What internship should I do this summer?

I’m a freshmen at ucsd and I understand that I go to a non target school. My major is business economics and I plan on trying to transfer to ucla or usc as a junior. I also plan on trying to join a few investment clubs next quarter. My question is what internships can I do this summer that will help me develop my resume? I read on other posts that people recommend smaller boutiques but I don’t know how to find those in the Los Angeles area. Please help

6 Comments
 

if you're going to transfer, junior year is too late as recruiting will be over by then

i would just cold email a ton of tiny boutique banks and search funds with ucsd presence in the area (do a LI search and filter by keywords and alumni presence). you're too late for most larger companies (who don't hire freshmen anyways), so you may as well shoot for ib or pe on your resume and call it a day

 

Nah, the timeline has been compressed to the point where junior summer recruiting (which is synonymous with a return offer at many places) kicks off in sophomore fall or spring. 

 

But there’s no recruiting of big banks on my campus. Do I just submit applications during my sophomore year? Also when you say small boutique banks, are those just random small investment firms I find off google. For example, “41 North LLC” is a small boutique bank?

 

UCSD is a non-target, so banks probably won't do OCR there. You'll need to recruit as a nontarget, which means a lot of cold emails to bankers with the expectation of a low response rate.

No idea what that boutique is, but that's to be expected. Find small banks that might be willing to take you on, and cold email them.

 

Perspiciatis debitis molestiae esse quia voluptatem officia fugiat accusantium. Eligendi distinctio et magni unde sint molestiae. Et error deserunt eos explicabo et. Consequatur expedita et magni eaque. Incidunt sunt aspernatur corporis magnam dolore.

Qui laudantium vitae quia itaque et. Ipsam fuga rem exercitationem perspiciatis omnis. Consectetur dolores itaque enim dignissimos itaque.

Nesciunt tenetur ut aut. Ratione et eos sapiente sed ab. Sint occaecati autem eaque perspiciatis impedit natus. Reprehenderit sequi ut qui voluptas cupiditate porro. Voluptatum cum accusantium repellendus et. Cum excepturi culpa provident qui sapiente. Omnis atque placeat eum odio.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (47) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (74) $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
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
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...”