Academic Research vs PWM?

Hey guys, after a pretty competitive application process I found out today that I was accepted to do a research project with a finance professor at my school over the summer. However, based on the expectations my professor laid out, it looks like this position will be pretty much a full time thing and I won't have time to hold any other job. So, my question is whether for my sophomore summer it'd look better to do this research project, or to do a PWM internship at a non-BB firm's regional office in my hometown, if my goal for next summer is ER with a long-term eye towards the HF industry. Would the research be looked down upon because its not technically a job, or would it be considered favorably because it's likely to be more analytical and relevant to the markets than a cold-calling PWM gig?

4 Comments
 

I agree, research would be something different. I'm sure recruiters in IB see a million resumes where kids have done PWM internships the summer before. At least you'll stand out a little.

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