Where should I start...

I'm a newbie on this forum, so I'll give a little background on myself. I'm a rising junior at a top school (HYPS) with a 3.9 double majoring in physics and philosophy with a minor in religion. I'm an avid poker, chess, and backgammon player, and recently started dabbling in the stock market and over the summer in 2 months have averaged over 50% returns on my portfolio (might just be luck considering Baidu just bubbled, good thing I sold at 205). But anyway, a friend of mine who's a year older is interning at Goldman Sachs FICC division, and he says my personality/abilities perfectly correlate to that of a successful trader. Now my interest in the finance industry has been peaked, and I've been reading as much as I can about it. As far as I can tell, trading is probably the most awesome job I can obtain upon graduation other than playing poker professionally.

From my research, I've been able to acquire a general sense of which types of desks I would like to work on. With that said, I'll probably start looking for internships when the school year starts. The area that I'm interested in is definitely derivatives. Commodities, Interest Rates, Credit, and Exotics especially fascinate me because of their complexity and volatility. Which banks are strong in those areas or in derivatives? Also, traders who have worked on those desks, please comment on the culture and the people. Thanks for your help guys.

 

I would, but then I'd be disowned by my asian parents for wasting $100k on college education, and I think taking 5-6 classes a semester really would have been waste of time

 

GS and MS are tops for commodities; DB, JPM are good in derivatives in general, and JPM is also strong in exotics. However, I have no experience in S&T either, and this is what people have speculated. Hopefully, Jimbo will give you a little more insight

 

Temporibus praesentium occaecati aut consequuntur fugit officiis architecto. Dignissimos est aut qui quo dolor mollitia inventore. Sint autem consequatur et nam et. Doloremque voluptatem atque aperiam sed molestias impedit perspiciatis. Deserunt nobis voluptatem reiciendis non eos facilis ipsum. Natus provident dicta et dolores rerum iusto inventore.

Occaecati quia ut iure. Suscipit perferendis quis omnis vitae aut atque. Officiis rerum temporibus reprehenderit quas. Temporibus ut voluptatem cum dolore eaque et ipsum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 04 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

May 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (88) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (67) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $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
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Kenny_Powers_CFA's picture
Kenny_Powers_CFA
98.8
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...”