My Offer
Got offer for a summer analyst role with a small PE firm in SF. Except it's not a 3-month stint but a 6-month co-op.
Pay is 20/h. Hours according to founder is 8 to 6 Monday to Friday, and they try to be cognizant about working on weekends (unless there are live deals and transactions). So, to me, this sounds like ~50h per week.
I feel like 20/h is low esp. for a PE firm in SF (albeit its a small and growing one. ~200M AUM currently). Should I negotiate? or is it low cos my hours are gonna add up? trying to get some opinions as to how much I should expect to get paid.
also in my offer it says that under california law i cant work more than 40h per week unless given permission by the company in writing. so is it typical for them to give me that permission to work more, and would my hours be closer to 60-80h per week vs 50h per week?
I would say it's pretty typical for a fund that size. Is it in person or remote?
Pretty sure it's in-person (founder sort of expected me to be in-person based on our convo) but ngl cannot tell from the offer itself. is there any specific words I should be ctrl+F'ing to find this out lol.
what would be my wiggle room to negotiate?
Also are they gonna cover your relocation expense (hotel and flights if you are not from the area)
Had a similar offer in undergrad (6 month coop, VC, in NYC) for 800/week regardless of hours and 10.5k signing / upfront stipend for living expenses. Think you should negotiate something along those lines
thanks for the advice. so the signing bonus was basically like an almost $11/h pay bump just paid upfront right? did u go to northeastern by any chance? if so can i PM?
Yeah the 10.5k was supposed to be paid with the first paycheck; didn't go to Northeastern / end up taking the offer
It’s way too low. You should negotiate for a sign-on or bonus that can boost things up a bit. Can you handle / live on that comp for 6months? You may end up regretting it bitterly.
Just as a reference:minimum wage in SF is $16.32 and there are many opportunities that pay much more.
thank you. gonna look into this. how much do u think i could negotiate? for reference, i dont have other offers right now, but i do have a 2nd round interview this tuesday which may/may not lead to something. IDK if its final round but i know based on their pay range which they posted it pays better than this one - it's just not as relevant to investment banking which is what im hoping to get into after this co-op. and in an ideal situation i would get an investment banking co-op but i didnt manage to get that this summer. sry 4 the slight tangent there but my point is i was thinking of getting a 2nd offer and using that to negotiate a higher pay and maybe even a signing bonus for this offer. the thing is the offer deadline is a day before my interview so id have to ask for the deadline to be extended.
You need to figure out what the costs would be for you to be successful at the shop. If you are unable to find suitable (and near the office) housing and can barely afford food, it’ll be harder for you to produce good quality work. Let’s not forget commute and other expenses. The comp would be bearable for 10weeks but I don’t think it’s reasonable for half a year’s worth of service. One possibility is to shorten the time period but have the option to extend (which also gives you the opportunity to find something better). Or you can ask for something closer to $28-$35
Who cares what your pay is as an intern. Even if you were making 40/h vs 20/h is a very insignificant difference in the long run. As an example, my first PE internship was $500/week which was like $10/h. After the internship the partners intro'd me to some of their colleagues in other funds since they werent recruiting someone full time and it landed me a FT offer in PE in a MM fund right out of university.
been thinking of this side of it too. appreciate the angle.
Agree with the above. Treat it like an investment, like paying for college in a sense.
Definitely ask for more, but if you don’t get it I would still 100% go with the PE offer over something less relevant to IB.
Take out a small personal loan if you’re really hurting to buy food or commute. All nickels and dimes compared to what you’ll make in a couple of years in IB.
I also agree with the above - as an intern they are doing you a favor giving you invaluable experience and training. Do not try to negotiate unless you have other offers (not interviews) in hand, because a small fund may just tell you to get lost. My first internship paid $16/hour at a finance firm and was a huge factor in landing a BB role.
Also the California law for BB interns means they get time and a half overtime. See if your contract says anything about overtime, but for other SF interns this ends up being pretty lucrative. I doubt you'll be working 80h a week at a very small fund, 50 is about right.
This is what it says
". I will be eligible to receive overtime in accordance with applicable California law; provided, however, I acknowledge and agree that I am prohibited from working over forty (40) hours in a workweek unless expressly requested or approved in writing by the Company. "
does this mean I do get 1.5x for overtime since that's under california law?
Yes it does. That provision is just so that you don't log on from home and claim you worked 80 hours without anyone knowing or asking.
If your director asks you to stay and work on something you are 100% good to go and they will pay you no problem - you don't need some formal statement every time, just don't sit around until 11pm "just in case" like you might do in banking
That kind of pay would not sustain you in SF, without severely lowering quality of life. The only reason you would take it: no other option is available/ you have a realistic chance of leveraging this coop/ you love the firm or work.
I dont have any other option right now, and even the options I could get are not as relevant to banking. Options I could potentially get are - credit analyst at a global lending firm in NY (still interviewing), wealth management at top BB, global equity sales at another top BB. The last two I haven't even gotten interviews for yet.
I can definitely leverage this co-op down the line. founder also said if I do well enough in the co-op, he's open to hiring me FT when I graduate or even get my foot in the door with some banks the firm is well-connected to, do IB, then come back to the firm. So, opportunity-wise, definitely invaluable.
Idk if I will love the work but hopefully I do.
From an opportunity standpoint this is the best I got so no matter what I think I have to take it even tho it's all the way in SF (I'm based in Boston). I'm just looking for any wiggle room to negotiate a better offer. And IDK how they'll take it if I try to negotiate.
Let's say you ask for a hike. Assume you ask for $25/hr. Does an extra $250 in your pocket per week make a material difference? If it does, you should consider asking. Otherwise, don't risk riling them. Take up the gig, unless something better comes along, and work hard to get the owner to consider paying you more a month into the coop.
Have to say the advice going from one end of the spectrum to another is an interesting thing i didnt expect but appreciate. maybe I should explain my background a bit to see if that impacts how much I can negotiate at all? this is gonna be my first co-op and first job I have in the US. I'm from indonesia and have had internships there in 3 industries but not really relevant to investment banking. Ppl that apply to this role were required to apply with prior experience, and most firms that do co-op with my school usually prefer prior exp to be in the form of previous co-ops, not just one-off internships here and there. But I guess this firm was the exception and let me interview despite my lack of co-ops.
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