What was your starting salary (approx.)?

[I am DIL]

$22/hour on contract as an Analyst after being somewhat unemployed for a year after 9/11. Pretty fair given the job climate at the time.

Dude... you're alive!

 

[Saturdays]

Seeing how I got a lot of help from SF members, and just started a new job two weeks ago.

Graduated in Finance from Michigan State Univ. - first full time offer 40k+1.5k signing bonus + benefits as a Financial Analyst, with a lot of room to move up quickly.

Many thanks to all that helped with advice and etc...

 

[Hampton]

Oh **** around $1500/month (which was a lot back in my days) Now $6000/month + bonus.

 

[Maximator]

Currently about 55 USD, depending on the exchange rate. I don't work full time hours but I get about 3kUSD a month.

 

[byau]

Graduated from an Ivy League undergraduate, joined a large strategy consulting firm at 72K with 10K bonus.

 

[kmz]

115k (incl bonus)
finance

 

[CBrown85]

$45, 000 CAN net but it didn't come out to that much because I wasn't salaried.

 

[Claghorn]

Started a few years ago around USD 4.5k a month. Teaching economics in Korea. Then I get a small stipend for some of the research I do...but academic stipends are bleh.

 

[dv_indian]



15.5k/yr in 2006. It was actually minimum wage. It was a loan to myself. It's called a draw. I was working for a prop trading firm. It was horrible. No benefits. So I got paid 50% of what I made in trading profits after fees. And obviously you're not gonna make too much trading if you're new / don't know what you're doing / were a history major in college and didn't know what a Bid/Ask spread was. Fees were part fixed, part sliding, but the fixed part was 1500/mo. So I had to make 31k (2x 15.5) + 18k (1.5k x 12mos) + trade commissions (sliding depending on volume) = ~60000 in trading profits just to get my 15.5 k / yr. It was truly an awful year. And yet, it allowed me to get my foot in the door and 4 years later I was making over 200k / yr. So the risk paid off. And honestly, although miserable, I had times when I was much more miserable making waaaay more money.

What kind of qualifications do you need to get a job like this? Do you need to pass any exams?

 

[Eason]

First full-time job (my first job after graduating) I was earning $2200 a month or so after taxes. I changed careers a year after and 5 years later I am earning $5880 a month.

It's an interesting question so I'm going to calculate this year by year.

Years after grad - Salary/Month in USD
0 - 2200 (In Seattle, could save 100-200 a month)
1 - 2800 (In South Korea, could save 1800 a month, worked 1 full-time + 1 part-time)
2 - 1300 (In China, saved 3-400 a month)
3 - 1900 (In China, saved 900 a month, worked 1 full-time + 1 part-time)
4 - 2380 (In China, saved 1100 a month)
5 - 5880 (In Hong Kong, save 1500 a month)

 

[deepitm]



What kind of qualifications do you need to get a job like this? Do you need to pass any exams?

In general, it's a matter of luck. Being quick with numbers, having the capacity to handle stress, and graduating from a good university in a technical background are what most places look for. But you don't need to have any sort of financial licensing to be a prop trader.

 

[Mesta]

In advertising, a bachelor in a unrelated field:

1st year : 1760 $ after taxes
2nd year : 2300 $ after taxes

Don't go in advertising guys
Only good thing is that it's a bit exponential in that field.

The step above me (supervisor, two years is possible) is pretty much double this and has bonuses.
And the step above (director, I guess 5-7 years) is double the previous one with bonuses
And then it goes crazy (Group director, VP, etc.).

Anyone else working in advertising?
I wonder how it pays in the US (I'm in Quebec), especially in NYC.

 

[otc]

I sure hope you are missing a zero...

 

[gdl203]

Probably monthly salary

 

[Mesta]

Yep per month, it was 30k and 40k.