What are the steps in wall street firms? I mean Junior analyst, Senior Analyst and then Junior partner and so on? Or how do the steps of the ladder follow each other? What kind of income is attached to these positions? And as you move upwards do you have to work longer hours or less?
Can you tell us about what kind of profits a firm of such makes, maybe you can share a percentage on a yearly basis...
Disclaimer: The salaries posted are specifically figures you'd see working in Investment Banking. Other entities such as Hedge Funds or Private Equity will have slightly higher figures.
Title:
Analyst
You're basically considered a "Private" if this were the military. You're fresh meat with little to no experience. You do all the heavy lifting and you're basically everyone's ***** in the office. You're at the helm of your associate who oversees everything you do and you're expected to move mountains for him
Think of an analyst as a worker bee. Analysts are broken down into two different groups--Junior and senior levels or more commonly distinguished by year. Most banks have analysts for only 2 years, but there are those rare exception when someone would be invited for a 3rd year. Most BB's sign new analysts to 2-year contracts. After the 2 years are up, depending on what you do in finance--90% of the analyst workforce get's laid off. The other 10% fall into a different class and get invited for a 3rd year. If you do get the invite for the 3rd year, chances are you're getting a direct promotion to Associate.
1st year Salary: $100k (Base+Bonus)
2nd year Salary:$150 (Base+Bonus)
*Base salaries generally stay the same, but the bonuses keep getting higher.
Associate
You've made it! You're now an associate. No more having to hear someone scream into your ear or have someone criticize the work you do and have them redo an LBO model over and over again till you can do it with your eyes closed jumping through hoops of fire. After 2 long years studying to get your MBA, or busting your *** as an analyst making sure you're one of their best, you finally got to the level where you now have a Managing Director or Vice-President yell in your ear and make you jump through hoops of fire. But hey, at least the pay is better and you can finally afford those Hermes ties AND get some bespoke shirts from Trunbull & Asser without starving for 2 weeks. It's also nice to finally be able to wear french cuff shirts with cuff-links. After watching that 1st year analyst come into work with cuff-links in his first week when you were a freshly new analyst, you saw how he got ostracized by the entire group, you learned never to dress better than your boss. Cheers to sartorial freedom!!!
Junior level Salary: $150k-$200k (Base+Bonus)
Senior level Salary: $200-$500k (Base+Bonus)
*Base salaries generally stay the same or slightly increase, but the bonuses continue getting higher.
Assistant Vice-President
I'm gonna spare the quirky and creative profile description here, because this is basically more of a "Senior" Associate type deal. Some BB's actually do have a formal title of Assistant VP, but we all know what the jig's about here. The pay raise isn't even that much of a significance.
Salary: See Above
Vice-President
So, you finally did it. You finally scrapped and crawled your way out of the pits and made it to the high-rollers table. You get to move out of that horrible cubicle with the other Associates and Analysts and you finally get your own office with 4 walls. Don't get too excited though, because we all know what kind of responsibilities you're going to have now. Instead of having various people yell into your ear, making sure you do your work, you now have 1 or 2 people doing this. You make sure those pitch books are flawless for the clients and those deals are getting done. Long story short, you're sending out orders from the Managing Director. Get ready to spend a **** ton of your money on clothes, because you're going to need it considering all the client interaction you'll have.
Yearly Salary: $300k-$1MM (Base+Bonus)
*Base salaries generally stay the same, but the bonuses keep getting higher.
Managing Director
Hail the King!!! Yes, that's right! You get a new office, but this one is located in a corner with a nice view of either Central Park or the Hudson River (depending on where you work), you also get an assistant with whom you must be careful around, because your wife who's suffering from menopause is paranoid you're sleeping around and getting your **** wet. But it's okay, because those countless hours of botox and brand new breasts you bought her should keep you aroused for another 5-10 years before any kind of Viagra is needed. Jokes aside, this is serious business here. No one is watching over you or yelling into your ear and making you do ridiculous acts you'd only see in Cirque Du Soleil. You run the show and basically decided how the company makes money. You're constantly meeting with clients and traveling all around the world. During downtime, you go back to nailing your assistant on top of your desk next to the pile of sample pitch books those lowly worker bees slaved over the past month.
Pay:
I have to make this it's own group, because there are so many different various possibilities. There really isn't a standard.
If the MD has a bad year and sees no deal activity, then he/she can have a year-end salary of just his/her base. Which would be around the $200k-$400k range.
Now, if it's a good year this changes drastically. A year-end salary can range anywhere from $1MM-$5MM. The low end would be minimal deal activity, economic recession or company decisions. The high end would come with frequent deal activities, economic boom, bubble or corporate politics being played well.
Partner
Shhhhh no one is supposed to know you're here. Partner? What do you mean?
Title needs no introduction or profile. We know what the deal is. If you don't, then don't worry about it. You won't find these guys anywhere though, unless you wander on a beach in Turks & Caicos.
Tips for having a good resumé and cover letter?
I touched the topic about how to build a strong resume previously in the thread.
My advice for a good cover letter would be to just make it as honest and personal as you can. When you write the cover letter, make it sound as genuine as you make it. It's supposed to describe who you are and what you're looking to do, but you want to be as brief as you can as well. It's a tricky thing to do, but once you know what you want to write--it should be a piece of cake.
Try to stay away from "generic" cover letter templates. Make them as personal as you possibly can. You get as much as you put in.
