Also called: PE Associate
Analyzes companies a private equity firm might buy, builds the financial models and helps manage companies after purchase.
You spend Monday building a model for buying a dental-office chain, Tuesday on calls with industry experts, and Wednesday presenting to the investment committee. After a deal closes, you help the company's managers hit their plan.
Not tracked separately by BLS; figures are typical total compensation from industry surveys. Senior investors also earn 'carried interest' (a share of fund profits) that can be worth far more than salary, or nothing if the fund does poorly.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 6 years after high school. Bachelor's in finance or economics plus 2 years in investment banking or consulting first.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Finance, Economics, Accounting.
Growing faster than average. Private equity has grown into a multi-trillion-dollar industry.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI does more screening and model building, so firms run leaner; associates who diligence deals and work with company managers remain.
Classes: AP Statistics, Accounting, AP Macroeconomics, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 13-2051.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.