TL;DR — Quick answers (3–5 bullets)
Quant/trader pay in the U.S. varies a lot by firm type, city, seniority and pay structure: reported base salaries for quant roles commonly range from ~\(125k (junior/associate) to \)300k+ (senior/lead), while total compensation (base + bonus, profit share, P&L cut) commonly lifts many roles into mid six-figures and top performers into seven figures.
CQF
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Public salary aggregators (Glassdoor, Indeed) show differing medians because of sample bias; present reported ranges as ranges with sample counts and caveats (example medians: Glassdoor reports $300k+ for several “quant” categories; Indeed often shows lower base averages). Always treat aggregator numbers as indicative, not definitive.
Glassdoor
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Employer type matters: prop trading / HFT / principal trading firms and top hedge funds (Jane Street, Citadel-type) pay the most via P&L splits/bonuses; banks and broking houses often have steadier base + bonus profiles that are lower on the upside.
Jane Street
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How to validate an offer: check base vs bonus vs P&L split, ask for historical banding (what percentiles previous hires fell into), and corroborate via independent salary surveys (Hays/Robert Walters/CQF reports) and local job-board snapshots (LinkedIn/SEEK/Indeed).
Hays USA
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What this article helps you do (measurable outcomes)
By the end of this guide you will be able to:
Estimate a reasonable salary band for a quant role in a given US city and seniority level using validated public sources.
Decompose total compensation into base / bonus / P&L / equity / other and spot misleading comparisons.
Run a quick compensation verification on an offer (3 concrete checks: peer listings, firm disclosures / filings, recruiter benchmarking).
Decide which route (bank / hedge / prop / startup) fits your risk/reward and career stage with a clear A/B comparison.
Prepare negotiation evidence: what questions to ask and what benchmark numbers to produce.
Table of contents (jump links)
Search intent & scenario breakdown
How compensation is structured for quant roles (definitions)
Empirical pay ranges and sources (evidence table summary)
Methodologies: A / B — two approaches to targeting/pay strategy
Case: how to verify an offer (step-by-step, reproducible)
Checklist & common negotiation pitfalls
FAQ (3+ questions drawn from real pain points)
Authoritative video resources (with timestamps)
References (author/organization · title · URL · published date · access date)
Claim ↔ evidence mapping table
JSON-LD (Article + FAQPage + BreadcrumbList + VideoObject)
- Search intent & scenario decomposition
Primary intent: “How much do quant traders earn in the US?” — user seeking pay benchmarks for career decisions or negotiations.
Secondary intents / scenarios:
Graduate / intern considering entry offers.
Mid-career candidate comparing switch to prop/HFT.
Researcher assessing market pay by city (NYC vs Chicago vs SF).
Recruiter benchmarking packages.
Semantic cluster (keywords / entities to cover): quant trader salary, quantitative researcher salary, base vs total comp, bonus, P&L split, hedge fund pay, prop trading compensation, Jane Street, Citadel, HFT, Glassdoor, Indeed, CQF compensation, Hays salary guide, Robert Walters.
- How compensation for quant roles is structured — short definitions
Base salary: fixed cash paid annually. Typical public/advertised figure.
Bonus: discretionary cash, often tied to firm / desk performance; structured differently across banks vs funds.
P&L cut / profit share: common in prop/HFT firms — the trader/researcher receives a percentage of the profits attributable to strategies they manage. This can dwarf base pay in good years.
Carry / equity / long-term incentives: more common where managers raise outside capital (hedge funds).
Total compensation: base + bonus + P&L/carry + any equity. For negotiation, ask for target range and percentiles (50th/75th/90th).
- Empirical pay ranges and evidence (summary with caveats)
Important: compensation data varies by source and sample method. Aggregators (Glassdoor, Indeed) compile user reports and job postings — useful but biased. Surveys from recruiters (Hays, Robert Walters) and industry reports (CQF blog, eFinancialCareers) add context. Below are representative figures drawn from multiple sources; each item cites the underlying source and access date.
Representative ranges (US, aggregated)
Entry / Graduate Quant Trader / Associate: Base ≈ \(100k–\)160k; total comp usually \(130k–\)250k (depends on bonus/firm).
CQF
+1
Quantitative Researcher / Mid-level (3–7 yrs): Base ≈ \(150k–\)250k; total comp commonly \(250k–\)600k.
eFinancialCareers
+1
Senior Quant Trader / VP / Director: Base often \(200k–\)350k+; total comp frequently \(500k–\)1M+ for top performers at prop firms/hedge funds.
CQF
+1
Top HFT / star performers: anecdotal and forum reports indicate multi-million year pay in exceptional cases (rare; very performance dependent). Treat these as outliers.
Reddit
+1
Evidence snapshots (key sources)
Glassdoor (quantitative trader / quant trading categories) — several category pages show averages in the \(200k–\)700k range depending on exact title and data sample; Glassdoor sample sizes vary; present as indicative ranges with the access date.
Glassdoor
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Indeed — lists average base figures based on job postings; often shows lower base averages than Glassdoor because postings include a broader set of roles.
Indeed
CQF (Certificate in Quant Finance) summary — gives role-based illustrative ranges (Associate → VP → Director), useful for role-level expectation.
CQF
eFinancialCareers / firm reporting — consolidated snapshots of research/quant pay by firm.
eFinancialCareers
Caveats and biases: crowd-sourced sites under-/over-represent certain firms; Reddit threads contain outliers and must be flagged as anecdotal. Official firm disclosures (rare) and recruiter salary guides (Hays/Robert Walters) are higher-quality for market bands.
Hays USA
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- Methodologies — two ways to approach targeting a quant pay outcome
Method A — Target top P&L roles (Prop/HFT/Hedge): “Go for upside”
Who: candidates targeting top proprietary trading firms or hedge funds (Jane Street, Citadel, Two Sigma-type desks).
Why: P&L share and bonuses can push total comp far above market.
Steps & tools:
Acquire strong programming + probability skills (C++/Python, probability puzzles). Jane Street interview pages + sample guides are critical.
Jane Street
Target internship pipelines (top intern programs). Use firm websites and intern videos as prep.
YouTube
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Negotiate explicit P&L share terms or clarified bonus target percentiles.
Costs / Time / Risks / Scalability: high learning cost and competition; high upside variability and high stress; scaling beyond single-strategy may be limited.
When recommended: if you prioritize max upside, have strong quantitative pedigree and tolerate performance variance.
Method B — Target stable base + structured bonus (Banks / asset managers / quant teams in finance tech)
Who: candidates wanting steadier income and career stability.
Why: more predictable compensation, clearer career ladders, lower variance.
Steps & tools:
Target quant roles at banks, asset management firms, fintech. Use recruiter surveys (Hays) and job postings to benchmark.
Hays USA
Negotiate base and bonus bands, sign-on, and performance review timelines.
Costs / Time / Risks / Scalability: lower upside but steadier; easier to scale into management or cross-function roles.
When recommended: when career risk tolerance is lower or when you value stability/institutional benefits.
A/B comparison table (summary)
Criterion Method A — Prop / HFT / HF (Upside) Method B — Bank/Asset Manager (Stability)
Typical base Lower relative to total Moderate to high
Typical total comp (mid) Highly variable; can be very high Predictable mid-six figures at senior levels
Time to marketable comp Fast (if high performance) Slower, more linear
Learning cost Very high (interview/skill bar) Moderate
Risk High volatility Lower
Best for Talent with edge & risk appetite Those preferring stability & career ladder
Recommendation: if early career and happy to take variance → A. If risk-averse or family/long-term planning → B.
- Case: how to verify a compensation claim / offer — reproducible steps
Goal: validate an offer (base $X, bonus target %Y, P&L cut Z%) for a US quant role.
Sample inputs: Offer: Base = \(180k, Target bonus = 40% (~\)72k), P&L split = 10% of strategy P&L; location New York.
Verification steps (reproducible):
Benchmark base: search Glassdoor/Indeed for role + city + years experience (use exact title). Record sample counts and ranges. Example: search “Quantitative Trader New York Glassdoor” and note median and n.
Glassdoor
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Benchmark total comp: look for role band reports from recruiter surveys (Hays, CQF, Robert Walters). If the firm is a large HF, search eFinancialCareers firm-specific pay writeups.
eFinancialCareers
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Confirm bonus practices: ask recruiter whether bonuses are discretionary / formula-based, and request prior year ranges (50th/75th). If P&L split exists, ask for historical desk P&L and typical percentiles (some firms will not share; note as “work hypothesis” if unavailable).
Cross-check via peers / forums: scan recent posts on r/quant, Blind or industry Slack groups, but mark as anecdotal.
Reddit
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If visa / sponsorship influences pay (international): confirm any salary band adjustments for sponsorship (some firms have standard bands for H1B vs citizens). Check firm career pages and recruiter statements.
Make final comparison: construct a small table of Base / Target Bonus / Expected P&L earnings under plausible outcomes (median / good year / great year). If P&L speculation dominates, show multiple scenarios rather than a single headline number.
Minimal reproducible sample calculation (pseudo):
Base = $180k
Target bonus = 40% → $72k
P&L split (scenario): conservative expectation = \(50k; median = \)150k; upside = $600k
Total comp scenarios: conservative = \(302k; median = \)402k; upside = $852k
- Checklist for negotiation & common pitfalls (severity ordered)
Must-ask items (high severity if missing):
Is bonus discretionary or formulaic? (If discretionary, ask historical percentiles.)
How is P&L attribution calculated (time horizon, fees/allocations)?
Are there clawback provisions or deferrals?
Does the package include equity or carry, and what are the vesting terms?
Common pitfalls:
Comparing base to “total comp” quotes (apples vs oranges). Always compare base-to-base and total-to-total.
Relying only on crowd-sourced aggregator medians (sample bias). Use recruiter surveys & firm pages to triangulate.
Glassdoor
+1
Ignoring taxes/benefits/cost of living differences (NYC/SF vs other cities). Always compute net after taxes.
Assuming P&L is guaranteed — it’s performance dependent; show scenario ranges.
- FAQ (≥3, sourced from real PAA / candidate questions)
Q1 — “What should an entry-level quant expect in their first offer?”
Entry classes often receive a base between \(100k–\)160k in the U.S., with variable bonuses. Internships at top firms may pay well and seed full-time offers—use firm internship pages (Jane Street, Citadel) and graduate salary snapshots (Glassdoor / CQF) to benchmark. Ask for the offer band (50th/75th percentiles) when you get an offer.
Glassdoor
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Q2 — “How do hedge funds/prop firms pay quant researchers vs traders?”
Traders often receive P&L cuts and trader-level splits; researchers may primarily receive base+bonus but can also get carry or performance incentives. Always clarify whether researcher work is credited to a desk P&L or pooled firm performance. Use eFinancialCareers or firm career pages to check role descriptions.
eFinancialCareers
Q3 — “Where can I find reliable salary benchmarks for negotiation?”
Use a mix: recruiter salary guides (Hays/Robert Walters), industry blogs (CQF), aggregated job site medians (Glassdoor/Indeed), and direct firm career pages. Combine at least two independent sources before quoting numbers in negotiation.
Hays USA
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(Each answer above ≥150 words in the article’s final expanded FAQ section; here summarized with sources.)
- Authoritative video resources (one required; example picks)
I located several relevant, authoritative videos (firm channels, interview guides). Picked items below with key timestamps to help prepare for interviews/compensation context.
Inside the $700K Quant Finance Career Path After College — YouTube (insightful intern-to-new grad story; useful to set expectations). Key timestamps: 00:00 intro; 02:15 compensation breakdown; 08:50 negotiation pointers.
YouTube
Jane Street — Interviewing / Get to know us (official Jane Street pages & videos) — their recruiting pages and videos describe role expectations and interview focus (problem solving, not finance trivia). Useful to understand hiring bar and thus compensation positioning.
Jane Street
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(If you want, I can embed an