thanks for the information twofish. The statements made in your posts are 100% true and apply to my situation.

The discretionary bonus makes up around 40% of the figure I quoted. That might make the numbers more realistic.

I have a PhD in Computer Engineering from a top-20 school. No work experience but top-notch internships in tech firms. I have no problem being a code monkey in C++ unlike many of the dissatisfied folks out here.

<t>I've been going through the posts for a while now and I have a question. Why is it that lots of people with highly technical/quantitative backgrounds want to become a trader instead of a quant ? Is it mainly because of the remuneration or because of the work-life ? I recently accepted a job as a ...

Anyone heard of a headhunting firm called Insite search ? How reputable are they ?

From a purely financial/short-term perspective, which of these two offers is more lucrative ? This is for an entry-level position for someone just out of grad school (phd). Are these average/above/below market rates ? (i) 135K base + 100K targeted bonus(ii) 145K base + 60K guaranteed bonus