Finance jobs are so attractive to those looking for wealth. Entry-Level positions start with paychecks that a middle-size manager in any other industry gets after years of experience. To say nothing of the bonuses which sometimes are equal to the paycheck itself.
A survey has revealed that 75% of financial industry employees think that their colleagues are overpaid. You can get used to the idea that someone gets more money than you do if he or she is extremely smart and works more and harder. But what really surprises people is that it's pretty much the opposite. Those who get weighty paychecks are usually common people without any bright past or future, with pretty passive attitude to work and doubtful presence of knowledge in their heads.
The bonus system is also unclear to employees and the number of zeros in their colleague's bonus payment makes them round their eyes.
It's not a surprise that banking and investment industries deal with lots of money and require huge responsibility. Finance managers take the client's money and promise to give back even more. High returns generate high bonuses. If you get a negative return you are in trouble. Pretty stressful work and should be rewarded accordingly. Seems to be logical but this is not the case.
There is an interesting Paradox that exists nowadays in big companies. The bigger the company the more mediocre employees they hire. All the talented and smart people just get a refuse and have to apply to smaller companies. Why is this happening?
When you get to the top position with a good paycheck and benefits you don't want to lose it. You worked hard, studied a lot and spent many extra hours sitting in an office during the weekends. You deserve what you worked for and treasure the prize that you got. Top position in a finance company requires even more responsibility, is very demanding and even one mistake can cost you the job. But what if there are some bright employees with great ideas who just can't wait for you to make a mistake and get fired. They also want to get what you got some time ago and they are such perfect candidates. This just adds even more stress to you.
So to relieve pressure top management decided to hire only mediocre employees who would do their job and wouldn't ask for more. To prevent people from moving up the career ladder they decided to overpay them and give high bonuses so that lack of money wouldn't motivate them to seek for promotion. This way there is no competition at the top level of the company and managers can be safe. What a smart plan!
This "unofficial" but common tendency within big companies creates a safe atmosphere at the top management level. Is it good for the company itself? Does company benefit from it? Arguable.
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