The investors who buy whole companies or bet on brand-new startups, hoping to make them worth much more.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Private Equity Associate: Analyzes companies a private equity firm might buy, builds the financial models and helps manage companies after purchase. Typical pay $280k.
Private Equity Partner: A senior leader at a PE firm who raises billions from investors, picks which companies to buy and sits on their boards. Typical pay $1.5M.
Venture Capitalist: Invests in young startups in exchange for ownership, hoping one becomes the next huge company. Typical pay $300k.
Venture Capital Associate: Finds and researches promising startups for a VC firm and helps decide which to invest in. Typical pay $160k.
Private Credit Analyst: Decides whether to lend money directly to companies, without a bank in the middle, a fast-growing corner of finance. Typical pay $200k.
Private Equity Operating Partner: A former CEO or executive who works for a PE firm, fixing and growing the companies it owns. Typical pay $400k.
Placement Agent: Helps investment funds raise money by introducing them to pension funds, endowments and wealthy families. Typical pay $250k.
Growth Equity Investor: Invests in fast-growing companies that already make money (but aren't public yet) to help them scale. Typical pay $280k.
VC Platform Manager: Helps a venture firm's startups succeed by connecting them with recruiters, customers, advisors and events. Typical pay $110k.
LP Investment Officer: Decides which private equity and venture funds a pension, endowment or foundation should invest in. Typical pay $160k.
Secondaries Investor: Buys stakes in private equity funds or companies from investors who want to cash out early. Typical pay $220k.
Private Fund CFO: Runs the finances of a private equity or venture fund: capital calls, investor reports, taxes and audits. Typical pay $280k.
Corporate Venture Capital Investor: Invests a big company's money in startups that could help or threaten its business. Typical pay $180k.
Independent Sponsor: A private equity dealmaker without a fund who finds a company to buy, then raises money from investors for that one deal. Typical pay $200k.
Venture Debt Investor: Lends money to fast-growing startups that venture capitalists back, so founders can grow without selling more of their company. Typical pay $180k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Fund Accountant: Keeps the books for investment funds, calculating what each investor's share is worth. Typical pay $78k.
Deal Sourcing Associate: Finds companies a private equity firm might buy by cold-calling owners and attending conferences. Typical pay $90k.
Portfolio Monitoring Analyst: Tracks how the companies a fund owns are performing each quarter. Typical pay $90k.
Fund Administration Associate: Processes investor money coming in and going out of funds and prepares investor statements. Typical pay $58k.
Investment Operations Associate: Handles the paperwork and systems that settle trades and track investments. Typical pay $58k.
Impact Investing Associate: Invests in companies that aim to earn money and solve social or environmental problems. Typical pay $100k.
Starter: fastest way in
Venture Scout: Recommends promising startups to a VC firm in exchange for a small share of profits. Typical pay $5k.
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.