• Wall Streeters come from a variety of educational backgrounds, and some degrees tend to lead to higher pay than others.
  • Business Insider reached out to salary-comparison website Emolument to get a better look at what professionals on Wall Street tend to earn based on their degrees.

Wall Streeters come from all kinds of educational backgrounds, and some degrees tend to lead to higher pay than others.

Business Insider reached out to salary-comparison website Emolument to get a better look at what professionals on Wall Street tend to earn. Based on information from 1,236 New York-area finance professionals, Emolument estimated the average salary and bonus for Wall Street professionals at different stages of their careers based on their educational attainment.

While MBAs tended to lead to high pay overall, the highest-paying degree for vice president and director-level professionals was a bachelor of science, according to Emolument’s estimates.

Here’s a look at the results, listed by total compensation:


Holding an MBA provides an especially big boost for analysts.

Foto: sourceBusiness Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Emolument

Associates with MBAs and Masters in Finance were tied for the highest salary.

Foto: sourceBusiness Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Emolument

Vice Presidents with a Bachelor of Science degree were the highest paid.

Foto: sourceBusiness Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Emolument

Directors holding a Bachelor of Science degree were also the highest paid at their level.

Foto: sourceBusiness Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Emolument

Here's an overall breakdown of what Wall Streeters make based on their educational attainment. Executive MBAs make significantly more than their peers.

Foto: sourceBusiness Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Emolument

Portia Crowe contributed to an earlier version of this post.