Sales Trader or go to Sales or Trading/lateral to something else?

Serious question that I am trying to figure out with my career right now. I sit on a desk that provides the opportunity to be a sales trader rather than being either in sales or in trading. 

I bring that up because I am told of how much opportunity there is on our desk and how much money can be made. While hearing this, I see what the average base salary is for someone in the same position as me, but they are working in sales for a bank. 

I'm wondering if low pay is something normal for this type of role or something I should be concerned with and start looking for a new role. 

For context, I have a lot of posts on here that pretty much have documented my questioning of some things but the main point now is stagnant growth, low pay (65) no bonus, and no performance review. Meanwhile, management is wfh most of the year. 

I took the role on the explanation that low pay is common because the opportunity for profit is very high and profit share with the PnL is great. But I have had to go into savings every month for rent and groceries and am reaching a point where I soon won't be able to afford my job anymore. (I live in a high col city).

Is this pay normal? Is this a similar experience to others who started off as sales traders? Or is this something that should be left behind and commit to finding a new role that will pay more?

1 Comments
 

In molestiae laborum magnam mollitia earum. Non sint ab neque eveniet adipisci omnis. Asperiores enim hic incidunt numquam quam doloremque qui. Iusto et aperiam sit eos non rem reprehenderit. Illo dolorem nihil facilis voluptatem iure ut ut facilis.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
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...”