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A salary question

I know VPs who have made 7 figures and I know Directors that make a lot less than the 7 figure mark. Some skill, some luck. Definitely survivorship bias in the sample of people who are making that kind of money.

Anyhow, the biggest issue here is the idea that somehow this job makes you a shoe-in for a good junior trading seat at a major investment bank in NYC. Knowing how the hiring process generally works for juniors at these places, I would be highly skeptical that this provides the kind of 'in' that is being suggested.
 
I would not take the bet.
True that a full trader at a director level makes 7 figures. But it takes more than being half decent to get to a director. It is a losing bet to be lured into a position thinking of a prospect after x years, reasons which i explain below:
1) For an mfe candidate, trading is a very different game compared to the program they are enrolled in or they are are set out to do. (I am assuming a sellside trader and not buyside where the lines are more blurred especially for quant funds). As a sellside trader you dont sitdown hours writing a code or coming up with equations to model. You make markets and take stress. (And constantly communicate and try to take fast and smart decisions). Some quanty folks excel in that environment and some dont. I have seen both kinds. You dont know it unless you have experienced first hand. So the prospect above asks to take a bet on an unknown terrritory with the payouts also being stochastic and negatively skewed.
2) i just dont understand the business of taking a paycut for a particular role, unless it is your own startup. I have never heard of a established firm giving a paycut to employees when they move from nyc to say charlotte. A firm offering to pay lower for same role is taking a hedge on its positions and so should you.
3) Trader compensations at junior levels (associate/vp) are an exaggerated myth now. Top IT companies like fb/google/amzn pay as much if you are a decent technologist and ML guy.

Bottomline, in my opinion it is great being a trader or trying to become one but not worth taking a significant paycut or starting career at a much lower pay just so that you get to call yourself a trader.


I agree with all your points...except this one:

2) i just dont understand the business of taking a paycut for a particular role, unless it is your own startup. I have never heard of a established firm giving a paycut to employees when they move from nyc to say charlotte. A firm offering to pay lower for same role is taking a hedge on its positions and so should you.

Many firms even within NYC pay lower for the same job. Equivalent banks have different PnL Cut %. So you could move from RBS to MS and have a different pay for the exact same job different % cut.

In addition, large established firms out of NYC, San Fran have much different pays for the same basic junior positions.

It is obviously a bet... and it is someone betting on themselves... buy side in general is very stress-free relative to sell-side. Night and day. If you are outside of NYC its even more so. So end of the day it comes down to the individual to capitalize on the opportunity and make something of it.


honestly.... the person might not even want to go to a sell side bank and get on the path to becoming a PM on the buyside.


The point to compare is... Would you rather take a front office job in a NON NYC location for lower pay compared to a Back office or Middle office job in NYC for higher pay. That is core comparison here. Obviously if someone can get a front office job at a large investment bank in NYC why would you take something in a non-core market. The path from a middle office to back office to front office is very tough which is why I think this is appealing.
 
I know VPs who have made 7 figures and I know Directors that make a lot less than the 7 figure mark. Some skill, some luck. Definitely survivorship bias in the sample of people who are making that kind of money.

Anyhow, the biggest issue here is the idea that somehow this job makes you a shoe-in for a good junior trading seat at a major investment bank in NYC. Knowing how the hiring process generally works for juniors at these places, I would be highly skeptical that this provides the kind of 'in' that is being suggested.

Nothing is a shoe in. It is all dependent on the person and the drive they have. The connections can be made but converting that into a position is dependent fully on the individual.
 
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