Worth taking Unpaid Ibanking Internship in NY Sophomore?

Assuming you have to pay $1500 to get your sponsor and then also about $1500 per month for living expensives per month, is the banking internship worth it? Versus doing BO/MO somewhere else where you get a pay and don't need to go into debt.

 

The way I see it, if a bank is only offering you an unpaid internship the firm is likely not reputable enough to be worth the trouble. The only exception here is if you're completely out of other options, then I guess it is better than nothing.

In my opinion, if you're looking at BO/MO at a BB or big MM, it's infinitely more valuable than some mom-and-pop boutique that can't even shovel up the money to pay their interns.

 
Best Response

I think this is an interesting opinion. I have been in a very similar situation with OP and I easily took the unpaid banking internship.

I think it really depends on what OP wants to do, what kind of work he'll be doing at this banking internship, and what kind of financial situation he is in. I'm a sophomore working in NYC for the summer, got a MO internship at JPM/GS/MS that paid $21 an hour and I turned it down to work at a boutique that doesn't pay it's interns. This is because 1) Nothing I would learn at the BO/MO position at the BB position was worthwhile and I already spent my freshman summer at a BB for wealth management, 2) I want to pursue a career in investment banking and want to get the experience heading into recruiting, 3) I was impressed with the people I met during my interview at the boutique and the level of work that they did and I know that I won't just be used as a slave doing garbage work and 4) My family's financial situation allows me to not have to focus on making money right now and instead allow me to take on an internship that (in my opinion) will benefit me more towards the future.

 

If you want the experience, then yes it will obviously be beneficial..If you want to break into the industry then any type of relevant work will be useful.

Did you propose to work for free?

OE
 

Hell yes! If you're going back to school in the fall, I would try to maintain a working relationship with them throughout the semester. Nothing too time consuming but maybe some basic model work or a monthly meeting to talk about deals they're doing. That will give you a ton of stuff to talk about in an IBD interview. Plus no one will question if you're just trying to get into the industry for the money.

Make opportunities. Not excuses.
 

I have worked unpaid at a local boutique for a little under a year. I worked while attending summer classes, and offered to do various tasks during the regular school year. I usually do some research/checking documents/an occasional model. The director is cool and lets me take a lot of the work home, so it fits my schedule easily, and I have gotten some good experience, met clients, etc. With that said, make sure you frequently weigh your alternatives. The shop is too small to do any FT hiring, so it is a dead end in terms of immediate career growth. Sometimes I think it would have been better to pursue something in F500 or corporate banking.

 

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