3 options - which one is the best?
Hey! I am having a difficult time making a decision and was hoping that I could get some advice.
I recently graduated and have three options for the fall:
1) A job in operations/strategy at a new startup. The startup recently raised $10-25 million from several prominent VCs in its first round of funding and brought on a few former CEOs as board members. The job has a decent salary, great benefits, and includes equity. At the same time, there's always the possibility the startup could blow up.
2) A paid internship at a prominent economic think tank. It could be a great networking opportunity, but it could also be incredibly mundane. I would primarily be assisting the senior fellows with their research.
3) An unpaid internship at a relatively small energy focused HF.
I was initially planning on spending the year doing several internships since I graduated early before getting a masters in economics, but the job offer sort of fell into my lap. I have to make a decision by Monday.
My long term goals are all over the place. A part of me would like to eventually end up in VC and the tech world, but the other part would like to pursue commodities trading.
Thanks in advance for any input!
It really comes down to what you want to do. The startup sounds exciting, and would give you a good experience down the road when you're looking at VC and tech.
I wouldn't rule out the HF internship, but unpaid is hard. Any chance that the HF internship can turn into a FT offer?
Unfortunately, the HF internship is unlikely to turn into a FT offer. They recently let some people go due to the fall in commodity prices. The internship would also require me to move across the country and find a place to live by September 1.
The startup is located in the state that I'm currently living in.
Dependent on what you think could turn into an offer. Generally though, VC is tougher to get into than a HF, so maybe you should start there, get experience under your belt, and if you hate start HF recruiting.
That's an excellent point about VC being generally tougher to get into than a HF. With that said, VC is probably easier than landing a gig at a place like Glencore or Vitol (which is what my goal would be if I pursued commodities).
If I went the startup route, an MBA would probably be necessary to break into VC unless the startup took off, right?
I would personally take the startup job. You could land similar internship offers down the road if the startup tanks, but you might not ever get another chance to take a job with an equity stake. And regardless of how the startup ends up you still get good experience for potential tech/VC jobs in the future.
That's a great point about being able to land similar offers down the road. I agree that it's most likely a once in a lifetime opportunity. Thanks! That really put things into perspective.
I would cross off the think tank option unless you're interested in pursuing academia/think tank. I'm not sure if you would develop any tangible skills.
Would the HF at least be willing to comp you for say transportation or anything along those lines?
With regard to the startup, it really comes down to your appetite for risk and whether you believe in the business model. Most startups fail, but there's always the possibility that it could be that .01% startup that makes it big.
1 is the easy choice. #3 should not even be a thought since it's unpaid.
Think about it this way: how would you feel if you took the safe route and the startup ended up being acquired for $200 million or something?
Only one of those is a real job offer.
This.
OP, did you go with #1?
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