Offer Negotiation

[kindam]

I have recently received an offer for an entry level PhD Quant position at one of the big four Banks. The offer does not say if there is room for negotiation. Is it common for people to negotiate entry level offers? Or am I just supposed to accept the offer without negotiating.
Also what is the average starting base salary for someone with a PhD and no direct experience in finance for Quant positions at banks?
Your input is greatly appreciated! I apologize in advance if some of these questions are naive but I am just new in this area.

 

[jondan]

you did not mention where you work, the salary is very different from city to city and country to country. Also i've never heard of Big 4 banks, are your referring to big 4 in accounting?

 

[kindam]

The position is in the US. The big 4 banks in the US (just in terms of deposit and nothing else..)

• Bank of America
• Citigroup, through its Citibank subsidiary
• JPMorgan Chase, through its Chase subsidiary
• Wells Fargo

The position is in NY.

 

[atreides]

I have recently received an offer for an entry level PhD Quant position at one of the big four Banks. The offer does not say if there is room for negotiation. Is it common for people to negotiate entry level offers? Or am I just supposed to accept the offer without negotiating.
Also what is the average starting base salary for someone with a PhD and no direct experience in finance for Quant positions at banks?
Your input is greatly appreciated! I apologize in advance if some of these questions are naive but I am just new in this area.

My guess is that they offered you a standard contract+base $. Do you have other offers / better packages on hand to negotiate with? If you don't, are you ready to walk away if they don't change their mind? Funny story, a friend of mine once tried to negotiate his base salary on an offer without having any other offers to bargain with. The company ended up rescinding his offer and offered the role to another candidate.

If you feel the offer undervalues what you feel you can bring to the table..it might be worth a shot..or you can just take it and then prove to them they should be paying you a lot more.

 

[Trev]

You need some basis on which to negotiate. That would be another offer, or check www.glassdoor.com to see if you're far below their usual levels (recommend you submit your own interview/salary info to have full access to their database). You can also use the 'nibble' and see what else you can get thrown in, a sign-on bonus for example or ask for a salary review at 6 months.

 

[kindam]

Thanks all for your comments. I am expecting to receive another offer this week but that could come after the deadline to respond to this offer. I guess it never hurts to ask politely the HR if there is some room for negotiations. I doubt that they will rescind the offer just because I asked... At least I hope...

 

[Ken Abbott]

If you have a competing offer which is significantly better, you could mention that. Be careful, however - people have long memories.

 

[kindam]

Thanks Ken. I think I will follow your advice. I will wait for the other company and if they offer me something better I will negotiate.
Otherwise, I will probably accept the offer without negotiating. After all this is an entry level job and I should look at the bigger picture.