For those looking to make a solid six figure salary, you may want to move to New York City for school. Glassdoor suggests that the median analyst salary in the New York area pushes upwards of $68,000. Those who do well could be looking at a promotion to associate status, bringing home a juicy yearly paycheck of $100,000 (not including bonus).
A recent eVestment report on asset management professionals reveals that the best feeder schools are University of Pennsylvania for undergraduate study and University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business for graduate study. The data is drawn from 35,000 active professionals across 4,500 asset management firms.
One trend that becomes immediately apparent is location. Of the top 10 feeder schools, five are on the East Coast: University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, Columbia University, New York University, and Boston College.
Undoubtedly, it takes more than simply graduating from a top university to land one of these extremely competitive jobs. Candidates sit through numerous interviews and network extensively with alumni.
Location definitely plays a role for two good reasons. A significant number of these firms are located in the New York and Boston area and can recruit locals cost effectively. This also gives an edge to East Coast Ivy League graduates as their alumni are more readily accessible.
There are a few surprises in the bottom half of this year’s top 10. In the undergraduate division, Boston University ranked 6th when its overall school ranking is only 41, according to US News and World Report. In the MBA division, University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business ranked 9th with an overall MBA ranking of 27.
Those familiar with the Boston area will cite a significant number of asset management firms and those familiar with USC will explain that they have one of the most extensive alumni networks in the nation.
