Freshman decision between unpaid search fund internship and paid MM fixed income risk management summer internship

I'm having a really tough time deciding between continuing with my unpaid search fund internship or pursuing a paid fixed-income risk management internship in LA. The partner I'm working for at my search fund told me I need to think about the long-term vision of my career (My end goal is HF/PE) and heavily encouraged me to stay onboard (he invested time to train me), but I'm worried that I'm passing up a great opportunity to get paid and learn a MO role which I can leverage for an IB internship next year.

Am I being short-sighted for wanting to get paid this early on in my career? Can anyone else who's worked for a small PE Firm or Search Fund tell me about how it helped them break into PE or IB? What are the advantages of working in fixed income risk management?

Thanks!!!

4 Comments
 

Unless the search fund is beautifully ran, I would recommend doing the paid risk internship. My search fund experience wasn't great, it's a decent talking point, but I wouldn't say it would be better than your other option.

 

Did you feel like the experience prepared you for working in a big PE firm like Blackstone or Bain? Did your boss write you a rec letter and if so did it help?

 
Best Response

You are absolutely not being short sighted on getting paid. I do not know your financial situation, but college costs $$ and this $$ you would be making could help in some respect. If this guy was really interested in your career and not just looking for free labor, he would offer to pay you something to keep you there.

Another point I would make is that you are a freshman, you have no idea what you want to do, and getting the opportunity to experience a different part of the industry could change what you end up wanting to do long term. Since the job is in LA, I am going to assume the FI risk gig is @ an asset manager, you could end up liking the FI markets and wanting to get a full time job in FO (analyst/trader/PM) on the buyside or maybe you want to try your hand at S&T.

You also already have this search fund experience on your resume so you will have some talking points for any future IB interviews.

 

Iusto ea quibusdam similique omnis recusandae officiis. Eum expedita corrupti voluptas autem mollitia consequuntur. Consequatur possimus qui architecto dolor nihil est. Rem repellendus enim assumenda tempora. Commodi sed vitae tempore qui vitae.

Ratione sint sed in autem sit pariatur dolore. Veritatis quibusdam omnis adipisci quaerat sunt repellat enim.

Vel a hic quaerat ut officia praesentium modi. Non repellendus eos labore consequatur. Alias saepe aut natus quibusdam.

Aut in fugiat eveniet sit qui ea. Facilis ipsam adipisci quam fuga. Quam natus aliquam quisquam atque eum. Vel pariatur voluptas nam molestias. Et ut aspernatur cumque tempore aspernatur. Et est earum amet nostrum maiores. Voluptates placeat vitae totam veritatis.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (81) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”