Is an unpaid IB internship worth it? For context, it is a legit small boutique IB (M&A) firm in a Tier 2 city. I’ll be doing some industry research and will get exposure to live deals. Can I recruit FT into a reputable MM in late summer early fall?
| +146 | UBS Catastrophic Q1-Q3 26, M&A -17%, Outside Top 10 in Americas, EMEA & APAC | 45 | 1h |
| +64 | PWP acquisition by Piper cancelled | 25 | 51m |
| +43 | No return offer - UPDATE. | 12 | 1d |
| +31 | Evercore poaches Baird DC Defense Team | 24 | 15h |
| +24 | Is my MD a grifter? 16 years, 8 firms | 13 | 12h |
| +23 | Article: UBS Wall Street Rebuild Is a Study in Management Failure | 5 | 26m |
| +22 | Best Houston Banks for Culture in 2026 | 17 | 10h |
| +21 | Lack of talent in IB! | 19 | 1d |
| +21 | Internal lateral from coverage to M&A (focused on coverage) | 6 | 2h |
| +15 | Discussion Transaction Experience in Lateral Interviews | 4 | 16h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Check linkedin for others who have done internship there (presumably their entire intern program is unpaid) and see placements
depends on the hours
How many hours is reasonable for an unpaid IB internship?
I’d say however much you’re comfortable with working on no pay. Set an amount of hours per week that you wouldn’t want to go over and let management know. But I also wont expect them to make you do regular hours unpaid.
Echoing some of the points already made. But well worth it if you can set respectable boundaries on hours worked. Everyone I know that had some M&A did pretty well for themselves in the junior summer placement
This is my junior summer internship. Have you seem people go from regional boutiques SA to FT MM or a more known bank?
Ipsam aliquam voluptates molestiae velit molestias excepturi labore neque. Omnis magni totam aut eum debitis incidunt.
Omnis minima natus magni mollitia libero voluptatem. Dolor unde autem quis sed et atque cumque. Illo nemo dicta neque iure debitis accusamus dignissimos porro. Qui qui quis qui sequi debitis non nihil necessitatibus. Delectus nemo enim autem eveniet unde. Nesciunt dolor quasi voluptas et magni quidem aut.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...