In private equity and venture capitalism, getting paid more can really put you in a bad mood. People who worked in private equity and venture capital got bigger cash compensation packages last year than two years ago, but they were less satisfied with their pay, a new report shows.

The study, released Tuesday by Benchmark Compensation, a company that tracks industry salaries, surveyed more than 400 private equity and venture capital firms, mostly in North America, about what they pay. They found that average cash payouts increased 2 percent, to $279,000, in 2014 from $273,000 in 2012. Richer did not mean happier, though, as just 45 percent of employees said they were satisfied with the pay, down from 56 percent two years earlier.
"We attribute that to the 'grass is greener' effect," says David Kochanek, who publishes the report at Privateequitycompensation.com. "When the market's good and people are feeling confident, that means they have this confidence that they could move, and they start to wonder, 'could I be making more?'" Four out of 10 firms surveyed said they would hire investment professionals, up from 34 percent in 2013, and a quarter sought to hire accounting experts, up from 14 percent in 2013.
MBAs had less of a financial advantage in the market in these fields than they did the previous year. They made $296,000 on average at private equity or venture capital firms, 12 percent more than people without the degree, down from 19 percent in 2013. If you want to work in the industry, getting an MBA is still a good bet, says Kochanek, who adds that he believes the narrowing of the earnings gap will be temporary.
That squares with Bloomberg Businessweek data gathered from 9,965 MBA candidates as a part of our 2014 business school ranking. Students going into private equity or venture capital after business school made a median $160,000 annually, 28 percent more than what people in those industries said they made before they started business school. People who left business school for private equity or a venture capital firm, according to Businessweek data, also earned at least 14 percent more than those who went into consulting, tech, or banking. So congratulations to all of you in private equity, especially the ones with MBAs, on new, fat checks. Don't let all that money get you down.
Update: Corrects sample size of survey mentioned in last paragraph.