D.E. Shaw Internship or IB

Hi guys, I'm a junior from a target university with a solid resumé. I have a super this weekend with D.E. Shaw and then GS/MS/JP IB the following week. Also looking at a few other buy side shops and corporate roles. I'm not as interested in sell-side as all of my friends seem to be, but would be willing to put up with it for a couple years to create that solid base.

I don't know all that much about D.E. Shaw, so I was wondering if anyone could touch on office culture, internship experience, mobility within the firm, and possibly even comp. I've always been super interested in VC and PE, and I understand that Shaw has VC/PE funds, but I have no clue if it easy to lateral into them, or how any of that works.

It seems like Shaw and a couple other firms may be a better fit for me than Investment Banks, but I'm worried I'll pigeon-hole myself if I don't start with IB. Would I be crazy to take these other opportunities over a prestigious IB?

Please help.

 
Best Response

They're quants on the HF side but also have a PE shop. I know the head of PE, Bryan Martin. That team is focusing on alternative energy and just launched the first major U.S. offshore wind farm; you may have seen the news coverage. If you have a shot at working for them, it's probably one of the best finance jobs anywhere right now.

The HF side has a distinctive culture which is almost as famous as Bridgewater's. David Shaw hasn't been involved with day-to-day decisions for some years now but is still an owner and in the picture. The culture he created is one of extreme academic elitism. Everybody has credentials from one or more elite schools but also something distinctive in his or her background. I mean, really distinctive -- it's the sort of place where being a Rhodes Scholar is considered banal.

If I were 25 and looking for an entry HF job, I'd want to work at DES more than any other place. I did once apply via a blind ad to be Shaw's speechwriter, but klonged. A good thing, as I'd have needed about 40 more IQ points to have a chance of success in that role. Shaw himself is one of the most brilliant people in the world.

To answer your original question, starting right out of college with DES beats any IBD job, IMO. Hope your interview went well.

 

Will play devil's advocate here a little bit as I know a handful of people who worked there. While culture, quality of colleague, etc was praised by all, people I know all ended up being place in a role that was purely quant (ie. there's was limited or no fundamental research done) and it turned out to be a bit of a challenge when they decided they wanted to do other things as the skillset they had acquired was fairly niche and is not very valuable to anyone other than another quant HF.

 

BUMP . Anybody know about the Generalist / Corporate Dev internship. What are opportunities to move up etc. It seems like that's the general internship that was spoken about. Thanks!

 

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