EXACTLY How Much Investment Bankers & Private Equity Get Paid Feat. High Yield Harry

How much do people on Wall Street actually get paid? In this episode, we're pulling back the curtain on real compensation numbers for the first decade of a finance career — from analyst to vice president, roughly ages 21 to 30. We break down pay across the investment banking division on the sell side, plus the most coveted buy-side exits: private equity and private credit. For the first time, we're sharing hard data covering base salaries, bonuses, top-bucket vs. bottom-bucket payouts, and how deferred cash and stock create "golden handcuffs" as you climb the ladder. We're joined by the anonymous voice behind High Yield Harry and founder of Buy Side Hub, a platform that crowdsources real, anonymous compensation data from across the industry. Together we dig into how on-cycle private equity recruiting has evolved (and gotten absurdly early), why banks are now fighting to keep their analysts instead of spitting them out after two years, what carry actually is and how it differs between megafunds and lower middle market shops, and whether the buy side is still the promised land — or whether staying on the sell side might actually be the better trade in today's market. Whether you're a college student targeting your first analyst seat, a junior banker weighing an exit, or just curious what these jobs really pay, this episode gives you the data and context to understand your leverage. We also get into hours worked across private credit and private equity, the rise of finance influencers, the declining value proposition of business school, and how AI is reshaping the industry. Check out Buy Side Hub at buysidehub.com for more compensation data, and don't forget to like, subscribe, and drop your questions in the comments! High Yield Harry, an anonymous former credit investor who became a large FinTwit personality. "Harry" runs Buyside Hub, a Compensation Analytics platform for Wall Street professionals, and writes a few newsletters such as The Wall Street Rollup. For more from us, The Wall Street Skinny, hit subscribe! And don’t miss our exclusive offer to get TWO free lessons from our best in class Investment Banking & Private Equity fundamentals course. Sign up below! ⬇️ https://courses.thewallstreetskinny.c...