How comp actually works differently at prop trading shops vs big tech (using Citadel as an example)

How comp actually works differently at prop trading shops vs big tech (using Citadel as an example)

Seen a lot of people confused in prep threads about how comp works at places like Citadel vs typical big tech, so here's what I've pieced together from friends in both worlds.

Big tech TC is basically base plus RSU plus a target bonus, and the RSU vests over 4 years so your pay is smooth and pretty predictable once you know the grant size. Citadel and other prop shops don't work like that. Base is usually lower relative to total comp, sometimes way lower than an equivalent big tech level, and most of your pay comes from a discretionary year end bonus tied to how the fund or your desk did. That bonus can be multiples of base in a good year, and it can get cut hard in a bad one too.

Leveling's different too. Quant shops tend to be flatter, fewer formal levels, and comp scales more with your desk or strategy than with your title. Someone on a hot desk can easily out earn someone with a fancier title somewhere else.

So yeah, it's a real tradeoff, and it's not one people talk about enough. Big tech is boring but stable. Prop trading can pay way more over a career, but you feel the bad years directly in your bonus, not just on a stock chart from six months ago.

Anyone here actually lived through a down year at one of these places? Curious how much the bonus actually moved.