11 Comments
 
Best Response

I'm assuming you mean no hedge funds or private equity funds, since they don't traditionally recruit out of college.

In that case, GS is probably the best place to start in almost any area. Of course, there are some exceptions:

If you are interested in banking or pe, you might want to check out Qatalyst, Allen & Co, Centerview, Greenhill, Evercore, Lazard, etc. These are some of the elite boutiques (note Qatalyst is tech heavy and Centerview is big in CPG advisory). If you have an interest in covering a specific industry, or working more on advisory, you might take an offer at one of these shops over GS.

For trading, once again, you might want to check out a smaller player, especially one with a specialization. Thus, you might choose to work at Trafigura or Glencore over GS (for commodities), or one of the quant shops out in Chicago (like jane street or someone).

In research or IM, if your end goal is the buy side, some larger mutual or insurance funds will recruit research analysts or (junior) portfolio managers right out of undergrad. Choosing one of these over GS right from the get go might make more sense since they are strong in investment management and you will get buy-side exposure right away.

You might, if you have the opportunity, choose a position at The Fed, IMF, UN, World Bank, White House, Congress or some other government organization. There are also F500 positions, elite consulting (MBB or specialized like Monitor), start-ups, and tech giants like FB, Google, etc. Again, choosing one of these depends on your career goals and whether or not you got an offer.

As you can see, the only places you would choose are sell-side shops which are smaller or more specialized, or buy-side shops of comparable size. Good luck getting an offer at GS and one of these, you are probably going to need it.

looking for that pick-me-up to power through an all-nighter?
 

Eligendi harum placeat est voluptatem. Officiis vitae inventore sunt architecto. Sunt soluta sapiente consequatur et sunt aut eligendi et.

Impedit corporis iure qui pariatur enim. Placeat nam voluptatem accusantium maiores. Eius beatae voluptatem porro laudantium.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (67) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”