Goldman's 2nd year technologists say they've seen no sign of this pay rise

Goldman Sachs is paying more to its brand new technology analysts in an attempt to compete with Silicon Valley. Bloomberg reported last month that the bank is now paying entry-level "engineers" salaries of around $100k (£76k), up from around $83k previously - an increase of 20%. We understand that the pay rise is being rolled out globally, although calibrated to different regional markets.

While Goldman's newest technology employees are in luck, however, its more experienced technologists stand to feel neglected. Junior technologists who've already been with Goldman for a year say their pay hasn't been re-rated to take consideration of the higher rate for graduate entrants. At worst, second year technology analysts stand to earn less than the first years below them.

"This already happened a few years ago," says one Goldman technologist in London. "There was a year when the new grads were paid more than the first years. It was really awkward and led to a lot of problems."

Goldman declined to comment on pay for its junior technologists. Standard salaries for first years in tech functions at banks in London are £40k to £45k. A 20% increase would take that to between £48k and £54k - still considerably lower than in the U.S., where the competition from tech firms is arguably greater.

Technologists at Goldman have been spotted complaining about their lot on Glassdoor, where they insist that they're worked too hard for the amount they earn and that the projects are bureaucratic and involve proprietary technology that's not applicable elsewhere.

Nonetheless, the technologists we spoke to were happy - despite the potential disparity in pay with new juniors. "The work here is interesting, although it does depend which team you're on," says one. "I chose to work for GS because it's a big name in finance and will help with my future career," says another. "I didn't choose Goldman for the salary", he adds, "I chose it for the growth platform."

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