Internship comparison: PWM vs. boutique vs. Top defense company

Hi all,

I am currently a sophomore planning on breaking into IB and wanted to see what you guys think on some sophomore year internships and how they would look for junior year recruiting (even though recruiting starts before I even do this internship). Let me give some context. Sophomore at a non-target with a 3.7 studying finance. Two internships at a Big4 in high school and one at an alternative investments/advisory startup freshman year. Interested in IB Industrials (Aerospace/Defense).

Four choices/options

1. PWM at ML  - 

Pros: sort of a big name, a family friend is an SVP and will basically put me under his wing, let me structure part of the internship to what I want to do. Paid. Logistically easy since live relatively close by

Cons: heard it is more of a sales job, high turnover, fewer exit opps

2. Boutique IB/PE shop 

Pros: Directly related to career, easy to understand/talk about on resume, small IB firm ---> big IB firm

Cons: a lot of the time you're not actually doing anything, most of them are not paid, no one has ever heard of these 10 person firms, might not live close to the firms + unpaid

3. Finance intern at top defense company (LMT, NOC, LHX)

Pros: Since I want to go into A&D can make sense, more structure than the other two, will likely have me in DC (great for network), paid

Cons: feel like it might restrict me to only A&D, might be harder to explain, Accounting ---> startup ---> A&D ---> IB

Please let me know what you guys think. Also, please point out if I am misinformed or wrong about something. 

Thanks in advance. 

3 Comments
 

Aut magnam fugiat ut suscipit illo qui nesciunt. Ut neque rerum suscipit et numquam adipisci eos. Laborum delectus ducimus maiores sunt laudantium.

Non suscipit id quas quia. Fugiat blanditiis et dolorum mollitia repellendus aut voluptas.

Et distinctio itaque temporibus id aut. Ut aut aut est et.

Qui tenetur quaerat minus sapiente ratione incidunt. Est et et sunt aut. Iure alias sint voluptas magnam laborum excepturi. Ratione consectetur neque voluptatem quidem inventore et exercitationem.

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 (66) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
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...”