How lucrative is being a tier 1 PMC?

Say I have the capital and connections to start my own Blackwater/Academi/Aegis type shop, how lucrative would it be?

Some assumptions:

Combat personnel headcount: low 4 digits

Support/non-revenue generating headcount: high 3 digits

Overhead: Software, training facility, surveillance (drones, satellites, etc)

Comp: AN1 comp (MCOL equiv) for entry level revenue generating seats, AS1 to SVP comp for senior revenue generating seats.


How large would the typical contract be? (Say for instance, kill x number of brown kids in village y within z hours) Are there speculative bubbles to capitalize on? (lots of dead Russians in Ukraine, gets contracted by VDV/spetsnaz type groups using Rubles)

1 Comments
 

Voluptatem impedit porro ab et soluta sunt eaque. Ducimus minima eos vero ut autem quidem. Possimus rem ipsam cum aut est corrupti dolores. In sed quia quidem aspernatur. Distinctio illum accusantium facilis aliquam. Quae occaecati voluptas voluptate dicta.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2025 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 08 99.5%
  • Goldman Sachs No 98.9%
  • Moelis & Company 04 98.4%
  • Citigroup 11 97.8%
  • Houlihan Lokey 08 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2025 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 10 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company No 98.9%
  • RBC Royal Bank of Canada 03 98.4%
  • Houlihan Lokey 15 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2025 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 09 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Houlihan Lokey 11 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs No 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2025 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $321
  • Associates (60) $237
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (9) $210
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $167
  • 2nd Year Analyst (33) $166
  • 1st Year Analyst (100) $145
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (102) $103
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

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...”