Investment Banker Salaries

How much are investment bankers paid?

On an absolute basis, investment bankers are some of the highest paid professionals for their age.  As a new hire you can expect to earn over $100,000 straight out of school, which will probably blow most of your classmates out of the water.

On a per hour basis, investment bankers are not paid nearly as well.  With most analysts and associate working over 100 hours per week, their hourly wages can range anywhere between $25-$35 per hour.

What is their pay structure?

Investment banking professionals are paid on two components: salary and bonus.

The bonus is a large part of a banker’s total income across all positions, but espeicially at the more senior levels where it can be several times the base.

Why are they paid so much?

The advocate would say they’re paid so much becuase the banks work on very important transactions that generate big fees.  In exchange for such important work they need to be smart, hard working, and thus well compensated.

They cynic would say they’re paid a lot becuase the work is super stressful, with a military like hirarchy and the hours our unbearable.  In fact, the hours are so long they don’t actually make that much per hour.

How do you become an investment banker?

We’ve got the ultimate guide to getting a job in investment banking.

Most important will be to have solid understanding of financial modeling and valuation, which you can master with our online courses.

Compensation table