Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan & beyond

If you’re breaking your back trying to get into a top bank like Goldman Sachs or JPMorgan, following your dreams of crazy salaries and crazier bonuses, then hold your horses. You might be making a mistake.

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A recent report by finance influencer Litquidity makes the situation clear: no, you don’t have to go to a big bank to make bank. In fact, you might be missing out on some bank by working at one.

As expected, Litquidity’s report found that the best compensation was at elite boutiques. These were far and away from rivals: following the nine-year trajectory in the table below, a third-year Vice President at an elite boutique would have earned a cumulative $3.99m in their career, compared to $3.29m at a middle market firm and $3.34m at a bulge bracket firm.

The majority of that difference, interestingly, was not at VP-level. Three years as an elite boutique VP would earn you $288k more than three years as a bulge bracket VP, but the three years as an associate before that would net you $295k more, despite overall pay being lower.

Also interesting was that middle market firms paid (almost) on par with bulge bracket banks. Across three cumulative years as a bulge bracket VP or associate, you out-earn your middle market peers by just 2.3%. As an analyst, they out-earn you by 2.3%.

Nonetheless, not everyone was delighted. “People are not happy,” one Evercore analyst told Litquidity. The boutique was “not paying the premium” that it used to, “but hours have increase measurably, and culture has worsened measurably.”

Others were happier; “considering not quitting for private equity now,” one Centerview analyst said. Although he didn’t state any change in the firm’s working hours or culture, Centerview did recently top an industry ranking from Vault on the former.

Outside of the boutiques, sentiment was broadly similar. “Solid, but could have been better,” said a VP at Citi. “I was happy with my bonus,” said one JPMorgan associate, but “overall, bonuses were so-so.” A Goldman associate was furious, saying that bonuses were “terrible,” and that “everyone pissed.”

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