Top postdocs or AVP position

Hi everyone, I have been doing computational science, getting PhD soon from a top 100 school, so not an Ivy league by all means.

Got a few postdoc offers, two are from top 3 schools (to do science+computing) and also an offer for AVP position as a quant researcher for top 30 asset manager (sell side team at buy side company) with a very nice people in the team. Have a few other offers, but these are the ones which got the most of my attention for personal reasons.

People say prestige matters and I never had that, exit opportunities will be totally different after Postdoc at top 3 schools, and most people tell me to go there. It is about 60-75k pay. I would go there only to build my resume, I do not feel hunger for science any more. Also, I AM NOT sure after school I will get to 2sigma/Citadel research teams, I see getting there relatively easy for a developer role, but I would love to be a researcher, not sure they ever hired fresh grads with 0 years of real finance experience for research teams.

On the other hand, the AVP position is 325k in total with nice people. Also, I want a change in my life. But I want to think strategically and start a family in a year or earlier, so I want to think longterm, where my goal is to become a PM or MD one day.

Both positions are based on OPT. I am from a poor country.

Appreciate your input.

1 Comments
 

Ab facere rerum excepturi. Velit minus minus voluptatem voluptatibus.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 04 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (17) $409
  • Associates (58) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”