Quant hedge fund UNPAID internship

Hi there, I have some somewhat relevant experience and come from a target school (done 3 internships now,  one being data science at a big bank). However, I've always been interested in quant trading and wanted to work somewhere in that area for the majority of my career.

Anyways, I have an offer for a small quant hedge fund that is fairly new, they manage 100mln and have offered me an unpaid internship. I really want the experience, and am interviewing for many places rn. Do I take it even if it's unpaid? Reason I ask is, have done one unpaid internship before and I fkn hated it. Slaved my ass off and didn't get paid felt like shit especially when trying to keep up with my expenses .

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No one would ever take an unpaid job, unless they think they'll be paid in some other way (for instance, it will give them experience that will help them get a better paid job later, or it will be personally fulfilling, etc). Do you think this job will do that? Maybe if this is your dream company and you need a chance to get your foot in the door...

I think unpaid internships might make sense for something like fashion or marketing where the job applicant has few other options or relevant skills. But it's hard for me to justify accepting an unpaid internship at a quant hedge fund. If you have enough skills for them to want you, then you have enough skills to get paid quite well at a tech company or another hedge fund. 

 

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