I completely agree, I bet you have 100 people making 10m+ per year, and 20,000 staff and interns at the back office in New Jersey making 45,000 maximum, hired from SUNY schools.
For IB, sure. But are most GS employees traders? It looks like most of the support staff is in the $20-30k range[0], which includes help desk and the like. Even certain analyst positions seem to be in the $45-50k range. On page ten of ascending salaries I've just barely passed $60k.
My point is that while the "average" compensation may be $400k, that's going to account for a very small percentage of the employees. The median is probably well below $100k, dependent largely on just how many support staff there are compared to traders. And even the traders who only last a year or two before getting fired will probably only make $100-150k.
Thank you for your thoughtful, reasoned reply, and the effort you put into confirming what I have said anecdotally.
It is often a thankless job and I appreciate that you've provided these numbers. It really shows the income disparity between the top dogs and the unwashed masses and Goldman.
pc86 is exactly correct and I'm glad that person tore apart your argument for me.
How dare you tell me "hint, blah blah blah" when your source literally confirms what I have stated.
The young and inexperienced workers are just there for data entry and errands for the SMALL percentage of workers who are high powered investment bankers.
Hint: its a lot more than 45k