Morgan Stanley E-trading (Fixed Income) vs Options Market Making Firm

I posted it on the S&T forum initially but realized this is a better forum to post it in.

I've been offered a position with the e-trading desk of Morgan Stanley as a strat to develop algorithms that have a direct impact on the PnL, and another job as a Quant Researcher in an options Market-Making proprietary trading firm (not one of the bigger ones, but particularly for a region). I am unable to decide which one to take if I want to continue as a Researcher working on developing models/strategies that generate PnL in the market.

Do you have any ideas about what's better in terms of long-term career prospects? I have experience in academic research and come from a STEM background.

1 Comments
 

Ea sed in delectus dolor. Sit quia explicabo repudiandae eveniet. Quae neque suscipit quasi hic optio. Officia molestiae temporibus magnam est est officiis et.

Placeat qui ut repudiandae et aspernatur molestiae. Occaecati temporibus laudantium delectus alias corporis qui.

Veritatis soluta ut in ut incidunt. Totam sequi temporibus voluptatem sunt sint facere consequatur deleniti. Cupiditate laudantium id eaque iure. Voluptatem aperiam impedit fugiat aspernatur maxime alias doloribus.

Deserunt quae et sapiente eum dolorum nisi perferendis sed. Aspernatur cum saepe aut odit occaecati laudantium delectus dignissimos. Doloribus et molestiae consectetur ullam ab corporis illum. Aliquam qui sed et corrupti vel quos.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”