Side-by-side distribution
Investment Banking
$206,250
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.8%
- Live roles
- 23
Research Scientist
$219,375
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 53.5%
- Live roles
- 389
Highest-paying jobs
Investment Banker II
Investment Banker I
Associate - Investment Banking - Los Angeles
Investment Banking, Vice President & Associate, Consumer & Retail
Investment Banking, Associate, M&A
Investment Banking, Associate, Private Capital Advisory
Investment Banking, Senior Analyst/Associate, DCM
Analyst - Investment Banking - Los Angeles
Highest-paying jobs
Research Scientist, Interpretability
Research Scientist, Takeoff Intel
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Pre-training
Research Engineer/Research Scientist, Personal AGI-Model Experience
Research Engineer / Research Scientist- Personal AGI (Post Training)
Research Engineer/Research Scientist - Personal AGI, North Stars
Research Engineer / Research Scientist -Personal AGI, Proactivity
Research Engineer / Research Scientist - Personal AGI, Personality and Model Behavior
Staff / Principal Research Scientist - USA
Research Engineer / Research Scientist, Tokens
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| BT BTIG | $185,000 | 4 |
|
OffDeal
|
$486,250 | 2 |
|
Ducera Partners - Experienced Hires
|
$175,000 | 2 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Anthropic
|
$412,045 | 12 |
Anduril Industries
|
$206,250 | 10 |
Astera Institute
|
$225,000 | 7 |
|
OpenAI
|
$425,000 | 6 |
| SA Scale AI | $243,000 | 6 |
Waabi
|
$212,750 | 6 |
Nuro
|
$229,900 | 5 |
World Labs
|
$300,000 | 4 |
Investment Banking salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $206,250 | 6 |
Research Scientist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $291,650 | 11 |
| Boston | $275,000 | 8 |
| San Francisco | $271,250 | 68 |
| New York | $246,500 | 40 |
| Toronto | $212,000 | 8 |
| London | $204,149 | 10 |
| Los Angeles | $80,000 | 3 |
Investment Banking vs Research Scientist: which pays more?
The median for Investment Banking is $206,250 per year (typically $176,250–$228,750), versus $219,375 for Research Scientist ($174,975–$275,000). That puts Research Scientist about 6% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Investment Banking and Research Scientist are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.