Am I Getting f***ed?
Just got bonus and next-year salary info, and as I'm not a seasoned veteran of the trading industry, I'm wondering if I got screwed. I work at a good-sized firm in Chicago, trained for a year and have been trading actively for almost a year, but after all that got a tiny bonus and have gotten no pay raise since starting.
Total comp for last year was $85K after two years at a good firm. Am I getting f***ed? It sure feels like it.
Yes, you are being f*cked, but a lot of people are in the same boat this year based on conversations with friends at other shops. But that's not going to make you feel any better.
With the economy stabilized and growing again (albeit slowly), I expect to see a lot more turnover in the business as people jump ship to better jobs. Now is the time to keep an eye on the job market. The cycle is young and it's better to get on board with the good companies earlier rather than later.
I think everyone who's been through more than one cycle is still a little shell-shocked at the severity of this past one (who didn't think at one point everything was going to zero?), but things are starting to look up again. Find a firm where they are looking forward to the future and growing.
If you were happy with your bonus and 2011 base, then you are already at one of those firms (or too young to know any better.)
p.s. I really sound like a grizzled old man in this post.
what would an average size bonus for a new trader at a good firm be?
It really depends on the role of the trader at that shop. At one end of the spectrum, you have traders that just execute trades directed by PMs with the objective to reduce trading costs as much as possible. At the other end, traders can be expected to generate alpha and are given more freedom (with more expected out of them). Pay will depend upon where you are on that scale.
What's your P&L?
say you are averaging between 30,000 up or down any given day on average.
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