COMMENT: Why does no one talk about the miserable pay for quants in Paris?

There's a topic that no one seems to discuss: compensation for junior quantitative analysts in Paris. It's bad. - I know from firsthand experience.

I recently graduated from a leading French engineering school with a double degree in quantitative finance. I have a world-leading quantitative masters qualification from a French school that has produced many of the finance industry's top quants.

Equipped with this qualification, I just joined a French investment bank in Paris and to my surprise the salary here is atrocious. I combine several skills: I'm good at maths, familiar with financial products and I have strong programming skills. Being paid this little has therefore come as a terrible shock.

Yes, I'm a recent graduate. Yes, this is my first job. Like many people in my position, I'm facing a "take it or leave it dilemma:" I honestly had not expected to be paid this little, but nor am I in a position to look for something else.

It's all the more galling because I've seen people earning €300k a year who don't seem to know what they're talking about. Yes, they've been in finance for a while, but my knowledge is equal to or greater than theirs. It does not seem fair.

For the moment then, I'm stuck. And I'm poor. If you're an entry-level quant, particularly in Paris, I would appreciate it if you can add your pay below so that I can see how mine compares. And if you're a student who's thinking of pursuing studies in mathematics and quantitative finance, I would advise you this: forget it. - Go and get yourself a qualification in machine learning instead. This is where the interesting jobs - and I presume, the big money - seem to be now.  They're certainly not here.

Daniel Legendre is the pseudonym of a disgruntled quant in La Défense

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