Hedge Funds have always paid quants significantly better. In the past decade or so many banks have built out their engineering teams. Goldman is now 25% engine

Hedge Funds have always paid quants significantly better. In the past decade or so many banks have built out their engineering teams. Goldman is now 25% engineers. More recently these banks have started to compete with hedge funds for the same quant talent that can better take advantage of their new technical prowess. But the comparatively strict compensation structure still means you can make a lot more on the buy side.