10 Years' Comp Progression Across IB, PE, Corporate Roles
Quiet Friday after a successful IC yesterday and for the first time actually mapped out my comp progression over the course of the first decade of my career. Figured I'd share it here on WSO (#s rounded a bit) + misc. rambling thoughts. Started off w/ a pretty standard three years in banking as an A2A:
- AN1: 85 base + 50 bonus + 10 signing = 145
- AN2: 90 base + 70 bonus = 160
- AN3: 95 base + 110 bonus = 205
Then like most IB analysts made the jump to PE and was lucky enough to have a couple offers to choose from. Competing PE offer I turned down offered 100 base + 150 bonus and some minimal carry, at a firm in the same sector that I did banking (T1 city). Ended up picking a fairly unique firm with a really flexible / opportunistic mandate and stronger brand name, as at the time like many people on this board in their earlier years had more of an eye on prestige (same T1 city). Really wasn't focused on WLB at all and grinded a ton during this stint, which was more brutal than my IB stint. Ignoring stub portion after banking:
- ASO1: 135 base + 130 bonus + 10 relo = 275
- No carry, no co-invest
- Sr. ASO1: 150 base + 160 bonus = 310
- Still no carry, but could co-invest @ fund level (no leverage)
After 2.5 years was really burned out and went down the corporate route, in part for WLB and also to try something new and see if I liked being in an operator seat:
- Sr. Finance Mgr 1: 185 base only
- Sr. Finance Mgr 2: 210 base only
Quickly realized the corporate life wasn't for me and the $ / hr at the company I was at wasn't great. Work wasn't as interesting and while I worked a bit less, was far more than 40 hrs / wk and nowhere near worth the haircut in comp. Did exercise some options on my way out, but those will likely end up worthless. Knew I wanted to go back into finance and at this point in my life was pretty over consistent 80+ hr work weeks. Prioritized culture and WLB in my search and ended up in what is effectively an allocator seat at a family office, although we're still able to do some direct deals on top of standard LP co-investments which helps keep my day to day more interesting. Three years in, T1/2 city depending on who you talk to:
- Sr. ASO1: 160 base + 100 bonus + 25 signing = 285 + 35 phantom carry
- Sr. ASO2: 185 base + 145 bonus = 330 + 40 phantom carry
- VP1: 225 base + 150 bonus = 375 + 55 phantom carry
- Firm just rolled out a co-invest program where we can invest deal by deal w/ 3:1 leverage
Do these #s stack up to where somebody who stayed ten years in IB or PE would be? Definitely not and I'm sure there are some posters here who scoff at this comp level when you could realistically be clearing 1M+ now. Honestly even for myself, if somebody had asked me five years post-college what I'd be making now my guess would be more like minimum 750. The break point in my career for when I stopped prioritizing comp and prestige is pretty obvious though and I do have to admit there certainly were times that I was frustrated it took four years to make more in cash comp than I did before my corporate jump (which in retrospect was a bit of a mistake). But now love my current seat and am hoping to stay for a while. At the end of the day there are more important things in life than money, I make far more than the vast majority of Americans, and generally only work ~50 hrs / wk. Pretty frequent poster here but posting anon to give myself some privacy. Happy to answer questions as they come up.
Thanks for sharing. Grass is always greener - you obviously could have stayed in banking and be making $600k+ as VP/Director but could’ve / would’ve and you likely would have burned out given some of your commentary.
Nothing to be mad about as family office roles are THE exit opp
Oh yeah I definitely would've been deeply unhappy and burned out, no regrets from a lifestyle and personal happiness perspective.
OP -- how does your phantom carry work?
Thank you for sharing, this is quite insightful.
Analyst 2 here also on the Allocator side of the business. Mostly working on Private Credit primaries / co-invest.
Base: $95k
Bonus: $30k
Hours: 50 - 70 hours a week
YOE: 1.5
HCOL City (eg. LA, NY, SF)
Am I underpaid? Any tips on how to bring career growth / compensation growth or even negotiate a bit during an EOY Review for an analyst?
Unfortunately not the best person to ask since I was never an analyst while in an allocator seat, but that pay on a standalone doesn't immediately stand out as terrible vs. industry average, especially if you're at like a pension or public state plan which often pay peanuts, and even some of the consultants like Cambridge don't pay that well.
But if I had to make a call, those hours do seem on the higher end for that pay and you could for sure find a higher comp job at a family office or some larger private E&Fs (ex is this entry level Stanford analyst position, $103-115k base w/ unknown bonus https://careersearch.stanford.edu/jobs/fall-2025-investment-analyst-26679).
If you take a look at allocatorjobs.com (recommend signing up for their email blasts which are free) they often post salary ranges which might be a helpful gauge.
And how I'd potentially approach negotiations would depend quite a bit depending on what type of allocator you are at. Some places will have quite rigid comp bands w/ basically no ability to negotiate, and always more difficult earlier on in your career.
That seems light for HCOL. For reference, while we don't have analysts, the ASO1s (hired with 2-4 YOE) at our family office are at $250-265k TC depending on performance / bonus %. Hours are also lighter than yours, would estimate 45-60/wk. There's no good way to get a meaningful increase besides a reset of the comp structure, which would come from the top brass when they can't hire, or to look around. Though, if you have clear visibility on career path and you like what you see at the senior levels of your firm, then at the end of the day, the delta in the amounts you make as an analyst/associate are insignificant in terms of the grand scheme of your career.
Sounds like Stepstone and yes you are being underpaid. You can transfer to FO, E&F, or pension and make like 50% more. Consider staying to go to Business School cause then you can skip the CFA which sucks balls and get promoted more easily.
Year 1 was 120k -> Y5 350k -> Y10 750k
Now it’s shifting more to carry/equity and slow cash increases
Thanks for sharing and interesting to read. How was your transition from $310k comp back down to $185k - any significant lifestyle changes you had to make?
Best
Wasn't actually terrible since my base went up so managing day to day finances actually got easier and I had pretty much always just saved all of my bonus and then some. Did mean I saved much less especially as the startup I joined did not have any 401k matching. Did try to be a bit more frugal across the board though to offset slightly (nothing major such as not going on vacations or changing the quality of them, but cutting back on how frequently I'd go out to fancy dinners and like not buying a new watch which I would sometimes do when getting a bonus check).
I don't have an answer to your question but am currently in a PE role as an associate in a smaller market and very strongly considering moving out of M&A and into FP&A/strategic finance for similar reasons you initially left. Can you elaborate on why you thought the corporate finance pivot was a good move for you other than WLB (unless WLB was the major if not sole motivator)? Obviously the role was found to be monotonous but do you think if it was at a different company or profile of role (eg, maybe your role leaned too much on the accounting side than finance or vice-versa) you would have found it to be a better fit? It also sounds like you maybe worked more than you anticipated and I'm curious to understand if in hindsight there were red flags on that being the case when you were interviewing.
I genuinely did want to give it a go in an operating seat and that's something I often tell people who are curious about making a switch themselves - to not do it unless they can see a potential path to that being a LT career for them and not doing it purely for WLB reasons (maybe a bit diff if they want to pivot to corp dev, vs. corp fin or strat fin).
A big part of why I did want to try an operating role was I felt like I was always on the outside looking in and never a true expert in a single company, and wanted to give that a try (plus becoming a CFO sounded like it could be cool). Realized that was not what I enjoyed and that I missed the intellectual satisfaction of building investment theses and learning about new investment opportunities all the time, and interacting with different management teams and other investors.
Maybe to put it a bit differently, even if I had better hours in that role I'm almost 100% sure I would've made the same switch back to finance, unless it really was some crazy chill place where I only worked 30 hrs / wk or I got lucky in being absolutely paid from equity.
I will say I targeted finance teams run by people with prior banking or PE and to a lesser extent consulting exp and not just those run by career FP&A or accounting individuals, which probably meant slightly worse lifestyles but to your point meant I would be far less likely to be stuck in a function that was treated as just accounting and reporting - for sure would've hated that type of work.
Thanks for sharing, this was a good post and I think your type of story is quite common from what ive seen.
life gets in the way at some point (family, w/l balance, disinterest in career, burnout) and people end up in some sort of intersection where they give back some work in exchange for a portion of their life back.
Dont feel bad about it, youre doing a good job and right where youre supposed to be.
For sure, everyone thinks they're invincible in their early 20s and that they'll always be able to suck up the grind but then priorities change!
How did you find the family office role? Did you just cold email and network? What was the interview process like
Leveraged my network from before I went corporate, got referred in to an ongoing process. Interview process was pretty standard with a phone screen, then video interview, then case study and going through a hiring panel.
Thanks for sharing OP. Was the corporate role in CorpDev or something else? Curious because I made a move from IB to Corporate and currently thinking of next roles and enjoying the more capital markets adjacent corporate roles but not the traditional accounting/budgeting/etc type roles.
Following
Not corp dev. Strat fin, so not pure FP&A but had to do some of that work still.
How do you delineate the day-to-day responsibilities between the two? I've seen ex-bankers and ex-consultants join these strat fin roles but sometimes they have m&a like corp dev, sometimes it seems pretty much the same as FP&A maybe with some sort of capital allocation component. Trying to fully understand how to analyze these opportunities.
AN 1 IB BB: $150k total comp
An 2 IB EB: $230K
PE As 1: $320k
PE As 2: $380k
Now unemployed for ~6 months looking for another PE role
Delete
Pretty cool path. I also think family office roles are one of the best roles in finance.
Could you clarify how the co-invest with leverage works? Maybe a simple illustration to understand what the family office provides you and how it impacts your return/risk on a given investment
Leverage co-investing is pretty straightforward—it works just like leveraging any other investment (e.g., stocks).
In a 3:1 structure, for every $1,000 you invest, the firm provides an additional $2,000—typically at very low interest or even interest-free, as it’s often offered as an employee benefit. This brings your total capital investment to $3,000. If the investment achieves a 3x return (ignoring fees and interest for simplicity), the total value grows to $9,000. After repaying the $2,000 loan, you walk away with $7,000.
Of course, the downside is that if the investment underperforms and MOIC falls below 1x, you’ll owe the firm money. That said:
Firms give you recourse loans ? We don’t have recourse loans but you can lose what you put
As a close mentor told me: "Careers are long. Life is a marathon, not a sprint."
Had a similar thought recently as well, having also wrapped up the better part of my first decade in the professional world. Younger me probably thought comp would be higher, at least in terms of cash. Though I count myself lucky to find a role/team I actually enjoy and can envision in a long-term capacity with enough tangential opportunity to invest/advise on the side or pivot, if wanted.
What are your biggest regrets? What do you wish you knew 10 years ago— be it careers, family etc ?
No real regrets on the career front given I'm really happy with where I'm at today, but do have some "what ifs" - biggest one being what if I had taken a different corporate job, although I ultimately think I would've pivoted back to finance regardless.
If I could give 10 years ago me some advice I think the #1 thing would be to prioritize keeping in touch with friends and family more. Maybe romanticizing things a bit too much, but this is partly informed by some personal life events that have really made it clear how precious life is, and that while careers are long life is short. Came across this Twitter thread a few years ago that really embodies what I'm trying to convey: https://x.com/punk6529/status/1507787390114488322?lang=en. Short version is that it's really easy to say "next time" if you have the opportunity to spend time with friends or family (especially if you don't live in the same city) but for some reason decide not to (too tired, busy with work, etc.), if you really think about how many times you'll actually see them again before one of you dies and what skipping out on that 1x means from a % standpoint, maybe you should reconsider passing up that opportunity.
Luckily haven't had anything as drastic as skipping out on drinks with an old friend passing through town and saying no, then they die a month later in some horrific car accident, but do wish I had taken advantage of more of those opportunities in the past. Now I try to prioritize these personal interactions a lot more.
I was IBD first year analyst class in 2015. Did my 2 years as an analyst and switched over to a $4-5 Bn PE fund. Have been here ever since. Just finished my third year VP and was promoted to Principal in January.
I was a junior associate for half of 2017, 2018, and 2019; all in was ~$320K annually, call it 50% base / 50% bonus
Senior associate years of 2020 and 2021 were $425K and $550K all-in, respectively
VP years of 2022-2024 my all-in was $600-615K annually, so relatively through those years. I also have about $5.5MM in DAW carry.
Married with kids now.
How was wlb/stress during aso years?
you definitely won in life, at age 32 with kids is amazing
Last 3 years VP2/3 and SVP has been about 600/675k/775k
Carry is very high fancy numbers but let’s see where we get to in reality
IB Analyst 1: 207.5
IB Analyst 2: 195
PE Aso 1: 200
PE Aso 2: 220
PE Sr. Aso 1: 250
If you don't mind me asking, what's your AUM / city?
AUM is 1.5b, Midwest city
IB Analyst 1: $160k
IB Analyst 2: $180k
IB Analyst 3: $185K
IB Associate 1: $320K
Corp Strategy Manager: $155k
Hate my life and regret finance
Is there long term vis into making $1m / yr for you at some point?
And so I contribute.
IB An 1 180
Analyst 2 200
PE Aso1 320
PE Aso2 340
PE SrAso1 400
PE VP1 500
PE VP2 probably 600
I would love to get into something that’s more like 400ish at 50h per week and has vis into ~1m by your 40s/50s without being as insane as grass fed PE
Have your hours improved as you’ve progressed / gotten senior at least slightly?
Dude what’s your advice for getting the senior associate/ VP promo … is it the kind of thing where either you’re good or sometimes it just sucks to suck?
Eaque nemo at et possimus id expedita. Sunt voluptas in ut dolor rerum. Earum velit eos est ut sed numquam. Autem expedita dolores molestiae sapiente.
Velit vero est omnis pariatur corrupti. Voluptatem sunt minus modi eveniet voluptas blanditiis aut.
Id temporibus repudiandae dolore officiis blanditiis rerum aliquam. Illo amet tempore molestiae quas aut. Ut reiciendis nihil qui occaecati expedita culpa.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Assumenda quam dolorem minus. Vero necessitatibus voluptates et nulla. Temporibus ab et ipsa quidem accusamus alias rerum qui.
Cumque et modi sint rerum dolore. Sint et quo aut. Consequatur et libero velit voluptate dignissimos eos. Nihil fuga placeat atque quod vero. Reiciendis beatae error voluptatem non qui nulla dolore. Aut placeat aliquid minima ab molestiae. Cupiditate voluptatem alias eum et ut.