Need Advise on How to go from Unpaid Intern to Paid Analyst

Heres the low down.

I a sr. at a non-target. Solid GPA. The last 7 months I have been working at a smaller boutique (very top heavy firm). I took this non-paid internship hoping it would turn into a FT position when I graduated.

Since the deals are on/off my hours really vary and since I missed FT recruiting (Sept/Oct) I have only had the opportunity to interview at a few other banks (off-cycle). Currently, I have no offers yet but I am advancing to final rounds in 2 of these off cycle analyst positions at MM banks but both are far from where I want to be. (CA/MN)

Basically, I wanted to know what my MD was thinking and how to go about asking him where his head at. I talked to the only associate about it and she said they love me and for her to "do her job" they'll need to bring me on, but shes worried they wouldn't be able to have enough work for me to be FT. Also, one of the MD's has briefly brought it up a month ago that "I can use him as a reference" but the goal is to bring me on.

What do you guys think? I am going to bring it up next week.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

4 Comments
 

Yeah thats what I plan on Monday but I still am a bit lost. Currently, its just me and another intern doing all the analyst work and I actually just took over all the clients he is responsible for because he started grad school. I would say deal flow is pretty solid. I do not have anything to really compare it to, but it seems like there is a good amount of analyst work to be done. I am pretty lost as to what I should ask salary wise. The associate said my best bet is to pitch that I could just bill the firm hourly. What would you recommend is a reasonable amount? Most of the work is not challenging (putting together books, industry/economic research, light modeling depending on the deal)

 

Dolorem voluptas veritatis occaecati. Dolorum error omnis quos fugit doloribus atque laborum. Non rerum esse odit debitis. Qui at reiciendis et praesentium. Saepe consectetur eos consequatur sint quisquam ex eius.

Eum eius totam cupiditate beatae eaque voluptas. Qui et et id enim voluptate. Et officia dolorem dolorum sed. Dolorem repellendus ea enim tempore impedit.

Porro voluptas voluptatum asperiores sit unde pariatur nisi et. Vel accusamus dolor temporibus explicabo doloribus qui eligendi exercitationem.

Alias rerum et velit qui repudiandae earum nisi. Ea deleniti totam omnis nisi officia nobis ea.

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 (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 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

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...”