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Job offer from Wall Street financial firm

 
Greenhorn
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I'm seeking some advice.

I have solid 4 years of Java/J2EE experience, and I have B.S. in CS from an Ivy League school.

I've just got an offer from a top five Wall St investment bank in NYC. It's Java/J2EE Developer position in Equities Trading group.

This is really the type of job I've been looking, but I was shocked by their offer - $65,000 base salary.

I work in PA now, so this salary is even less than what I'm currently making (in terms of "real" price).

I'm pretty sure I'm worth more than $65,000 because a few months ago I even declined an offer of $90,000 from a consulting firm (NOT a contract position).

I'm disappointed because I always thought Equities or Fixed Income Trading position in I-Bank is one of the highest paying IT jobs.

And I was told that the bonus will be 0% - 20% of my salary (and it's not guaranteed).

I would be appreciated if someone coule advise on:

1. Is $65,000 reasonable salary?
2. How much bonus do Wall St firms pay these days for IT guy?

Thanks
 
Greenhorn
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Unfortunately I have no experience on this - however 65K does seem really low for NYC. If you consider cost of living and such it seems they are starting you at a Base Level Salary. Like I said though - I could be wrong. I'm curious to hear what others have to say.
 
Ranch Hand
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Hi,
For the DC area, I would say 65k is a base salary (incl. bonus and stocks).
You've got 4 years experience and the job is in NYC. Add to that your Ivy League education.

I would definitely expect it to be in the tune of 85-90k.
Thanks,
Amit
 
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go to monster and see how much your salary would have to be in NYC (they have salary converters that are pretty accurate) in order to maintain the standard of living you currently have. I'm pretty sure if you are making more than $65k in PA you will struggle at $65k in NYC.
 
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Top investment banks in London pay around �55-65k for someone with 4-5 years experience.So one would expect that in NY it should be around $100-120k.
 
Peter Chun
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Thanks everyone for the input.

I declined the offer, but they came up with second offer.

Now it's Base Salary of $70,000 and additional sign-on bonus of $5,000.

The original first offer actually included a relocation assistence of $5,000 (I'm moving from Pennsylvania).

So, my new package is: $80,000 in the first year ($70,000 base salary + $5,000 relocation fee + $5,000 sign-on bonus).

Could you guys give me some more input please?

This is the type of job I've been always interested in - Equities Trading system development. But I'm not totally sure because I've never lived in NYC area before.

Thank you.
 
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65k in NYC is ridiculous! Do not accept anything below 90k, shoot for 95k. Check salary.com for the correct market data.

Just for your info, I use a cost of living calculator to compare moving from PA to NYC...according to the results 65k in Philadelphia, PA equates to 115k in NYC. Think about it ;-)
 
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Peter, there is no average salary in NY, many developers are grossly underpaid there. I know brightest senior developers earning 60-70K in largest companies. even CA(long island) offers $57-65K to mid-level developers.
Demand what you expect, and don't listen to any promises, unless they are on your contract letter.
It is very expensive to live in NY, decent apartment will cost you a fortune. At the same time recruiters are very well trained on saving money for the company. If they really need you, they will raise the bar.

Don't think of 5K for relocation as addition to your salary. Forget those 5K, you are lucky if your relocation will actually be covered by that amount.
[ July 17, 2005: Message edited by: Sania Marsh ]
 
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