Sophomore Summer Decision? (Would this close the door to BB IB?)

Hey WSO,

I wanted to get your guys opinion on which is a better choice as an internship for my sophomore summer (2023 summer). I was able to get a trading internship at a top prop shop (JS/Optiver), while I would also be able to likely get an investment banking internship at an MM firm most likely.

I am keen to try the trading internship, however I am under no illusions that there is a reasonable chance that I may not enjoy it/be unable to cope/may not have the skills. I was wondering if this would be a major red flag when I apply for junior year summer IB internships at the BB's? I feel I would be able to articulate clear reasoning why trading wasn't for me, but wondering about the IB SA opportunity potentially closing?

Thanks so much guys, truly appreciate all your help!

 

Take what I say with a grain of salt as I’m still in college and probably younger than you. But from what I’ve seen on here, it seems that it is always possible to go back to these quant firms if IB doesn’t work out while the converse is not really true. If you have the skills to get an internship at JS you’re probably not far off from being able to secure FT from other quant trading firms. You should decide if you enjoy banking more because going back to quant will always be easier than the other way around.

 

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