The paths, described rather than sold
Most career pages are written by someone with a seat to fill. These describe what changes at each level, what the hours are really like, what the rung pays, and where people go when they leave. Deciding whether you want the job at the top is the part nobody helps with.
Investment Banking
Analyst to managing director, what changes at each rung, and the exits people actually take.
5 levels · hours · pay · exits
Read the pathPrivate Equity
Associate to partner, what carry actually means, and why the pyramid is narrower than banking.
4 levels · hours · pay · exits
Read the pathHedge Funds
Analyst to portfolio manager, why the ladder is shorter, and why the job is less stable than it pays.
3 levels · hours · pay · exits
Read the pathQuant
Three different jobs under one word, and the ladder is shorter than you expect.
4 levels · hours · pay · exits
Read the pathVenture Capital
A flat pyramid, a slow clock, and a job that is mostly sourcing.
3 levels · hours · pay · exits
Read the pathSoftware Engineering
A ladder that forks, a level that everyone stalls at, and pay that is unusually legible.
4 levels · hours · pay · exits
Read the pathMachine Learning
Research and applied are different jobs, and the pay gap between them is not the interesting part.
4 levels · hours · pay · exits
Read the pathBizOps and Strategy
The internal consulting seat, with the advantage that you stay to see whether it worked.
4 levels · hours · pay · exits
Read the pathCorporate Strategy
The in-house team that plans the company, and the seat most likely to lead to running part of it.
4 levels · hours · pay · exits
Read the pathMore paths follow as the compensation data behind them is built out. A career page that asserts a ladder and dodges the pay question is not worth publishing.