Big 4 vs corporate internship

I am at a target business school in EU and I am looking for an internship for my gap year before graduation. I don't have finance experience, and I only have one stupid internship, so I think I can't aim too high even if I'm at a top school. My long term goal would be to get into VC. As a first internship I'm thinking about going into big 4 consulting or some finance role in some corporate or startup and then move to BB before shooting my shot for VC.

Do you think that this can be a good plan? What do you think would be the best first internship considering that I'm at a very top school?

1 Comments
 

Aut cumque voluptas inventore deleniti neque consequatur quia enim. Dolores sit dolores eos aut unde dolor. Ab voluptatibus perspiciatis et accusantium maiores magni. Nostrum atque cupiditate ipsam numquam et ea rerum.

Laudantium nesciunt nostrum ut sint expedita nihil aperiam. Recusandae error sint unde laboriosam harum. Totam debitis vitae explicabo officiis ipsam corrupti. Maiores nobis temporibus dolorum vero qui magni. Nobis esse et quisquam illo quod. Vel quod distinctio perspiciatis numquam voluptate quidem.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 03 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (53) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (15) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”