I'm a senior from a target school who originally applied to management consulting jobs in the fall and unfortunately couldn't seal the deal on my final rounds. Moving into the spring I started also applying to finance positions in mainly PE, hedge funds, and investment funds. I was fortunate enough to get an investment analyst internship at a high-performing NY-based long-short hedge fund despite not having much experience (connected with the PM). It's been a great learning experience although catching up has been tough coming from a non-finance background other than some investing courses and books. The other analysts also seem invested in my growth and learning opportunities.
Here's the catch. I was mainly doing the internship to get a good experience, but then I got a job offer from a NY-based boutique consulting firm. The pay isn't that high and it's not a large well-known firm, but it's a secure job. The hedge fund PM has told me that I could continue the internship into the summer and if I maintain good performance it could turn full-time. I'm having a tough debate in my mind now on choosing between these options. I know that getting this hedge fund opportunity is truly rare without a previous stint in the trenches of IB. But at the same time, I don't know about the lack of job security if I can't make it. Any thoughts from more experienced analysts? Does the opportunity I'm describing sound too good to pass up? Is working at a hedge fund straight out of college good career building long-term? Or is taking it safely and secure (like with this consulting job) generally a good rule of thumb?
Thanks
cren99, way too quiet in here. What about these resources:
Hope that helps.
have you taken the intro accounting courses? did you enjoy it?
you'll be doing a lot of that (reading balance sheets...10-Ks and 10-Qs at a long/short fund...then building an excel model to compare them....and THEN doing the fun stuff...talking to company management and asking questions about their business, future plans and outlook, etc...to help flush out your excel model and come up with a valuation on what a company should really be worth.
it is indeed a great opportunity...and you should take it...but i would suggest studying basic accounting first..like right now, on your own..if you have not already (there are MOOCs that you can take on any subject)
Yes, I took an introductory financial accounting course during my sophomore year of college. I liked it, but it, of course, wasn't my favorite class of all time or something like that. I was kind of out of practice coming into the internship (two years after I took the class) and the first income statement I helped build took far longer than it should of. For sure then, I should brush up on it further haha.
I still have my textbook, but I guess I might also use a MOOC.
Thanks for the advice!
Cynically speaking the options sound like: Excel vs PPT. Which do you like more?
More holistically speaking only you know about your personality. How is your personal financial situation? How big of a life do you live? Do you have loans to pay back, family to support?
Objectively Speaking
If you need to support others, pay loans or have a tight financial situation, unfortunately your hands are probably tied and you need to choose the safe and stable job that gives you a steady pay check. If your financial situation is ok and you can take a gamble (and assuming you are not married with kids etc), then why not the HF?
Subjectively Speaking
What kind of work do you like more? PPT or Excel? Reading or presenting? Do you prefer to be very close with your boss/team and no client (ie. investor interaction - in many cases at a HF you ARE the client)? Or do you want to maybe be a part of a slightly bigger team with maybe more hierarchy and FACE clients (consulting is essentially a sell side job) with more structure.
Good Luck
PS: for me given my personality, background and all, I would have chosen the HF without a question and worked my tail off to get that FT offer. I have friends, who are smart and I really respect, who would have done the consulting gig.
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