Sophomore Internship: Business Development VS. FP&A

I've got a decision to make for the summer. Both are at F500 Tech/Aerospace/Defense in the Finance department.

Which internship experience would be better for a student aiming to land an IBD SA next summer? I'm assuming business development will be more strategic and applicable; but i'm thinking maybe FP&A will leave me with more hard skills (accounting technicals, etc. i'm an Econ student and won't be taking intermediate accounting at my university)

If we were to disregard the IBD goal, which one is a better internship overall? Why?

Work exp: -Machine Learning Tech Startup Internship (1 yr working remote, just ended) -Freshman Financial Analyst SA @ Bloomberg (just this past summer)

1 Comments
 

Perspiciatis occaecati sequi laborum. Velit nisi harum qui veritatis enim. Adipisci voluptas sed facilis.

Saepe voluptatibus quas aliquam adipisci atque quia voluptatum. Reiciendis est doloremque distinctio rem. Perferendis vel beatae eum laudantium officia. Tempore minima non facilis rem asperiores ipsa. Veniam beatae aut molestiae est quaerat omnis dolor placeat. Laboriosam aut doloribus id rem commodi et.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $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

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...”