What's it like to be a 1st yr analyst at Goldman Sachs? Two 22 y/o girls I know

I met two senior girls touring a college I got into. They're both graduating next month and will become analysts at Goldman Sachs in Manhattan. Google says they're probably going to make $10k signing bonus, $80k base, and maybe another $20k-40k bonus in December - is that pretty accurate? Their gig is basically the #1 job every college gunner wants?

 

Most bulge brackets pay that. I believe Goldman pays analyst bonuses in the summer, not in January, but could be totally wrong. Traditionally, most bulge brackets pay a $10k signing bonus, $85k annual base, and either a $25-30k stub in January, or a full year bonus based on performance in June/July (end of the first year). 2nd bonus situation is better as the bonus is based on performance, not a standard stub amount.

 

So wait, they begin right after graduation in June/July - as I assume most grads have at least a few weeks off before starting? Then in their first year they get a bonus in January 2019 AND another end of year bonus in June/July 2019 (completion of first year)?

 

No.

Some banks put analysts on a calendar year cycle, which means they are "first years" for 6 months then get a pro-rated stub bonus. This would then mean their first full bonus would be the following ~jan at the end of their second year.

Other banks put them on a summer cycle where they are first years for a full year and get a full bonus in the summers until they're promoted to Associate (where they then follow what the calendar year banks would do, i.e. associate 0 for a bit til dec, stub, then full year bonus the next jan).

 

How does a GS signing bonus work? These girls interned at GS last summer, so I assume they were given full-time job offers in August 2017. Do you get the signing bonus in August 2017 or at graduation May 2018 or not until you actually start the job in June/July 2018?

 

I would imagine before they actually start, given that signing bonus can be interchangeable with relocation bonus. And your schedule for the second bonus is off. They get their year-end bonus after the fiscal year end for the company (not sure when exactly that is for GS), not one year after their particular start date. Everyone in the company gets their bonus at the same time, regardless of when they started (although it will obviously be pro-rated for those who have not worked there for the full fiscal year).

 

Those salary figures are for investment banking analysts and are the highest paid positions in the firm for recent grads. But that is only one of many positions open to recent grads. They could be working in trading, private wealth management, operations, internal accounting, compliance, HR, or really anything else. They could be a secretary for all you know. So odds are, no, they are probably not making $110-130k unless you are talking about a target school (i.e. Ivy League) where it is very common to get jobs like this.

 

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