help with choice between summer analyst internship at HK with ML IBD, GS IMD institutional sales or JPM S&T?

Hello!

I have the following question regarding the choice of a summer analyst internship for the three roles:
Merrill Lynch - IBD
JP Morgan - S&T
Goldman Sachs - IMD institutional sales

I think this is particularly a hard decision as I am very interested in all three of them and each of them carries certain value to the so-called the make-up of the best job "what you are interested in, what you are good at and what has better growth opportunity".

I have a strong science background and I personally like playing with numbers and risk-taking - so S&T might be "what I am interested in". Whereas sales is "what I am very good at" and I deeply enjoy the chance to talking to people and honestly, I also enjoy the chances of just getting away from the office. Lastly, I think most of us would agree that IBD has "better potential" as there are probably more opportunities to work elsewhere. I recognize there are loads to be learned from IBD but just like most people, 130 hours might not be that fun...

I am sincerely looking forward to your suggestions as I don't have much experience in this field. I am not even sure of whether I should go with the primary market or the secondary market. In the long run, I want to start my own company or work in a distressed equity/debt HF, but I have long had an engineering education (even dwelling deeply into computer artificial intelligence research and data analytics) which explains my inclination towards sales and trading. Therefore I am also considering a future rule in S&T if I do well in S&T. But this is itself a chicken-and-egg problem as I will not know whether I do it well until I go with the internship.

Thank you very much in advance and any suggestion is welcome! Thanks!

10 Comments
 
Best Response

You'll have to do a few things. First identify what you really want to do (looks like it involves sales) and understand the roles of each job. S&T is more market making than anything else, while you'll be more client facing and interactive in an institutional sales role at GS. Regarding your prospects for exit ops at a HF, either the IBD or S&T gig will put you in the best position to land at a solid HF.

 

Thank you very much, BillBelichick! I totally agree with you that I need to find out what I want to do and thanks for the helpful input. Merry Christmas!

 

Why are people interested in S&T given how the industry is changing these days? If you're interested in trading, wouldn't you want to be working at a prop shop? And if you're not interested in working at a prop shop aren't you concerned that your job will be continually squeezed out due to automation?

 

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