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I would have said ISIS because of their brand name, general aesthetics and successful track record (Mosul takeover, acquisition of Palmyra) but they've been losing out to other groups recently and have been trying to spin a new African platform.

The Taliban on the other hand were flying under the radar but came back to the spotlight recently after their successful acquisition of Afghanistan following the USA's failed bid.

I guess it depends on what you're interested in - if you want to get experience in Jihad and kafir restructuring you should go with ISIS, but if you want to get more exposure to the Sharia vertical - hand/head divesting, hadith underwriting, woman whipping - you should go with the Taliban.

Based on previous cohorts the Taliban may offer better exit opps, as we've seen some analysts who had experience with the aircraft vertical moving to the NYC office. However we have to take into account the fact that the data may be biased because the Taliban have been around for much longer than ISIS (1970s vs. 2010s). That being said, they're both a spin off of CIA Capital so we can reasonably assume that you'll get looks from headhunters in both cases.

Good luck brother, in sha'Allah you'll make top bucket.

 

Based on previous cohorts the Taliban may offer better exit opps, as we've seen some analysts who had experience with the aircraft vertical moving to the NYC office.

Damn, this was really really dark, not sure if ok to laugh

 

Based on previous cohorts the Taliban may offer better exit opps, as we've seen some analysts who had experience with the aircraft vertical moving to the NYC office.

Damn, this was really really dark, not sure if ok to laugh

-

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

thanks for the writeup (can I pm you?)

ultimately leaning Taliban due to the more established track record and brand name.  Seems like there is more upwards mobility too.  

probably best move would be to do my junior years in the Taliban and lateral to Isis when more senior?  

The smaller elite boutique terror groups are just too volatile for me (have a friend that was at Al Qaeda during their fund blowup at Tora Bora (literal blowup), said it was a shit show

 

The Taliban because it is a genuine movement composed of fanatics who will die for what they believe in, right or wrong.

ISIS is a CIA-funded, Israeli front whose sole purpose was to take down the Assad regime in Syria and induce refugee populations in Europe to commit terrorism.

If you want real prestigious rogue groups, then see the bands of Israeli settlers, ex-South African and Rhodesian mercenaries, Ulster loyalist paramilitaries, Peru's Shining Path, Mexican drug cartels, and off-budget American intelligence agencies.

"Work ethic, work ethic" - Vince Vaughn
 
Yankee Doodle

The Taliban because it is a genuine movement composed of fanatics who will die for what they believe in, right or wrong.

ISIS is a CIA-funded, Israeli front whose sole purpose was to take down the Assad regime in Syria and induce refugee populations in Europe to commit terrorism.


 

Surprised to see an actually correct political take on this site for once. Good on you for being informed while balancing the demands of your job at the same time. Surprised I haven’t seen the 20 garden-variety early 2000s conservative think tank accounts that frequent here attack you for saying that ISIS is an Israeli-front 

 

the second para is 100% correct but id say you're being disingenuous by not mentioning the amount of training and funding the taliban received from the CIA. whilst the original 80s/90s group might have been mostly genuine i think its upto debate to what extent the same can be said of the 2020s incarnation. i wouldnt be surprised if the same ISIS mercenaries were part of the Taliban effort now. 

 

That was the Mujahideen. Once they defeated the Russians, the Reagan administration pulled the rug from under their funding. This decision followed with other heavy political and social implications that caused certain factions of the rebel organization to split into seperate organizations with radical ideologies. These organizations eventually became the Taliban and the other Al Qaeda.

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I am happy to announce I accepted an offer with Isis.  At the end of the day, the outsized future growth potential and exit opps won out (72 virgins in heaven is hard to pass up).

I really clicked with several of the junior team members and think they will lets me wear a suicide vest as a new analyst - potentially from day one even.

Couldn't have done it without all the support this website has given throughout the years.  

allahu ahkbar

 

Would love to provide my 2cents as an associate also based in the middle east region. 

Would go with the Taliban, Isis has been on a downward spiral since the beheading in the early 2010s. They ended up imploding operations and becoming targets for too many different deals they couldn't handle. They've seriously downsized since its glory days, however still remain functional. 

The Taliban has since been on an upward spiral seeing an upward growth in the afghan markets. They're on their way up, I wouldn't be surprised if they're considered a more reputable practice than the Al Queda in the near future.

Although consider this with a grain of salt, I come from America and was only able to land a top mm shop (Hamas, Hizballah)

 

How are the LGBT diversity hiring initiatives at these groups? Would it be better to identify  as gay to gain better access to recruiting?

Also is there protected Fridays at these groups?

Thanks

 

Not sure how it is now, but last intern class they took a few LGBT recruits up to the top floor of building and threw them off.  Maybe the new leadership has clamped down on that behavior?  Might be worth giving it a shot.

As for protected Fridays, that's their official policy (per sharia law of course), but there's always an asshole MD/Mullah that doesn't follow it - experiences will vary.  Will be on you to pushback.

 

This is actually a really easy decision. Idk if youre running a process with Al Queda as well, but figured I would also throw them into my analysis. Ranked in order:

1. Taliban (aka Goldman Sachs): proven track record, high retention rates, well established, all lifers who make it to the top live a life of extreme luxury. 

2. ISIS (aka PJT): lot of folks may opt to choose ISIS over the Taliban because they are the "hot" new guys looking to shake things up, but they are far less established relative to the Taliban. The Taliban is, after all, the staple of terrorism. ISIS is displaying rapid growth as they started to target atypical, non-target regions (think US, UK, etc.), but this growth is not strong enough to make them a true rival of the Taliban any time soon. 

3. Al Queda (Lehman Brothers): Once an icon within the terrorism industry, they burned too bright and had too large of aspirations, and were eventually engulfed in an explosion that led to their demise. While they are no more, they were an industry leader in the early 2000s, and a huge hit in NYC. Sadly, their aggressive and unconventional attempts to realize exponential growth fell short, and they perished like many other once great industry leaders. 

 

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