Private Equity and Venture Capital Survey Summary

In 2007, Job Search Search Digest conducted a survey of Private Equity and Venture Capital professionals who were involved with venture capital or private equity investment firms. There were a total of 387 respondents from various parts of the world. We had participation from firms both large and small such as: Credit Suisse, Labrador Ventures, Intel Capital, Mayfield, New Enterprise Associates, and SoftBank Capital.

The survey addresses issues such as the compensation earned by professionals and their work satisfaction. The survey also aims to understand how these professionals perceive their work and what they expect from their employers.

Our members could access our Compensation Comparison tool – giving them the opportunity to analyze the earnings data in an ad hoc manner. Here we summarize the results of the survey to include some of the earnings data and much more. Some notable findings include:

• The annual average compensation for professionals in the industry is $224,000 with an average 3.5 weeks of vacation benefit.
• Nearly ½ of respondents bring at least 10 years of work experience to the table and only 5 years of private equity or venture capital experience.
• Despite solid compensation packages and an optimistic view of future pay increases, there is overwhelming dissatisfaction among most of these professionals.
• Although common in the industry, an MBA doesn’t guarantee better compensation.
• The difference between the UK and US in terms of compensation and overall work and personal life balance is negligible.
• At the lower levels, there is very little difference in cash compensation between the US East and West coasts and even the Central states. The differences become significant in the higher level positions.

This helps PE and VC job seekers better manage their career and fund managers to differentiate the benefits of working for their particular firm.