REALITY CHECK: Working for a hedge fund probably won't make you a multi--millionaire

You might think that working at a hedge fund will automatically mean you'll get paid ridiculous amounts of money.

Yes, you'll probably get paid very well. But according to a new compensation report, only a small number of those in the hedge fund industry are actually on the path to becoming a multimillionaire.

The report was put out by SumZero, an online community of buyside investors.

There's actually a small number that make it big in the hedge fund world. There's also a great deal of variability in incomes amongst hedge fund professionals on all levels.

Of the 12,000 members on SumZero's site, over 3,500 shared their compensation for which the report is based on. The data set includes funds of different sizes, ranging from big funds to small, single employee funds.

"Only a very small number of professionals on the buyside seem to be on the path to multi­millionaire level wealth based on what the data tells us," the report said.

The median pay for executives at hedge funds is a little more than $400,000. That might seem low to those used to reading about hedge fund billionaires and huge bonuses. SumZero's data skews younger, and big earners are considered less likely to give away some of their pay details, even anonymously.

Still, the data sheds light on what many in the hedge fund industry ? and especially those who work at smaller funds ? actually earn.

"There is considerable attention in the media given to the huge amounts of money fund professionals are making, but our data suggests that there is actually high variability among compensation, especially among the most experienced earners," the report said.

"Some earn very large sums, but many more are compensated in ways that mirror highly­-educated professionals in other well­ paying industries."

The charts below show the varying incomes for years of experience in the hedge fund space. As hedge fund professionals gain more experience, the difference in incomes becomes wider between the top and bottom percentiles.

To read the report in full, click here.

Those in the top percentile seem to grow their pay much faster.

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