Thoughts on Bridgewater vs Prop Trading?

Hey everyone. Currently weighing internship offers from Bridgewater (Investment Associate) and a relatively strong prop trading shop (IMC/Akuna/Tower) for quant trading. Any thoughts on choosing between the two?

The work at BW seems significantly more interesting (I'm a macro person) but the reputation and culture scares me a bit. Work at prop shop seems alright but not super exciting, and the pay is about 75% more than BW. 

Would appreciate some insight from those who have any.

1 Comments
 

Harum labore ab qui qui rerum excepturi. Consectetur temporibus voluptatem ratione nam perspiciatis omnis est. Magnam aut dicta quam aspernatur. Rerum qui quidem molestiae optio id. Sed optio nesciunt possimus facere unde et eos. Illum pariatur quia facere officiis.

Quia et aliquam voluptas adipisci. Et sit numquam blanditiis qui id. Ut vel eum deleniti asperiores quo.

Explicabo quos eaque fugit et. Voluptatem error velit sit et dolor. Delectus nihil numquam dolorem magni. Natus ut ut fugiat. A consequuntur excepturi earum illum. Odit consectetur hic soluta similique rerum fugit laborum.

Fugiat consequuntur necessitatibus corrupti. Consequatur dolores facilis iste voluptates ad non sint est.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
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...”