PT to FT offer last semester of undergrad or MS internship?

Background info: I am a Finance major in my senior year at a non-target university, with a less than desirable GPA. I've managed to hedge my poor academic decision making with quality experience on my resume, in the form of a stock analyst internship at an RIA firm in the area, and a Lead Analyst position in my Student Investment Club Research Team. I graduate in May 2020. My career end goal is to get to Wall St., and exit into PE., but I'm aware it's going to take a longer and more complicated path than most. I am trying to determine my best path to this goal.

I am currently faced with this dilemma: As I stand to graduate in May, I've been offered a PT to FT position as an investment analyst at an RIA firm. I still have a semester left in my undergraduate degree, so I would start working 20-25 hours per week and transition to full time after I graduated. Pros: I start while I'm still in school, and transition to a FT role right after graduation. No job search needed, and the position is an adequate starting block for me to begin my career from. Cons: The firm is a bit small, and I may be slightly underpaid.

I also have an offer for next semester from Morgan Stanley in their PWM program. It isn't in their downtown office here in Tampa, and is instead about an hour from me near St. Petersburg. I'm not well versed on the benefits and drawbacks of working from a remote office location, but the reputation and recognition associated with the Morgan Stanley name is making me reconsider my PT to FT offer.

TL;DR: Should I accept a full time offer with a small firm and work from there; or should I intern with Morgan Stanley this spring and re-evaluate my options after graduation? Any advice is appreciated, love yall.

3 Comments
 

What would you be doing at MS? Relatively the same thing that you would be doing at the RIA, or something completely different?

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The MS internship is a PWM rotational program, where I would be developing my financial and analytical skills further, providing support to the marketing and sales teams, performing market research, and gaining exposure to client relationships. The RIA position is an investment analyst position, where I would be analyzing portfolios for maturity schedules, CF expectations, and exposure metrics. It’s worth mentioning that this RIA firm deals exclusively with government clients and only constructs portfolios with debt securities rather than equity securities, although I am not sure whether that is a disadvantage for me.

 

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