This is strictly base pay, but the bonuses are simply not that good for the average SWE at the banks, because as others have said, technologists are seen as a s

This is strictly base pay, but the bonuses are simply not that good for the average SWE at the banks, because as others have said, technologists are seen as a supporting role. There are exceptions, but a much more senior coworker of mine that worked at a number of HF's and banks once told me a good rule of thumb is that the further away you are from executing a trade, the lower your comp. Of course, management doesn't really follow that rule. This is all with worse work/life balance, low flexibility, (GS was the first big bank to recall everyone and enforce working on site I believe.), a 'conservative' tech stack if you're lucky or a simply unpleasant one if you're not, and generally not being valued the same way as you would be at a FAANG or typical tech company.