Managing Director JP Morgan Chase-L8 Tech
I have spent most of my time in Tech and recently have been approached by Chase for a Managing Director role. I am curious to learn from folks in the financial industry if Managing Director at Chase is truly a L8 level role. Online research tells me the hierarchy is MD->ED->VP->Associate->Analyst in the banking industry. MDs could report into other MDs with the dotted line going to CTO or CDO of the bank. I am not too concerned about compensation and expect it to be competitive whether it is commission based or salary based. Would love to learn from the crowd regarding two questions. 1. If TC were not a consideration, would you consider a shift from tech to banking ? If answer is no what are the factors ? 2. How competitive is the growth path beyond MD at banks ? Is MD truly equivalent to L8 in FAANG? Paying the blind tax YOE : 18 TC : 900K #banking #finance #faang #chase
MD tends to be on the L8 to L10 spectrum (speaking for Amazon) depending on the charter. MD usually comes with high expectations on revenue impact so has some pressure. Otherwise banking is relatively chill compared to faang. There’s more redtape and top down decision making compared to tech and quite a bit of culture difference.
Thanks for taking the time to weigh in and my opinion was very similar to yours on banking being more chill. However two members above including one from JPM have said it is more political. I had factored in the revenue impact and expectations. Will have to weigh the political and WLB angle.
No Partner at JP?
I did not see a partner title at JPM. So not sure of the question.
If joining JPMC be sure to negotiate your Bonus/IC as high as possible. The Bonus you are hired in on will be used as the starting point for subsequent years bonus. Super political at that level so hope you are a strong relationship builder.
"LeoLion" Thanks for taking the time to weigh in. I am surprised another poster above made the same point that you made about political environment. Given that you are at JPM will trust your take on it. Also thanks for the helpful tip on Bonus. If you are open to it, will DM you if any further questions come up.
What's the TC at MD ED level?
Can you share the band for L8 SDM? Also, any particular reason for leaving AMZN at L8 level?
Work life balance was the main one followed by promotion probability. The jump from L8 to L10 at Amazon can take 5-7 years in general with stellar results. Also at this level the number of contenders vs available positions is super limited and everyone will have great results. There are a lot of X factors that play into this equation. There is 9 level at Amazon. Assessing if a jump to a large org like JPM sets me up with longer term success.
Like others have said, MD is a broad title. When I left, I was a VP, my reporting chain was ED->5 levels of MD (top being CIO)->COO->CEO (Dimon). So it goes from like L8 all the way up to like SVP. That first level MD is probably what you're looking for and yeah, I'd say scope wise it's L8/L9. Probably a floor of 150-200 org size. I wouldn't presume they can get there on comp though. JP generally pays 🥜🥜, and it wouldn't shock me in the least if they were way under your current comp.
Thanks for taking the time to reply and also provide context from your previous stint. My assessment is similar on MDs reporting into MDs and going all the way to SVP or CTO/CDO. Org size is also right. The compensation point is interesting though and I will take that into consideration. Another member also posted about it being bonus heavy and that will make it tricky to assess.
Yep, very bonus heavy and the way they do RSU is very different from tech. A chunk of your bonus will be in RSUs rather than cash. Those vest 50/50 after 2 and 3 years. I'm not sure what that percentage would be at MD, but it'll be at least 20% (that's what I saw as VP) but probably higher. Meaning you don't really get full TC until you've been there 3+ years because part of it is in those RSUs. Eg if you joined next month, first bonus in Jan 2025, but some in RSU vesting in 2027/28. Jan 2026 you get another bonus with 2028/29 RSU. Jan 2027 another bonus and finally get half of the 2025 RSU. Finally in 2028 you get bonus with half of 2025 and half of 2026 RSU. From there forward, you're at least getting something like full TC, but it's also slowing any growth in your bonus as you don't see the full RSU from an increase for 3 years So, definitely ask what percentage of the bonus will be in deferred RSU.
MD is often terminal in banking. But depending on the company, MD has a huge spectrum (i.e. MDs reporting to MDs). That can actually follow 3-4 levels of MDs reporting to each other. As for the shift, banking in general has a rep for a worse work life balance. Politics can be worse in banking than pure tech. Also, PNL drives all in banking, nothing else matters.
"bigbos01" Thanks for taking the time to weigh in. Interesting point on work life balance and politics. That is an eye opener and will look out for signs to gauge this as this progresses further.