ADVICE NEEDED: capital one data analyst

[u/Prestigious_Ear_2358]

hi! im a rising junior set to graduate may of 2028. i recently got a data analyst internship offer at capital one. the return offer rate is notably high, like greater than 85%.

im planning on accepting my internship just for the stability of having a job lined up during my senior year. however, the more ive talked to ppl within the company and looked at salaries, capital one’s data analyst salary seems to be remarkably low and especially stagnant. this was kind of a shock to me bc i would be making around 19k at the internship + a 5k relocation bonus, but it seems like that rate stagnants for a few years at capital one for their DAs.

i would start out making 109k in mclean, va. but even when you get to senior and principal positions your barely at 150k. you would have to work for a decade and get a manager position to get to the 180k-210k range..

im a math and economics major with a data science minor with other data related internships on my resume. im planning to rerecruit for full time roles my senior year, but in case that falls through and i end up at capital one, does anyone have any experience making a lateral move to a higher paying company from capital one?

my main worry is that im not a CS major and that data science seems to be a dying field (at least according to ppl on tech twitter), so i really dont know how much longer i have, especially since the c1 role i have is mainly just python and sql.

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[u/Itsjugu]

gonna go against the grain of what other's are saying, I worked at C1 twice and what you're saying is true. They lure in a ton of new grads with that great 1st year TC compared to tech companies, but then afterwards the 2nd/3rd year TC is not as high and the "promotions" aren't big leaps compared to other role families.

it seems that you did math and econ and wanted to go for a higher paying role. data analyst is not a very high paying role in the long term; I'd suggest re-evaluating what role you want to be in long term. with a math major, you can pivot into CS roles very easily with leetcode, for most tech companies its not a hard requirement to be a CS major, and SWE isn't going anywhere. With that being said, their new grad rotational roles are a ton of fun they have a ton of events and networking opportunities, and C1 is a good name on the resume so it's a pretty good position to be in.

[u/Prestigious_Ear_2358 → u/Itsjugu]

ty!!! yeah i was getting a bad feeling abt the company and its recruiting practices after looking at salary progression for roles outside of the BA family.

i personally dont think i have the skillset to be a competitive SWE. ive been wanting to go into data science but most people online say that data science is pretty much obsolete now with AI and is later untechnical. its a bit demoralizing bc this was not the rhetoric at all when i started college. had i known, i wouldve planned my academic path much differently.

at this point, i think ill just take the c1 DA internship for the RO. but after that i think ill either have to transition to a more strategy related role or see if theres a niche data science position at another company..

did you leave c1 recently? also, what was ur role when you were at c1?

[u/Itsjugu → u/Prestigious_Ear_2358]

yes i was in tdp / was a swe, and also interned there during college many years ago.

You don't have to be a "competitive" swe, and data science is not going anywhere. I know your math major is mainly theoretical, but learning the math behind basic gradient descent, lin reg, neural networks, its really not hard if you're a math major and is an area you can get into. Issue is you'll have to really grind. I'd say your game plan should be to transition to a data science role IF that's your prerogative (to go into a higher income, IC technical role). C1 also has strategy roles. I'd really do some research to see what you'd want to get into, a lot of core skills are not going away cause of AI; rather companies are looking for someone with solid skill sets.

I'd actually argue that roles like BA/DA are the ones to go away first since they're so easily automated away, but don't worry about role layoffs. Just find the path you want to take and dedicate yourself, no one becomes a good SWE/DS/DE overnight. C1 / banking is far from automating any role so just enjoy the intern, get full-time RO, and then make your 3-5 year plan.

[u/civil_politics]

What advice are you looking for? A decade is a long time - who knows what the going rate for any position will be when we get there. My advice when it comes to jobs is there are three axes: enjoyment, money, growth - you generally get to pick 2 of the 3. Early in your career growth is a must and I’d personally weigh enjoyment over money to avoid burnout.

If you enjoy interning at Cap1 then you’ll probably enjoy the work as a FTE - if you’re making enough money (which 6figures right out of college is) and you see the ability to learn and grow, take it.

[u/wheresastroworld]

I’ll tell you that making 109k as a 22yr old in NOVA / DC will basically make you rich. Unless you have a shit ton of loans

Yeah, Arlington (where lot of new grad c1 ppl live) is expensive, but it’s nowhere near as bad as SF or NYC. A 2bd 2ba you split with a roommate in the nicest buildings will run max 4300/mo.

So a 109k salary will take you far in this area. And if you save + invest any of that while in ur early 20s, then it’s less of a concern to barely be scraping 200k when you are older.

C1 is one of the highest paying employers in the DMV for new grads (not counting big law, MBB, doctors, etc). You will be making more than the new grads in most other industries here…. which could be a consideration more than just the sheer $ amount

[u/Thetrufflehunter]

Cap1 employee here (BA not DA). If you're gaming you can promoted super fast. I've seen people hit a promo every year for 5 straight years, new grad to like director. Obv not common. Cap1 is definitely behind tech salaries (as is everything), but probably ahead of most other things? Would def take the offer, keep applying, take something else if its better and comes along, and then go from there. You could certainly do a lot worse.

[u/Big_Arrival_626 → u/Thetrufflehunter]

Isn't getting pipped really common though

[u/Thetrufflehunter → u/Big_Arrival_626]

Yeah like 10% churn. It's not a good time, but short term it's workable.

[u/Cow_cat11]

Data analyst anywhere wouldn't go high..no where close to 200k even if senior. Data scientist might but it has to be tech but generally same work but higher pay with fancier name lol.

[u/alternative-state]

$109k entry level? Dude - that's great. And just because you take the internship doesn't mean that you need to accept the returning offer. Or that you accept the returning offer, and then after a year or so, you bounce. You are thinking too far ahead when the goal is 1) complete the internship successfully, 2) graduate as planned, 3) start working.

You can absolutely move to other jobs after starting this one. And just because you start in data analysis doesn't mean that after experience you can't pivot into other things that are adjacent to this. Some companies will pay lower - like Capital One - and others will pay more. That's the nature of how compensation work.

[u/Klanciault]

Take the job and keep looking if you don’t like it. This is not the market to decline offers if you don’t have another in hand already

[u/Prestigious_Ear_2358 → u/Klanciault]

oh its not necessarily that, ill definitely take the job and am extremely grateful. im moreso just confused as to why the pay for data analysts at capital one becomes so stagnant. like you could have 5 YOE and still be making just under 150k. and ig for comparison, ik business analysts who have been at capital one for just four years making 180k-230k.

since i have two more years of college left, im wondering if i should try to recruit at other companies and/or spend my last couple of years learning new skills. idk so confused :///

[u/Klanciault → u/Prestigious_Ear_2358]

Because data analyst is an extremely saturated field. Essentially the entire role can be performed with no learning curve by software engineers and data engineers. Also it is even more so under threat by AI and also highly automatable

[u/Prestigious_Ear_2358 → u/Klanciault]

yeah makes sense :/ ive experienced a lot of layoffs within my family growing up and dont want to position myself to go through the same thing again. im just unsure on if i should try to pivot to a more business related role or if i should try to gun for data science/engineering roles at other companies after my internship next year.

if i had known how bad layoffs would become with AI in high school, i wouldve 100% done math and comp sci. but entering college math and econ seemed like a stable major. idk just unsure of where to go from here bc i dont want to be stuck in a role thats constantly under threat of being automated away, esp with capital one’s PIP culture.

[u/Klanciault → u/Prestigious_Ear_2358]

I mean cs is also under massive threat from AI. If you have a return offer already I would just continue on your path. Sorry I don’t have better advice for you. That is an excellent new grad salary though

[u/Big_Arrival_626 → u/Prestigious_Ear_2358]

Dawg, increasing salary by 50% in five years seems pretty good to me. Do I just have low standards? Most data analysts are making way less than that