freshman or sophomore year. What matters more than anything is your school.
Not a terrible thing to start thinking about career, but would make sure you also stay / do social activities as well. In most business/finance it’s important to have good people skills, especially longer-term and at the more senior levels in banking. Outside of the fact that I enjoyed being in greek life, I also think it helped with social skills that have translated into banking. Not saying you have to be in greek life but do things where you meet and connect with different people and different personalities
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