Originally Posted by Unregistered

Whoever came up with this payscale is a genius. It starts low but climbs consistently and fairly fast.

It’s a win-win-win for the firm.

Instead of paying you a stable/consistent pay over 5 years, they pay you lower in starting years and higher in later years.

This allow them to weed out the ones who don’t intend to stay long - so they don’t have to pay you as much. These people either can’t endure or adapt lifestyle or just using the firm as a springboard.

Plus it entices people who are indecisive (don’t really like the job but also don’t hate it enough to quit) to stay - because you’ve gone through the Associate years and Senior years is just “a little bit further.” There’s a bit jump next year, just stay la. You can keep thinking this way year after year and end up staying longer than intended.

And it motivates the people who can endure and are it in for the long haul that you can stay from 3k+ and eventually reach over 8k or 9k as Senior Manager.

Just one tip: Do factor in time value of money and total cumulative earnings over your career. Compare against your peers who started outside too.