HELP intern offer decision: Morgan Stanley or Knight Capital
I'm having a really hard time deciding between two internship offers and would love some advice!
About me: I'm about to get a PhD next year with a quantitative background (think Stat / Comp. Sci. / Physics) at a top school (tied for #1 in my field). I recently have taken an interest in going the financial industry after graduating, but I have little to no background in the area. So I'm kind of flying blind at this point.
I've got two internship offers for this summer and I have to decide right away which one I want:
Option 1: Desk strategist at Morgan Stanley. Would work mainly on modeling mortgage backed securities.
Option 2: Intern in the electronic trading group at Knight Capital / Knight Equity Markets. I would be doing high frequency trading.
The MS internship offer was harder to get; I flew to New York and did 11 interviews. I only had to do 6 interviews for the one with Knight. The MS internship pays better, but I don't care about that for an internship (just experience).
I guess MS would be better for getting into an investment bank when I graduate, but the Knight one seems more relevant for getting into hedge funds and proprietary trading. Really, all I want is whatever option leads to earning the most I can over the next 10 years or so after graduating.
Any ideas?
I was initially leaning toward MS, but an independent recruiter I've been talking to really thinks Knight would be a better fit for me. He was the one who referred me to Knight, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be getting a commission for this since it is just an internship. I think he just wants to build a relationship with me for next year.
Help!!!
I'm still in college so I can't be of much value (Both are legit offers though), but I gotta ask about the 11 interviews for MS. How difficult was that? I can understand maybe 3 or 4 interviews, but what the hell do they need to see you 11 times for?
Managing directors arent the only ones that love under the table handjobs ;)
seriously congrats. Go MS. NITE does too many penny stock scams.
@wallstreetkid: 11 interviews on one day probably, or spread out over 2 rounds, but not separately.
I'd definitely vote MS
WallStreetKid, I'm pretty sure he means 11 individual interviews, not 11 rounds. My bad if it indeed was 11 rounds (and kudos on being so patient...I would have flipped a switch if I was made to fly back and forth 11 times).
But you hit it spot on in your post, it depends heavily on what you're aiming to do. If you want to get into stat arb/ high freq / program trading / algo trading, go to Knight.
But if you're unsure, the MS brand name will open many more doors for you in the future if you change your mind.
Thanks so much for the feedback so far; it's really helpful.
Yeah, MS was 11 individual interviews, not rounds of interviews, lol. I did 2 phone interviews then 9 on-site interviews on the same day.
@GutShot
That's in line with my thinking, but it's great to hear it confirmed. At the moment, eventually going in the direction of stat arb / trading / hedge funds seems more appealing, because I have a vague impression that someone like me could make more money that way. But I really have no clue.
So maybe MS is the better option, because it has the better brand name and might give me more flexibility in the future.
Out of curiosity. How much do the pay phd summers?
MS will pay the equivalent of 100000 / year prorated based on the number of weeks I work. I'll probably work about 12 weeks, so that comes to 23077.
NITE will pay 78000 / year prorated the same way, which is 18000.
I agree with the above posters and would go with MS. Also a better brand name if you realize you want to move somewhere else, and just make sure that you don't burn bridges with the guys at Knight
okkcnp, sent you a private message
MS, always - former quant in Mortgage Backed Securities, you can always learn high frequency trading.
I'd go with Knight. I've heard terrible things about being a strategist @ a bank both from former strategists and online.
http://adgrok.com/why-founding-a-three-person-startup-with-zero-revenue…
^^ flyingmonkey are you in prop trading now? And, may I ask where (via PM if it's better for you)
Knight is by far the most crooked firm on wall street. Stay away, nobody takes them seriously, sorry.
Can you elaborate?
oab, why the fuck would you give advice to someone who asked a question 2 years ago?
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