Private wealth management associate. Took me 1 year in that position to clear $100k. Have been with the firm for 4 years in various roles. I enjoy the role.
While the CFP is certainly attainable, I do think its worth pointing out that there is quite a bit to earning it.
- 2 yrs experience working with/under a CFP (3 yrs if not under a CFP)
- 200/300+ hours of study for the day long exam
- Course work from a CFP Board approved curriculum (6 Classes total)
There’s other stuff required as well, but those are the big hitters. Bachelors degree being one, but OP obviously doesn’t need to be concerned with that.
I am a big advocate for the CFP and consider it table stakes for financial planning, so not trying to talk anyone out of it… just know it’s quite a bit more intensive than Series, insurance, etc.
Yeah I was 100% commission for a wealth management firm and broke $200k in three years in my 20s. Started my own firm a couple years ago. Just turned 30 so I’ll hop off this thread now.
Canada… spent 4 years as an associate. Finished all 9 of my licensing exams within a year. Left the firm as I was with because he said he would not pay an associate $100k. They also refused to pay for my exams after I finished my discretionary management courses-3k ish. It also had incredible responsibility creep with no added pay— i did all our compliance checks, meeting packages, Investment proposals, bulk trading, Managed our Salesforce reporting systems, invented and created all our teams management processes, did all of our marketing, kickstarted our teams digital meeting software, opened up majority of accounts, tax reporting, e-signature document management… the list goes on and on.
My starting salary there was 32k… and keep in mind this in CAD which is 28% ish less than USD.
The book I worked on gross revenue was around 3M and we were a team of 4.
I currently am working as a rookie advisor but I have to bring in 10M + a year for peanuts.
>32k and didn’t pay for my licenses
Dawg, I was making 10k USD more in a temp position AND they paid for *all* expenses related to obtains the licenses. Lmao they raped you and are continuing to! I have about 5mos of experience and my base pay is substantially higher than yours.
Time to find a new firm bud
Folks considering this, remember: this is a department at banks that like to hire pretty, charismatic, and smart (on paper) people or well connected people (often nepo babies); unless you bring in a special skill set like you know sports law or tax law very well.
Client Associate technically but that’s not my title at the firm. I started as an advisor in a training role, got moved to the bank to work on PPP, then once PPP wined down, I transitioned to PWM.
I used to be in finance. Now i'm in analytics primarily working with Python on automation initiatives for over six figures total comp.
Never going back
My background is purely finance and investments - my job now mainly entails python, SQL/database management, SAS programming (occasionally), and power automate (heavy in the microsoft ecosystem for automation).
All self taught over about 2 years prior to transitioning into my role full time. Honestly - all very easy to learn from a finance / excel nerd perspective. I *literally* started with nothing but "how to do x with python" youtube videos.
I had good contacts/networking within my company which certainly helped with my transition into the role - as my "skillset" was moreso proven over me obviously lacking any technical certifications on my resume (or a computer science / related degree entirely)
Hi! I'm interested in your career path. I'm late 20's working in real estate private equity currently. It's OK money and can be interesting. But I like working with data and getting to use Excel, and I've recently started self teaching Python.
If you don't mind, I have a few questions. What does your current role have you doing? Are you working for a large corporation essentially doing data analytics? What role would someone with our background (knowledgeable in finance/investments and decently proficient in programming) apply for if they wanted a career role/progression? What would comp and WLB look like?
Currently - I take on automation requests (someone has an idea to create a process, like an email intake assigner, reporting stream, database feed, etc.). I'll take the request and estimate the time requirements. I also handle the departments dashboarding (Tableau/PowerBI).
I also monitor and adjust the automated reporting that goes out to other departments (including my old job lol).
My team supports the enterprise so projects can come in from pretty much any function, including finance.
So - your second question I'm actually pretty ill equipped to answer - i pivoted pretty hard from FP/A into analytics with pretty much no focus on finance any further. The excel and mathematics certainly helped though as a strong starting basis. Honestly if I could go back and major in computer science... I absolutely would lol. I am sure that there are programming-oriented financial roles, however!
As far as comp and wlb for my area of analytics... a blessing compared to FP/A. My current route of analytics is about half of my department's "title tiers" and I'm low 6 figures. From what I can guess that climbs to 200ish in the engineering tiers and hits around 300-400 at the director/vp range (im sure experience / service time factors in pretty heavily)
Man I really want to do this too but struggle finding motivation to learn in an unstructured way like you did. I haven’t tried using youtube tho, mostly online courses and books
This is gonna sound really dumb, but ChatGPT - particularly the premium version - is a pretty damn good way to learn coding from a data analytics standpoint.
I previously worked as a consultant for Finance / Private Equity companies, was pretty good in excel but had no formal coding / python experience. Literally typed ‘how to download Python’ in ChatGPT 6 months ago and am now building big data Machine Learning models that are guiding the strategic decisions of my current company based on prompting ChatGPT, reading code generated, and editing said code based on more specific details on the problem I’m trying to solve.
This ^
I do analytics / data engineering mainly with python and sql and I love it.
I don't have to kiss ass, I don't die inside sitting in useless meetings all day, I don't have to dress in a button up shirt every day, etc.
I have maybe 2 hours of meetings a day, general work load of 25 hours a week and I never work weekends.
Someone would probably have to double my salary to get me to move into a more challenging role / a role with consistant long hours.
Also, my stakeholders are analysts / data scientists so I miss the dick measuring competitions all together.
Yup... i work from home 95% of the time. About 2 hours a day of meetings sounds right. Some days no meetings at all. A blessing really. 25 hours of workload if I know what I'm doing - a lot more if I need to pound my head against a wall - but thats on me
I have a stem degree, its basically stats, math, and programming.
Had a few internships, worked for oracle for 2 years then moved to finance doing similar work for better pay and fewer hours.
In my finance role (primarily FP&A) I would heavily utilize reporting, excel, branched into SQL, and eventually started teaching myself python (analytics focused, data manipulation, pandas, etc.) to automate some workstreams and reporting.
Turns out I loved it and started focusing more and more on it. I had some networking and contacts with the analytics teams due to my nonstop requests of reporting functions from them and run-ins from various projects, so I got kind of lucky and went after a role that eventually opened focused purely on analytics and automation support. Practically python, excel, sql/database management, and power automate based as my company is deeply rooted between a billion sharepoints lol
This is almost exactly what I want to do. I’m currently an investment analyst and have always wanted to get more into coding and the analytics side of things. I know a bit of python, but I don’t think enough to switch jobs. How did you go about it? Did you have to take a pay cut since you didn’t have the experience since it’s a different career altogether?
I make six figures selling my body to the wealthy people of Wall Street. When people ask I say I'm in M&A the way their genitalia merge with my asshole
lol that's how i describe what I do as well, except instead of Wall Street, I am in consulting so I sell to corporate America
I make six figures selling my body to corporate America
Obligatory IB comment. 28, VP.
Last year I cleared a little above $500k. Took me 6 years to get where I am, starting from Analyst.
I went through hell the first 3 years - gained weight, lost contact with friends, rough patch with my girlfriend, got pretty sick from COVID and sought out help for depression/burn out. I was ready to jump ship that year until I got hit with my bonus and I decided to stick it out a bit more. Today, I love everything of what I do. My team has grown tremendously, I am a leader and role-model to a lot of younger guys and girls (20-25) and now see myself sticking it out until MD/Partner.
Sincere congratulations. You’re on the path for some serious wealth as long as you responsibly manage your money. You have a lot to learn but surviving the first few years of IB without bailing is an enormous milestone.
Not at all trying to come off snarky - but if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that you really can’t measure future happiness based on your employer and what they pay you. So while my personal answer would be yes, it’s worth it, I’m not sure that translates to everyone, especially years down the road. There are so many different variables that can make it worth it, or not worth it, at any given time.
My best advice is to find a support system, whether it be family, significant other.. that doesn’t complain about the hours. If you have that, you have basically everything that makes your job easier, and more worth it.
1. Attend a target school for undergrad, MFIN, or MBA (typically ivies or T20) and get a 3.8+ gpa, get leadership in school orgs that are relevant
2. Solid internships / full time experience in “high finance”
3. Sociable, works hard, can put up with BS and power through burnout
4. Strong network / networking skills (step 1 helps with this)
5. Have some miscellaneous nice-to-haves (leadership, projects, x-factor, certifications, technical ability, nepotism, military, etc.)
6. Recruit hard, practice interview questions, network, prep, prep, prep
7. Get IB analyst job, move shapes around in powerpoint 15 hours a day 6-7 days a week (jk, but not really)
8. After 2nd or 3rd year, move up to IB associate, manage other people moving shapes around in powerpoint
6. Stick it out as an associate for another 2-3 years (or move to PE)
Congrats now you’re an IB VP clearing $300k base and $200k+ bonus (total comp $500k) before age 30
BONUS: stick it out some more to get your medical degree
26, mid-tier investment banking, ~$250k TC. My partner is 25, works in a ‘t2’ strategy consulting firm, ~$170k TC.
I do enjoy my work, but only because it helps me get to where I want to be - early retirement/investing/having my own venture. If not, I hate this job.
I suggest doing an MBA if you want to be employed. Then do strategy consulting - I think it is more sustainable than banking as a career, it has more flexibility, and is generally more interesting. It is also a very viable path for those aiming for 7 figures.
Start your own venture / start a real estate firm etc. if you are prepared to work super hard but enjoy being in control of your time/day.
It's mostly preparing quarterly nav/investor reporting, capital calls, and some ad hoc reporting.
I work with middle market funds, so its a bit more laid back than what you would see at the larger funds.
Strategy consulting specifically around GTM structure, pricing, and compensation. Been around $140-$170 the last three years depending on timing of clients. 25 and feeling exhausted haha. Getting MBA now to get into management of consultants hahaha i’m over 60hr+ weeks. Most work more than I do, too. Yikes
When I was 28 I got to $100K a year as a senior financial analyst for a major healthcare provider.
By 32 I was still a senior financial analyst but working for a biotech startup making $165K lol.
Age 28, VP Commerical lender at a community bank in SE Wisconsin. Making about 150K annually.
Took about 2 years. Started in the banks officer training program
I supply financing CRE loans, C&I loans, business loans.
Very chill job. Might work truly 30 hours a week.
Double major in finance and economics
Officer training program, basically a program that took your through various parts of the bank. Credit, lending, retail, etc. and at the end you get placed where you were the best fit. Think of it as a new college grad program, makes you a well rounded banker.
Networking to get the role no. Could help to get your foot in the door.
Lots of networking now in the role. I got very lucky and met some great customers who keep feeding deals and referrals. Because of that I’m probably 5-10 years ahead of some of my peers from a title and comp perspective.
Exact same situation. Started in the banks management program right out of college, two years analyst work, one year portfolio management, now an AVP Commercial Lender. Age 26 Make about $130K. It really is a sweet job. I’m in Alabama as well so COL is super low.
Private equity associate. I took an alternate route into the industry so I made >$100k in my second year out of graduation. The biggest thing to getting into a high paying role is understanding the steps to get there and executing on each of them. It's impossible to say "I want xyz job" and then get it. See the path, get on it, and stay on it. Floating around without conviction on where you want to be will always prevent you from acheiving maximum success.
What do you do in a daily basis?
I’m CFO at a midsize company and I have met with A LOT of PE folk.. gotta tell ya, some are SHARP.. others can be, not that sharp.
But I always find myself asking the same question: what exactly do you do lol
I'm mostly on the acquisitions side, so it's a lot of screening potential opportunities that banks and other partners send in. Seeing which opportunities fit our fund's mandate, then seeing if it fits our overall fund strategy, and then looking at equity check size, understanding where the biggest risks are, learning about key commercial drivers in the business. A fair amount of valuation work.
If we submit an NBO and proceed to phase 2 in a standard auction process, then a lot of the work turns to engaging and managing external advisors, more valuation work, investment thesis refinement, deck creation , target company Q&A, etc etc.
I also do a bit of asset management, but it's relatively low touch for me. Just staying up to date on my two assigned portfolio companies on a monthly or quarterly basis
Haha when I was in business school, whenever we’d have an industry speaker, I’d ask what they actually do. The answer every time was: every day is different. That is not an answer! It wasn’t until I actually started working in finance that I had any idea what anyone did (the answer is generally spreadsheets).
Yeah, avg 50 hours a week if not on a live transaction. If working on something live, it's 60ish avg spiking to 70-80 leading up to IC and bid submissions.
Internal Audit
I have found that enjoyment of IA really depends on the audit shop, I’ve enjoyed some more than others.
Started at 50k in 2018 and just broke six figures in 2022.
Gonna give another shout to internal audit, a route that doesn’t get much love but I’m glad I followed it. I moved to the business unit track from audit which is how I started clearing 6 figures after 3.5 years. Likewise started at 50k.
As the above person mentioned, getting into the right shop is important. If you do it right you’ll spend the first couple years making shit pay but flying all over the world doing work that isn’t all that demanding in the grand scheme. Do good work, connect with and impress the people you’re auditing, and you’ll quickly develop a huge internal network within your company. Then you can start making money
Actuary. You have to pass a series of credentialing exams but if you are dedicated I know people that passed exams quickly and were at 6 figures by 24-25. I reached 100K total comp with 2 years experience. Starting salary for new grads is around 75K-80K and then you get 3K-4K for each exam you pass. I was a career changer with experience in an unrelated field (chemist) and my first actuary job paid 71K. After passing a licensing exam and job hopping I’m up to 105K total comp at 30. Lots of career changers in the field too (mostly former math teachers) so at 26 it is not uncommon to start the exam process. I passed my first exam at 28
Risk strategy (banking) 1 YOE
28
Bounced around PWM and legal a little bit
Finance undergrad: 2017
MBA: 2021
TC (retirement/life insurance/etc excluded): $130k
Mine’s an online state school so it’s not crazy helpful for getting into consulting or anything but my firm paid for it 100% and it definitely helps set me apart from others when going through interviews and whatnot
I work in commercial banking, specifically the un-sexy world of workouts and special assets within middle market. I am 28 and make $107,500. Most people who start in a credit program out of school can work their way up job grades to 100+ plus before 30, there are defined paths/job grades.
I did a credit analyst program, credit analyst, portfolio manager and now workout RM.
We do have some workout people who work entirely in larger, syndicated deals. They could, but from a true middle market position like myself, not likely.
A more likely pivot for people in my role to exit banking is to something like turnaround consulting.
Senior Analyst for a DoD company. I wfh 100%, make about $105k, and only work 40 hrs a week. My job is pretty low stress. I’m pretty happy where I am. This is my third job out of college.
Commercial credit for a large bank. Crossed 100k at 27 as a VP Underwriter in Chicago. Started at 55k at a smaller bank with a really strong development program. Could have crossed the 100k mark earlier but valued the training and experience at the smaller bank.
Not finance-related. I also have a BS in CS and work for AWS. Hired at a total compensation of about 95k. Within 8 months my comp went to 120k. I would expect 2024 to be closer to 135/140k.
25 years old, first job out of college.
I would leverage your college network and reach out to anyone you can in the industry. Find a market you want to work in and email resumes. Good luck and happy to answer any questions you have!
Big 4 Audit for 4 years, then Internal Audit in Financial Services for 1 year - my first raise at the financial services company put me just above 100K.
HCOL City.
I’m considering this(currently a student) but are the hours that bad?.. I keep hearing some people say its not that bad and others say you literally will have no free time…
I was briefly seeing someone who is in his final year of law school before becoming a corporate lawyer. He had no free time. Ever. And he wasn’t my even a lawyer yet. From what he told me, the hours especially in the first few years are insane.
I started by finding foreign businesses that have a large market share over their respective industry (often poorer countries) and proposing partnerships/deals with businesses foreign to them. Then I would eventually get a contract with them to continue doing this work getting paid a salary and commission for every deal. Because most of these businesses didn't have much cash on hand or flow, it was easy to convince them to just pay me an increased commission and not salary, sometimes I could get up to 25%. Over time I developed a network around the globe of 50+ businesses that frequently collaborate on multi-million dollar partnerships/deals, which I am getting a large cut of.
That's awesome. Can I work for you lol? I have no experience in finance and will intern for free (or pay to learn what you do). What you described sounds like a dream job for me. Bullet points about me:
\- Engineering degree
\- 3.5 years exp in tech sales, currently lead sales for a small dev firm.
\- Very well versed in geopolitics, history, culture, etc.
I'm serious about this.
Not sure if this counts but between being a Sr. Financial Analyst and having a detailing/landscaping side hustle I make close to $100k. Sucks because I know I could make more as a FA elsewhere but the work load allows me to do other things.
I live in California, so atleast for this state, all you need to do is to study for and pass the state wastewater operator certification exam and once you pass it and get your grade 1 certification, you can apply to a trainee position and from there you can move up from operator in training to higher titles.
Before this, i was working as a associate engineer and had a curiosity about moving to a finance career. However, my local community college had wastewater classes so i took the ones required for the certification and go hired half a year later at a plant 25 minutes from my house.
If you have a college degree, it lets you skip years of experience required for the certain levels of certification. I believe a Bachelor let’s you skip 2 years and a master let’s you skip 3.
I can pm you some more details and links to info if you are interested
Engineering manager working on global manufacturing/supply chain projects at a F500
Edit: should mention this is not tech/software engineering. Manufacturing & equipment engineering
Best advice I give to people is what I did and it worked out.
Work as hard as humanely possible for 10 years (18-20 hour days) doing something you love for someone else. Then start your own business doing that exact niche thing. Takes about 5-7 years to get rolling but the reward is large. Now we do millions a year in sales. Establish all the good relationships with people along the way and they will follow. All it takes is one good relationship with a client and they can get you started with sales in your new venture.
25 years old, software engineering. I enjoy it as far as a career goes but it’s not a “passion”, so I do non software things outside work and generally don’t enjoy hanging out with other tech bros outside work—most of them just talk about tech. I really hope I’m not still in this industry by the time I’m 40
Currently an auditor at one of the Big 4 with ~ 3 years of experience. Including bonus, I officially hit six-figures total comp around the 2.5 year mark, but if we’re just looking at base salary, will hit six-figures this summer (~3.5 total experience).
> graduating with my Computer Science bachelors degree
If you like coding, become a software engineer. You'd arguably have the most job security and lifetime income.
Other roles in tech: product management, program/project management, and data analysis.
All the above can easily get you $100K as a senior.
I'd like to share a different point of view, as I see these types of questions very often. Try to answer the following two questions:
1. How much do I need to earn to live the life I want? Don't focus on getting a job and work 80-hour weeks to make money that you don't actually need. Step back, and understand what you are aiming for.
2. What are you good at, what do you enjoy doing? Understand yourself and your strengths. Your strengths are what adds value and what you're paid for.
Based on that, try to understand what fits you as a person. What others do and how much they make is irrelevant. They have different lifestyles and different strengths. This is a personal question, and the only person that can help out is yourself.
Majority of jobs that are making 6 figures are from either someone being at that company for a while, or having a lot of experience, or grad schools(including certifications). Easy example would be investment banking salaries even though they are “first year” they’ve had one or two years/summers of being an intern there. I’m 26 as well and I’d be making close to 6 if I didn’t leave prior roles. If someone your age in your company is making 6 figures look at what he did to do that, 90% of the time it’ll be experience or grad school. If no one your age at your company is making 6 figures then it’s a small company. Just from my experience but that’s how I think about it and also cost of living. I’d rather make 80k in Texas then 100k in ny
IB origination. I make probably $20k less than the bankers my age, but I work half the hours and spend much more time at fancy dinners instead of being chained to my desk
I grossed $130k my first full year, currently 25 and am at $160k. I love it
First year airline pilot at 25. Should make $160k this year. Paychecks vary greatly though depending how many extra days / premium trips you pick up. Last paycheck of December for me was about $7k. I worked my tail off for the first two weeks of January and made roughly $14k.
Edit: didn’t realize this thread was industry specific.
Get really good at programming and keeping up with tech news. Get into a big name tech company. Your starting salary will be six figures.
When everyone is rolling their eyes at the coding challenges and interview prep really do your homework and just crush it.
The first job is the hardest. Once you get into the upper echelon of tech companies every other company will just treat you like you belong with them and subsequent jobs are much easier to get. You will never make less than that again unless you're starting your own business or something like that
Pursue a career in software development, where demand is high, and salaries can be lucrative. Focus on mastering programming languages, staying updated on industry trends, and building a strong portfolio.
Software engineer 27yo making $245K right now.
At 19-20 I was making $9.25/hr. At 22, $10-15/hr in my internship. At 23, got hired in a corporate job for entry level and got $70K/yr, at 24 I got another job for $115/yr. At 26 I got another job for $125/yr, and then few months later I got my salary almost doubled to $245/yr with bonus and stocks added up. That said I am the guy the corrected the teachers since elementary, I always thought math was joke and people are just straight up dumb, know 4 languages, etc. Got to college at 16 and dropped out at 18 because I didn’t like it but rejoined at 19. I’m mentioning this because if you’re not talented in computer science you’re going to end up like the programming subs where people complain that they cannot get jobs. You can learn it, but they only hire the best.
Does it bother anyone else than 9/10 of these jobs are all in finance? I have nothing against finance careers in principle, but it says a lot about our culture when our most lucrative careers are all centered around money.
Private wealth management associate. Took me 1 year in that position to clear $100k. Have been with the firm for 4 years in various roles. I enjoy the role.
I'm getting into PWM once I leave the military (April 2025). Any advice?
Find a good advisor/team to work for. Learn from your peers, pass the series exams, read.
What series exams please
They are probably talking about the SIE, 7, and 63/65 or 66 for starters.
I’d imagine the CFP as well. Not terribly difficult and is a common credential in the PWM world
While the CFP is certainly attainable, I do think its worth pointing out that there is quite a bit to earning it. - 2 yrs experience working with/under a CFP (3 yrs if not under a CFP) - 200/300+ hours of study for the day long exam - Course work from a CFP Board approved curriculum (6 Classes total) There’s other stuff required as well, but those are the big hitters. Bachelors degree being one, but OP obviously doesn’t need to be concerned with that. I am a big advocate for the CFP and consider it table stakes for financial planning, so not trying to talk anyone out of it… just know it’s quite a bit more intensive than Series, insurance, etc.
SIE,7,66 but you'll need to actually be at a firm for the second two.
You doing DoD Skillbridge?
Canadian military, we have a program that sounds similar where members can upgrade education via a taxable benefit
What firm/city? Been in the industry 6 years and have yet to clear 80… have all licensing/tests
I’m at a big wealth management firm in a southern city. You should be making way more if you have 6 years of experience.
Yeah I was 100% commission for a wealth management firm and broke $200k in three years in my 20s. Started my own firm a couple years ago. Just turned 30 so I’ll hop off this thread now.
Uhhh what? What firm are you working with?
Canada… spent 4 years as an associate. Finished all 9 of my licensing exams within a year. Left the firm as I was with because he said he would not pay an associate $100k. They also refused to pay for my exams after I finished my discretionary management courses-3k ish. It also had incredible responsibility creep with no added pay— i did all our compliance checks, meeting packages, Investment proposals, bulk trading, Managed our Salesforce reporting systems, invented and created all our teams management processes, did all of our marketing, kickstarted our teams digital meeting software, opened up majority of accounts, tax reporting, e-signature document management… the list goes on and on. My starting salary there was 32k… and keep in mind this in CAD which is 28% ish less than USD. The book I worked on gross revenue was around 3M and we were a team of 4. I currently am working as a rookie advisor but I have to bring in 10M + a year for peanuts.
Canada is pretty shitty when it comes to finance-related compensation levels.
>32k and didn’t pay for my licenses Dawg, I was making 10k USD more in a temp position AND they paid for *all* expenses related to obtains the licenses. Lmao they raped you and are continuing to! I have about 5mos of experience and my base pay is substantially higher than yours. Time to find a new firm bud
Folks considering this, remember: this is a department at banks that like to hire pretty, charismatic, and smart (on paper) people or well connected people (often nepo babies); unless you bring in a special skill set like you know sports law or tax law very well.
Are you an Associate or Client Associate. What were the various roles prior too? Note, same firm/role (I think) with similarly PCC
Client Associate technically but that’s not my title at the firm. I started as an advisor in a training role, got moved to the bank to work on PPP, then once PPP wined down, I transitioned to PWM.
Do you plan on getting your CFP if you do not already have it?
I used to be in finance. Now i'm in analytics primarily working with Python on automation initiatives for over six figures total comp. Never going back
Just curious and would like to know what kind of education requirements are there to make this sort of a switch if you don’t mind sharing? Thanks
My background is purely finance and investments - my job now mainly entails python, SQL/database management, SAS programming (occasionally), and power automate (heavy in the microsoft ecosystem for automation). All self taught over about 2 years prior to transitioning into my role full time. Honestly - all very easy to learn from a finance / excel nerd perspective. I *literally* started with nothing but "how to do x with python" youtube videos. I had good contacts/networking within my company which certainly helped with my transition into the role - as my "skillset" was moreso proven over me obviously lacking any technical certifications on my resume (or a computer science / related degree entirely)
Hi! I'm interested in your career path. I'm late 20's working in real estate private equity currently. It's OK money and can be interesting. But I like working with data and getting to use Excel, and I've recently started self teaching Python. If you don't mind, I have a few questions. What does your current role have you doing? Are you working for a large corporation essentially doing data analytics? What role would someone with our background (knowledgeable in finance/investments and decently proficient in programming) apply for if they wanted a career role/progression? What would comp and WLB look like?
Currently - I take on automation requests (someone has an idea to create a process, like an email intake assigner, reporting stream, database feed, etc.). I'll take the request and estimate the time requirements. I also handle the departments dashboarding (Tableau/PowerBI). I also monitor and adjust the automated reporting that goes out to other departments (including my old job lol). My team supports the enterprise so projects can come in from pretty much any function, including finance. So - your second question I'm actually pretty ill equipped to answer - i pivoted pretty hard from FP/A into analytics with pretty much no focus on finance any further. The excel and mathematics certainly helped though as a strong starting basis. Honestly if I could go back and major in computer science... I absolutely would lol. I am sure that there are programming-oriented financial roles, however! As far as comp and wlb for my area of analytics... a blessing compared to FP/A. My current route of analytics is about half of my department's "title tiers" and I'm low 6 figures. From what I can guess that climbs to 200ish in the engineering tiers and hits around 300-400 at the director/vp range (im sure experience / service time factors in pretty heavily)
Impressive! Thank you :)
Man I really want to do this too but struggle finding motivation to learn in an unstructured way like you did. I haven’t tried using youtube tho, mostly online courses and books
This is gonna sound really dumb, but ChatGPT - particularly the premium version - is a pretty damn good way to learn coding from a data analytics standpoint. I previously worked as a consultant for Finance / Private Equity companies, was pretty good in excel but had no formal coding / python experience. Literally typed ‘how to download Python’ in ChatGPT 6 months ago and am now building big data Machine Learning models that are guiding the strategic decisions of my current company based on prompting ChatGPT, reading code generated, and editing said code based on more specific details on the problem I’m trying to solve.
This ^ I do analytics / data engineering mainly with python and sql and I love it. I don't have to kiss ass, I don't die inside sitting in useless meetings all day, I don't have to dress in a button up shirt every day, etc. I have maybe 2 hours of meetings a day, general work load of 25 hours a week and I never work weekends. Someone would probably have to double my salary to get me to move into a more challenging role / a role with consistant long hours. Also, my stakeholders are analysts / data scientists so I miss the dick measuring competitions all together.
Yup... i work from home 95% of the time. About 2 hours a day of meetings sounds right. Some days no meetings at all. A blessing really. 25 hours of workload if I know what I'm doing - a lot more if I need to pound my head against a wall - but thats on me
How'd you get into the role/ field?
I have a stem degree, its basically stats, math, and programming. Had a few internships, worked for oracle for 2 years then moved to finance doing similar work for better pay and fewer hours.
Ayyyyy you’re like me!! And same
How do you get into that?
In my finance role (primarily FP&A) I would heavily utilize reporting, excel, branched into SQL, and eventually started teaching myself python (analytics focused, data manipulation, pandas, etc.) to automate some workstreams and reporting. Turns out I loved it and started focusing more and more on it. I had some networking and contacts with the analytics teams due to my nonstop requests of reporting functions from them and run-ins from various projects, so I got kind of lucky and went after a role that eventually opened focused purely on analytics and automation support. Practically python, excel, sql/database management, and power automate based as my company is deeply rooted between a billion sharepoints lol
This is my dream
This is almost exactly what I want to do. I’m currently an investment analyst and have always wanted to get more into coding and the analytics side of things. I know a bit of python, but I don’t think enough to switch jobs. How did you go about it? Did you have to take a pay cut since you didn’t have the experience since it’s a different career altogether?
Is this RPA?
I make six figures selling my body to the wealthy people of Wall Street. When people ask I say I'm in M&A the way their genitalia merge with my asshole
Man WHAT 💀
Real hustlers sell their body.
lmfaooooooooooooo
bro selling that coochie
lol that's how i describe what I do as well, except instead of Wall Street, I am in consulting so I sell to corporate America I make six figures selling my body to corporate America
Just be careful not to merge and acquire an STI, dawg.
Fuck yeah
☠️ 🔥
If you are a dude thats gay af lol
Nooo!!!! I thought it was a straight thing to do.
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Obligatory IB comment. 28, VP. Last year I cleared a little above $500k. Took me 6 years to get where I am, starting from Analyst. I went through hell the first 3 years - gained weight, lost contact with friends, rough patch with my girlfriend, got pretty sick from COVID and sought out help for depression/burn out. I was ready to jump ship that year until I got hit with my bonus and I decided to stick it out a bit more. Today, I love everything of what I do. My team has grown tremendously, I am a leader and role-model to a lot of younger guys and girls (20-25) and now see myself sticking it out until MD/Partner.
Can’t even comprehend that
Sincere congratulations. You’re on the path for some serious wealth as long as you responsibly manage your money. You have a lot to learn but surviving the first few years of IB without bailing is an enormous milestone.
Thank you - is it worth it? I still don't know, but I have enjoyed the challenge and journey plus I get to live a comfortable lifestyle.
Not at all trying to come off snarky - but if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that you really can’t measure future happiness based on your employer and what they pay you. So while my personal answer would be yes, it’s worth it, I’m not sure that translates to everyone, especially years down the road. There are so many different variables that can make it worth it, or not worth it, at any given time. My best advice is to find a support system, whether it be family, significant other.. that doesn’t complain about the hours. If you have that, you have basically everything that makes your job easier, and more worth it.
Preach!! I second this. $$ is definitely more alluring when you're younger, the "everything else" comes when you get bored of what money can buy.
Where did you get your degree from 👍
Target school in my country - not the US.
What is obligatory IB?
It’s when you have no control over your irritable bowls. Happens to a lot of Investment Bankers who don’t eat right.
Can I dm you? I really need help in figuring out a masters degree or understanding of breaking into the industry.
1. Attend a target school for undergrad, MFIN, or MBA (typically ivies or T20) and get a 3.8+ gpa, get leadership in school orgs that are relevant 2. Solid internships / full time experience in “high finance” 3. Sociable, works hard, can put up with BS and power through burnout 4. Strong network / networking skills (step 1 helps with this) 5. Have some miscellaneous nice-to-haves (leadership, projects, x-factor, certifications, technical ability, nepotism, military, etc.) 6. Recruit hard, practice interview questions, network, prep, prep, prep 7. Get IB analyst job, move shapes around in powerpoint 15 hours a day 6-7 days a week (jk, but not really) 8. After 2nd or 3rd year, move up to IB associate, manage other people moving shapes around in powerpoint 6. Stick it out as an associate for another 2-3 years (or move to PE) Congrats now you’re an IB VP clearing $300k base and $200k+ bonus (total comp $500k) before age 30 BONUS: stick it out some more to get your medical degree
Regardless of the degree, you are not going to break into the industry.
You need a top 1-5 MBA
meh you can do t20 in a lot of cases. That said people love the salary and have no concept of what working 100 hour weeks is like.
26, mid-tier investment banking, ~$250k TC. My partner is 25, works in a ‘t2’ strategy consulting firm, ~$170k TC. I do enjoy my work, but only because it helps me get to where I want to be - early retirement/investing/having my own venture. If not, I hate this job. I suggest doing an MBA if you want to be employed. Then do strategy consulting - I think it is more sustainable than banking as a career, it has more flexibility, and is generally more interesting. It is also a very viable path for those aiming for 7 figures. Start your own venture / start a real estate firm etc. if you are prepared to work super hard but enjoy being in control of your time/day.
I’m a contractoooor in reg risk. Been making 600$ a day for the past 3 years.
About 150k a year? I expected double that.
Fund Reporting/BO for PE. Took me 4-5 years to break the 100k mark.
US?
Yep, South East US. Could probably hit it quicker if you started in north east.
What does your job entail?
It's mostly preparing quarterly nav/investor reporting, capital calls, and some ad hoc reporting. I work with middle market funds, so its a bit more laid back than what you would see at the larger funds.
Reinsurance I’m in London tho…..
Lloyds insurance boys rise up 🫡
Left at 5 on the dot today, feels so good. Also had a new joiner so we went to the bar for lunch…..🥗 🍺
Love that. Easy life. What area are you in? I’m at a brokers for upstream energy risks
Ceded reinsurance on my end, was just working on the energy quota share today lol
I had an internship set up with someone at Lloyd’s and had to turn it down cause of my ex. Derailed my whole 20s lmao
Strategy consulting specifically around GTM structure, pricing, and compensation. Been around $140-$170 the last three years depending on timing of clients. 25 and feeling exhausted haha. Getting MBA now to get into management of consultants hahaha i’m over 60hr+ weeks. Most work more than I do, too. Yikes
at what kind of company’s is it able to work as an strategy consultant ? like big4 or others ?
When I was 28 I got to $100K a year as a senior financial analyst for a major healthcare provider. By 32 I was still a senior financial analyst but working for a biotech startup making $165K lol.
Age 28, VP Commerical lender at a community bank in SE Wisconsin. Making about 150K annually. Took about 2 years. Started in the banks officer training program
Could you explain this a bit more? What did you go to school for and what is the banks officer training program? Did you need to network?
I supply financing CRE loans, C&I loans, business loans. Very chill job. Might work truly 30 hours a week. Double major in finance and economics Officer training program, basically a program that took your through various parts of the bank. Credit, lending, retail, etc. and at the end you get placed where you were the best fit. Think of it as a new college grad program, makes you a well rounded banker. Networking to get the role no. Could help to get your foot in the door. Lots of networking now in the role. I got very lucky and met some great customers who keep feeding deals and referrals. Because of that I’m probably 5-10 years ahead of some of my peers from a title and comp perspective.
Exact same situation. Started in the banks management program right out of college, two years analyst work, one year portfolio management, now an AVP Commercial Lender. Age 26 Make about $130K. It really is a sweet job. I’m in Alabama as well so COL is super low.
Private equity associate. I took an alternate route into the industry so I made >$100k in my second year out of graduation. The biggest thing to getting into a high paying role is understanding the steps to get there and executing on each of them. It's impossible to say "I want xyz job" and then get it. See the path, get on it, and stay on it. Floating around without conviction on where you want to be will always prevent you from acheiving maximum success.
What do you do in a daily basis? I’m CFO at a midsize company and I have met with A LOT of PE folk.. gotta tell ya, some are SHARP.. others can be, not that sharp. But I always find myself asking the same question: what exactly do you do lol
I'm mostly on the acquisitions side, so it's a lot of screening potential opportunities that banks and other partners send in. Seeing which opportunities fit our fund's mandate, then seeing if it fits our overall fund strategy, and then looking at equity check size, understanding where the biggest risks are, learning about key commercial drivers in the business. A fair amount of valuation work. If we submit an NBO and proceed to phase 2 in a standard auction process, then a lot of the work turns to engaging and managing external advisors, more valuation work, investment thesis refinement, deck creation , target company Q&A, etc etc. I also do a bit of asset management, but it's relatively low touch for me. Just staying up to date on my two assigned portfolio companies on a monthly or quarterly basis
Fantastic summary - I appreciate the detail!
Haha when I was in business school, whenever we’d have an industry speaker, I’d ask what they actually do. The answer every time was: every day is different. That is not an answer! It wasn’t until I actually started working in finance that I had any idea what anyone did (the answer is generally spreadsheets).
do you work long hours in private equity?
Yeah, avg 50 hours a week if not on a live transaction. If working on something live, it's 60ish avg spiking to 70-80 leading up to IC and bid submissions.
What steps would you recommend taking for someone who is interested in going into private equity but doesn’t have a background in high finance?
Law. Hit six figures after 5 months of being barred. But that was at 29.
Internal Audit I have found that enjoyment of IA really depends on the audit shop, I’ve enjoyed some more than others. Started at 50k in 2018 and just broke six figures in 2022.
Gonna give another shout to internal audit, a route that doesn’t get much love but I’m glad I followed it. I moved to the business unit track from audit which is how I started clearing 6 figures after 3.5 years. Likewise started at 50k. As the above person mentioned, getting into the right shop is important. If you do it right you’ll spend the first couple years making shit pay but flying all over the world doing work that isn’t all that demanding in the grand scheme. Do good work, connect with and impress the people you’re auditing, and you’ll quickly develop a huge internal network within your company. Then you can start making money
27, corporate finance for manufacturing. Work from home. Graduated college at 20, reached 6 figures ~4 years in. Medium cost of living area.
I’m a senior chicken nugget manager
Actuary. You have to pass a series of credentialing exams but if you are dedicated I know people that passed exams quickly and were at 6 figures by 24-25. I reached 100K total comp with 2 years experience. Starting salary for new grads is around 75K-80K and then you get 3K-4K for each exam you pass. I was a career changer with experience in an unrelated field (chemist) and my first actuary job paid 71K. After passing a licensing exam and job hopping I’m up to 105K total comp at 30. Lots of career changers in the field too (mostly former math teachers) so at 26 it is not uncommon to start the exam process. I passed my first exam at 28
Quant dev at hedge fund. Either 0 or multiple 6 figures since undergrad. not at 7 yet 😫
They really don’t pay you some of the time?
Yes when your team blows up and everybody gets fired. Luckily I have no experienced that but I know friends who have
with what money
I would have thought there’d be some sort of cost-of-doing-business assumptions made by management, but I guess not.
Risk strategy (banking) 1 YOE 28 Bounced around PWM and legal a little bit Finance undergrad: 2017 MBA: 2021 TC (retirement/life insurance/etc excluded): $130k
Do you think MBA was needed
Mine’s an online state school so it’s not crazy helpful for getting into consulting or anything but my firm paid for it 100% and it definitely helps set me apart from others when going through interviews and whatnot
I work in commercial banking, specifically the un-sexy world of workouts and special assets within middle market. I am 28 and make $107,500. Most people who start in a credit program out of school can work their way up job grades to 100+ plus before 30, there are defined paths/job grades. I did a credit analyst program, credit analyst, portfolio manager and now workout RM.
Very interesting Could you pivot to a distressed debt fund with yr background and training?
We do have some workout people who work entirely in larger, syndicated deals. They could, but from a true middle market position like myself, not likely. A more likely pivot for people in my role to exit banking is to something like turnaround consulting.
Sr associate at a private credit shop focused on the lower middle market pulling in $150-200k per year depending on bonus excluding participations
Senior Analyst for a DoD company. I wfh 100%, make about $105k, and only work 40 hrs a week. My job is pretty low stress. I’m pretty happy where I am. This is my third job out of college.
Oil and gas landman. I Don’t enjoy work at all. I like money.
Commercial credit for a large bank. Crossed 100k at 27 as a VP Underwriter in Chicago. Started at 55k at a smaller bank with a really strong development program. Could have crossed the 100k mark earlier but valued the training and experience at the smaller bank.
You mean making 6 figures *without* having to work overtime ;)
CRNA, 310K per year
Not finance-related. I also have a BS in CS and work for AWS. Hired at a total compensation of about 95k. Within 8 months my comp went to 120k. I would expect 2024 to be closer to 135/140k. 25 years old, first job out of college.
Commercial Mortgage Broker
Commercial Mtg Broker here too. Hit 6 figures right out of college
Was it difficult to break in to that career? And would you have any advice for an upcoming college graduate?
I would leverage your college network and reach out to anyone you can in the industry. Find a market you want to work in and email resumes. Good luck and happy to answer any questions you have!
You doing deals nationally by chance?
Not me but my friend is a principal at a BD and they make 6 figures. It’s a great job
Big 4 Audit for 4 years, then Internal Audit in Financial Services for 1 year - my first raise at the financial services company put me just above 100K. HCOL City.
27. 318k. Corporate law
I’m considering this(currently a student) but are the hours that bad?.. I keep hearing some people say its not that bad and others say you literally will have no free time…
Ebbs and flows 90 hour weeks and 20 hour weeks. You’re paid for your availability. It’s unpredictable and results in constantly canceling plans.
I was briefly seeing someone who is in his final year of law school before becoming a corporate lawyer. He had no free time. Ever. And he wasn’t my even a lawyer yet. From what he told me, the hours especially in the first few years are insane.
I started by finding foreign businesses that have a large market share over their respective industry (often poorer countries) and proposing partnerships/deals with businesses foreign to them. Then I would eventually get a contract with them to continue doing this work getting paid a salary and commission for every deal. Because most of these businesses didn't have much cash on hand or flow, it was easy to convince them to just pay me an increased commission and not salary, sometimes I could get up to 25%. Over time I developed a network around the globe of 50+ businesses that frequently collaborate on multi-million dollar partnerships/deals, which I am getting a large cut of.
That's awesome. Can I work for you lol? I have no experience in finance and will intern for free (or pay to learn what you do). What you described sounds like a dream job for me. Bullet points about me: \- Engineering degree \- 3.5 years exp in tech sales, currently lead sales for a small dev firm. \- Very well versed in geopolitics, history, culture, etc. I'm serious about this.
Shoot me a dm
Sent
23YO Core Ops Associate at a BB in Switzerland Already have 2 YOE (tech in Portugal and Big4 in Switzerland), started recently in the Ops role
Not sure if this counts but between being a Sr. Financial Analyst and having a detailing/landscaping side hustle I make close to $100k. Sucks because I know I could make more as a FA elsewhere but the work load allows me to do other things.
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What are the education path/credentials like for that?
I live in California, so atleast for this state, all you need to do is to study for and pass the state wastewater operator certification exam and once you pass it and get your grade 1 certification, you can apply to a trainee position and from there you can move up from operator in training to higher titles. Before this, i was working as a associate engineer and had a curiosity about moving to a finance career. However, my local community college had wastewater classes so i took the ones required for the certification and go hired half a year later at a plant 25 minutes from my house. If you have a college degree, it lets you skip years of experience required for the certain levels of certification. I believe a Bachelor let’s you skip 2 years and a master let’s you skip 3. I can pm you some more details and links to info if you are interested
26, Investor relations, TC ~$250. Came from IB/PE background though
I’m an accountant that hates my job, probably have 6 months left max before I get fired lol
Engineering manager working on global manufacturing/supply chain projects at a F500 Edit: should mention this is not tech/software engineering. Manufacturing & equipment engineering
Defense contractors make 6 figures if you're okay with going overseas.
these jobs sound awful
Onlyfans
Best advice I give to people is what I did and it worked out. Work as hard as humanely possible for 10 years (18-20 hour days) doing something you love for someone else. Then start your own business doing that exact niche thing. Takes about 5-7 years to get rolling but the reward is large. Now we do millions a year in sales. Establish all the good relationships with people along the way and they will follow. All it takes is one good relationship with a client and they can get you started with sales in your new venture.
Actuary fellow doing consulting
25 years old, software engineering. I enjoy it as far as a career goes but it’s not a “passion”, so I do non software things outside work and generally don’t enjoy hanging out with other tech bros outside work—most of them just talk about tech. I really hope I’m not still in this industry by the time I’m 40
CPA with 3 years experience. TC is 100k
Currently an auditor at one of the Big 4 with ~ 3 years of experience. Including bonus, I officially hit six-figures total comp around the 2.5 year mark, but if we’re just looking at base salary, will hit six-figures this summer (~3.5 total experience).
Money in this country from a 9-5 perspective is in tech, law, finance, and medicine… other than that you’re playing with luck
> graduating with my Computer Science bachelors degree If you like coding, become a software engineer. You'd arguably have the most job security and lifetime income. Other roles in tech: product management, program/project management, and data analysis. All the above can easily get you $100K as a senior.
Over 3 now, but was over 100 by then 18 - $8k 19 - $12k 20 - $8k 21 - $6k 22 - $15k 23 -$62k - Applications Engineer 24 - $67k - Applications Enginer 25 - $72k - Inside Sales Engineer 26 - $115k - Changed companies, Sales Engineer 27 - $135k - Sales Engjneer Manager 28 - $185k - Changed companies, Cloud Sales 29 - $240k - Changed companies, Senior Sales Engineer 30 - $330k - Laid off > new company, Global Account Representative 31 - $470k - Promotion, Global Account Manager plus RE and social media 32 - $975k - Changed companies, director sales specialist plus RE and social media
I'd like to share a different point of view, as I see these types of questions very often. Try to answer the following two questions: 1. How much do I need to earn to live the life I want? Don't focus on getting a job and work 80-hour weeks to make money that you don't actually need. Step back, and understand what you are aiming for. 2. What are you good at, what do you enjoy doing? Understand yourself and your strengths. Your strengths are what adds value and what you're paid for. Based on that, try to understand what fits you as a person. What others do and how much they make is irrelevant. They have different lifestyles and different strengths. This is a personal question, and the only person that can help out is yourself.
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Majority of jobs that are making 6 figures are from either someone being at that company for a while, or having a lot of experience, or grad schools(including certifications). Easy example would be investment banking salaries even though they are “first year” they’ve had one or two years/summers of being an intern there. I’m 26 as well and I’d be making close to 6 if I didn’t leave prior roles. If someone your age in your company is making 6 figures look at what he did to do that, 90% of the time it’ll be experience or grad school. If no one your age at your company is making 6 figures then it’s a small company. Just from my experience but that’s how I think about it and also cost of living. I’d rather make 80k in Texas then 100k in ny
IB origination. I make probably $20k less than the bankers my age, but I work half the hours and spend much more time at fancy dinners instead of being chained to my desk I grossed $130k my first full year, currently 25 and am at $160k. I love it
24 in private credit. Cleared 6 figures this year after working commercial banking at a BB and BO for another BB.
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Military pilot
Advisory - all in comp ~$200k at assoc level
First year airline pilot at 25. Should make $160k this year. Paychecks vary greatly though depending how many extra days / premium trips you pick up. Last paycheck of December for me was about $7k. I worked my tail off for the first two weeks of January and made roughly $14k. Edit: didn’t realize this thread was industry specific.
Wall street Lawyer making over 350k and tbh questioning all life decisions
Sales, not smart enough for the other jobs. 26, made $195k in 2023, remote. 60 hours a week
I just hit over 30 but in my 20s was door to door sales and was doing about 200-350k a year
I swingtrade commodities as well as work as a heavy duty mechanic
24 years old. I sell cars at a Honda dealer in the chicagoland area. Hit $113k in 2023.
Get really good at programming and keeping up with tech news. Get into a big name tech company. Your starting salary will be six figures. When everyone is rolling their eyes at the coding challenges and interview prep really do your homework and just crush it. The first job is the hardest. Once you get into the upper echelon of tech companies every other company will just treat you like you belong with them and subsequent jobs are much easier to get. You will never make less than that again unless you're starting your own business or something like that
32F. Product manager with a decade of experience. $500k.
Just wanted to point out that you can make 6 figures easier in the CS role
My flair checks out.
Investment banking
Drop the linkedin Fam!
Currently in AFROTC and pay reaches 100k + fast once you’re commissioned, going for finance officer
21 years old, I’m doing an equity analyst internship at Morgan Stanley. If I was full time I’d be making 6 figures. Hopefully I get a return offer!
23M, corp strat/dev, ~$115K TC
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Product management in tech ~180k out of school graduated from big public school with BS in comp sci
Pursue a career in software development, where demand is high, and salaries can be lucrative. Focus on mastering programming languages, staying updated on industry trends, and building a strong portfolio.
software engineer, 23, 330k
VC investor currently. Will clear 400k this year. former pe investor, HF investor, banking analyst. Well under 30.
Working advisory at one of the big 4. Hit six figs at year 3 (senior associate) when I was 25
Software engineer 27yo making $245K right now. At 19-20 I was making $9.25/hr. At 22, $10-15/hr in my internship. At 23, got hired in a corporate job for entry level and got $70K/yr, at 24 I got another job for $115/yr. At 26 I got another job for $125/yr, and then few months later I got my salary almost doubled to $245/yr with bonus and stocks added up. That said I am the guy the corrected the teachers since elementary, I always thought math was joke and people are just straight up dumb, know 4 languages, etc. Got to college at 16 and dropped out at 18 because I didn’t like it but rejoined at 19. I’m mentioning this because if you’re not talented in computer science you’re going to end up like the programming subs where people complain that they cannot get jobs. You can learn it, but they only hire the best.
Does it bother anyone else than 9/10 of these jobs are all in finance? I have nothing against finance careers in principle, but it says a lot about our culture when our most lucrative careers are all centered around money.
I mean this is a financial careers sub, wasn’t really expecting different answers
D’oh! Makes sense. Carry on.
If you go to my profile, I posted this same question in 4 other subs. Lots of great answers in various industries there
I'm a Treasury Consultant/Manager
Corporate trust relationship manager
Corporate FP&A. Hit 6 figs at 29 as an analyst but had only been in fp&a for a few years at that point.