BAML S&T vs. Citadel IBD

Hey all,

I have two offers, one from BAML S&T and the other from Citadel IBD. I'm really interested in trading, but I haven't altogether ruled out a potential full-time career in banking. I know that Citadel Securities has been experiencing some turbulence as of late, but would do you guys think?

TIA~

5 Comments
 
Best Response

A few years ago, I would've said BAML S&T. Certainly in the past S&T at BAML was more reputable than Citadel's i-banking. But with the Volcker Rule, it becomes a little more iffy. Trading has better hours at first, but i-banking may end up preparing you for more diverse pursuits as you grow older. Also, you don't see a lot of 50 year old traders (and don't say it's because they retired when they were 35, because that's rarely the case), but you see a lot of 50 year olds working in finance who used to work in i-banking and are either still doing it or working in PE or something related. Traders tend to blow out, while i-bankers tend to burn out. There's honestly not a great chance that you will make a career out of either. However, either name will look good on your resume and you'll be able to have opportunities as long as you don't get fired in the first year.

But like derivstrading said, "This isnt a question of BAML vs Citadel, its a question of S&T vs IBD." And that's really what you need to decide.

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