Also called: VC Partner, General Partner
Invests in young startups in exchange for ownership, hoping one becomes the next huge company.
You hear five startup pitches before lunch, have coffee with a founder you've tracked for a year, then argue with your partners about whether a robotics company is worth a $10 million bet. Most of your investments will fail; one or two might pay for everything.
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. Most VC funds don't produce big returns, so carry is uncertain; a single home-run investment can be life-changing.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 10 years after high school. No set path; many are former founders, engineers or bankers; some have an MBA.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, Self-taught. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Business Administration.
Growing about average. Volume swings with startup funding cycles.
Low risk for 10 years. Betting on founders depends on networks, taste and trust; AI helps find startups but does not pick winners.
Classes: Entrepreneurship, Computer science, AP Macroeconomics, Speech.
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.