Junior Summer Dilemma: Top HF (C/BW/DESCO/P72) vs. Top VC

Trying to decide between a top VC junior summer offer (not Insight Partners lol) and a top HF (C/BW/DESCO/P72) for my junior summer.

My ultimate long-term goal has always been the HF route, and the summer comp is >2x the VC offer. However, I'm at a heavily entrepreneurial school and very active in the early-stage community, so the VC offer aligns perfectly with my current network and interests.

Two questions for the forum:

  1. What should I look at to make this decision (i'm currently leaning to the HF, but the VC team was great!)
  2. Is it realistic to ask the VC if I can push the internship to the fall/spring semester so I can take the HF offer for the summer? Has anyone pulled this off?
4 Comments
 

Your long term goal has always been HF, and HF pays more. Choice seems pretty clear to me.

 

Quo amet dolores voluptates ex a numquam. Corporis ut sint asperiores sunt architecto repudiandae. Itaque officiis quaerat repellendus fugit enim pariatur ex. Ducimus tempore esse dolores ut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.1%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Millennium Partners 95.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.1%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.2%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (12) $423
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (86) $288
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (77) $191
  • Analysts (242) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (282) $96
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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”