Even the worst paid workers in finance can still earn more than £100,000
According to new data released by salary benchmarking site Emolument, even the worst paying roles in the City of London can still end up earning you £104,000 per year, nearly four times the average UK salary.
Employees in the financial sector described by Emolument as 'middle and back office generalists' - essentially the people who ensure that operations in banks, brokerages, and funds keep working smoothly - earn £104,000 when they reach the director level. The average remuneration at this level is a £88,000 salary, topped up with a £16,000 bonus.
At the other end of the spectrum, the best-paid workers in Britain's financial sector are those working for banks in mergers and acquisitions - long seen as the most glamorous, and exciting part of the banking - who earn an average of £326,000 per year once they reach the director level. That is composed of a £178,000 salary, and a bonus of £148,000.
In return, M&A bankers can expect punishingly long hours and little balance in their lives. As Emolument points out, for those working in M&A "projects tend to last weeks or months with 24/7 working hours."
Other jobs near the top of the pay scale include trading, syndication, and institutional sales. Take a look at the chart of best paid finance jobs below:
While remuneration in banking, is not what it used to be, it remains the highest paying sector. Senior bankers who have been accustomed to a plush standard of living through a career of earning sky-high bonuses are often trapped in the industry, both burning through their revenue to cover household costs, and not making the fortunes they were aiming for 10 years ago.