Mid-level fixed-income professionals are commanding salaries 20-25% higher this year based on positive technicals in the hiring market, according to a recruiter. Staffers with three to four years experience have more leverage this year than they have in years past, partly because there are simply fewer candidates with that amount of experience because buy- and sell-side firms sharply curtailed hiring toward the end of 2001.
Peter Arian, managing director at Analytic Recruiting, which focuses on filling quantitative positions, said both sides of the Street are hard-pressed to find people in this experience bracket. He said demand is greatest for trading and structuring hands on the sell side, and banks are also generally hiring quant modelers across asset classes. Arian declined to provide specific examples.