hedge fund compensation for quants

New
hikaru

New

hikaru
Apr 29, 2020 54 Comments

Hi all,

PhD “almost” grad here, I’m looking into the quant space. How is the compensation (excluding sign-on) that is expected for new PhD grads for quant research/analyst positions at firms like DE Shaw, Two Sigma, Citadel, HRT, PDT, Voleon and the likes? Base and bonus breakdown?

Glassdoor says about 380k base + bonus as of 2019 for DE Shaw, 365k as of 2020 for Two Sigma, but I suppose it could be averaged out over different YoEs?

Thanks!

Current TC: just above poverty line.

#finance #hedgefund #compensation #quant

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TOP 54 Comments
  • First year bonus guarenteed
    After first year bonus largely depends on the pnl of your models. Could easily hit 7 figs if your models perform.
    Apr 29, 2020 12
    • New
      hikaru

      New

      hikaru
      OP
      By the way, just to clear off any potential confusion, which firms are you referring to? Is it just Two Sigma?
      Apr 29, 2020
    • @phd Top firms in general. But specific experience with models are two sigma specific. I know two sigma pays less than their peers (citadel, shaw) the supposed trade off is the wlb is better.

      @other ts im not too sure about new grad modeler offers im extrapolating based on more experienced modeler comp and what i know of the industry in general. If you have other datapoints im sure you might be more right.
      Apr 29, 2020
  • 😳
    Apr 29, 2020 3
  • don’t take anything below 350K, otherwise you r wasting your talent.
    Apr 30, 2020 8
    • DataVisor
      cccp2

      DataVisor

      cccp2
      I'd say there are by far more people breaking 1M in tech than in HF but in HF the bar is probably lower (hard to say though - the average person in a HF is more competent than the average person in tech).

      The problems they are trying to solve and the skills you'll need to blaze are somehow different so the person that breaks the bank in one industry won't necessarily do in the other
      May 2, 2020
    • Quora
      eNum30

      Go to company page Quora

      eNum30
      I would agree in absolute value, since tech companies make a lot more money and need a lot more people, but not in term of percentage.

      If you take a sample of 100 QR vs 100 machine learning engineer/data scientist in tech, I'm pretty sure a higher percentage of QR will break 1M.
      May 2, 2020
  • You should ask for at least 450k for 1st year
    Apr 29, 2020 5
  • Roku
    it’s ok

    Go to company page Roku

    PRE
    Roku
    it’s ok
    Typical high end offer is 200k base + 200k bonus for first year.
    Base rarely exceeds 200k
    Apr 29, 2020 3
    • Roku
      it’s ok

      Go to company page Roku

      PRE
      Roku
      it’s ok
      Almost all of the firms you mentioned can offer this.
      The typical offer starts at 325-350 and it can go to 400 or sometimes above.
      Apr 29, 2020
    • New
      hikaru

      New

      hikaru
      OP
      Thanks. By the way, is this number new for this year, or is it in 2019 or so?
      Apr 29, 2020