OP said he/she is in financial consulting. I don't know what that means.

At my Wall Street-esque job, pay structure is in line with what PP's have stated. And YES live on your base and bank the bonus. For sure.

I would further agree that at my firm, if you had a base like OP, that would be a low bonus. It would be the professional equivalent of getting your hand slapped.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the OP's post is fishy. In finance, only executive management has a base salary of $400k+. If OP's base is really that high and works in "finance," then a $75k bonus is actually pretty crappy. At my previous firm, the only people who had bad salaries that high had cash bonuses as high as $9M in good years.

+1. Ops comp is weird.

For us, the ladder goes like this
$70k base + 10k bonus
$100k base + 30k bonus
$150k base + 50k bonus
$200k base + 100k bonus
$250k base + 200k bonus
$300-400k base + 400k bonus

I don't know beyond that

Is this finance? And any idea how old employees generally are as they progress up the ladder?

It's very varied. My boss is at the top tranche listed there and maybe 33 or 34. I know some 26 yo olds at the $300k total comp mark and some 40 yo olds kicking $200k.

Question for all those receiving year-end bonuses. Is this also your annual bonus or do you get a second bonus at review/raise time?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the OP's post is fishy. In finance, only executive management has a base salary of $400k+. If OP's base is really that high and works in "finance," then a $75k bonus is actually pretty crappy. At my previous firm, the only people who had bad salaries that high had cash bonuses as high as $9M in good years.

+1. Ops comp is weird.

For us, the ladder goes like this
$70k base + 10k bonus
$100k base + 30k bonus
$150k base + 50k bonus
$200k base + 100k bonus
$250k base + 200k bonus
$300-400k base + 400k bonus

I don't know beyond that

Is this finance? And any idea how old employees generally are as they progress up the ladder?

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the OP's post is fishy. In finance, only executive management has a base salary of $400k+. If OP's base is really that high and works in "finance," then a $75k bonus is actually pretty crappy. At my previous firm, the only people who had bad salaries that high had cash bonuses as high as $9M in good years.

+1. Ops comp is weird.

For us, the ladder goes like this
$70k base + 10k bonus
$100k base + 30k bonus
$150k base + 50k bonus
$200k base + 100k bonus
$250k base + 200k bonus
$300-400k base + 400k bonus

I don't know beyond that

Anonymous wrote:I agree that the OP's post is fishy. In finance, only executive management has a base salary of $400k+. If OP's base is really that high and works in "finance," then a $75k bonus is actually pretty crappy. At my previous firm, the only people who had bad salaries that high had cash bonuses as high as $9M in good years.

actually it's possible in mortgage finance, e.g. Fannie Mae.

I agree that the OP's post is fishy. In finance, only executive management has a base salary of $400k+. If OP's base is really that high and works in "finance," then a $75k bonus is actually pretty crappy. At my previous firm, the only people who had bad salaries that high had cash bonuses as high as $9M in good years.

Ha! My bonus this year is the news that my company is taking away 6 of our annual leave days as of Jan 1.

I didn't get a raise last year and the year before that, they took away our transportation benefit with about 2 days notice and I got a 0.8% raise after being told for 2 months to expect something in the 3-5% range.

My salary is about 70% of OP's bonus.

I'm looking for a new job.

Humblebrag...

Something is fishy about OP's post. I am in finance, a wall street-esq job in the DC area. Everyone on the business side here has a base of $135k. From associate through the partners. Bonuses vary widely. Some years the associate bonuses are $2k, some years they are much higher. The partners bonuses are usually 7 figures, but one year they were 8. 2009-2011 the partners did not get bonuses. No one is crying for them of course, their names adorn buildings around here.

Mid-level bonuses vary widely as well - some years they are 2x-4x base, some years closer to 25% base. 2013 was a good year, the average bonus will probably be 3x but it will vary depending on what deals were done, roles, etc.

Other than C-cuite jobs, I have never encountered a base salary here in finance higher 400k, and that is CEO level with hug bonus/deferred comp structure.

The tradeoff here is family time, and job security. No one I work with outside the named partners has any job security from one day to the next.

Anonymous wrote:I've never had a bonus in my life. Current salary : $100k.
yes, I am a mid career professional with two masters degrees.

and you are a lot happier than any of them that get a large bonus.