*** WHAT INTERNSHIP WOULD YOU TAKE? ***

I voted consulting firm but realized it was not big three. In that case I vote for option 2

I voted #1.

Would have voted for VC if not for the paltry pay (unless of course 1 on this index is $200K/year).

i voted #2. seems to be the most balanced in terms of money, hours, reputation, job security etc

rhyme, my answer will depend on what you want to do full-time. All of these interships could be a great transition to your ideal full-time job.

Nope, you gotta vote blind ... no additional data available.

yes.

I would go with the internship that gets you closer to what you want to do post-MBA. I voted for VC because I'm biased It's the area I want to do after my MBA and I honestly don't think that the pay from internships is all that important. The important thing is opening up doors for your career.

Depending on your interests, the VC firm might not be a bad option too. This is for the summer, and while I am no expert on VC pay scales, dont they make a lot post-MBA? So while summer pay could be lesser, long term, it might offer a foot in the door to get into one of the more competitive industries.

When I was making my decision, I was very concerned that the economy would continue to be bad through the summer. I think it could rough on people who return to campus without full-time job offers. Obviously, there are no guarantees, but the opportunity for a full-time offer is a big factor this year so #1 & #4 seem risky. If you return to campus next year with a full-time offer, you can be more relaxed if you decide to look for another job; I wouldn't want to be flying without a net though because I sense jobs will be scarce in many industries.

Summer compensation is pretty much irrelevant for me; I would be more interested in knowing what full-time compensation would be. I would hate traveling 4 days a week; it might be OK for a summer but I'd be wallowing in self-pity if I had to do it full-time. I'd rather spend long hours at my desk than be forced to travel that regularly; but of course this is a personal preference and many people feel the opposite.

I'd go with #2 because I think people that go through such programs often to go on to successful finance and management careers.

I voted for Consulting, based on advice from a friend of mine who graduated from Stern, who now owns his own company. His internship was at Deutsche, and he did i-banking because he was torn between i-banking and entrepreneurship. According to him, it is much harder to go about it the other way (internship in entrepreneurship/VC then to full-time IB/MC). Try the consulting job this year, and if you do not like it, get into VC when you graduate.

rhyme, I voted for 1...Can't disrespect ethyl alcohol...

Did not realize you were a consultant. I guess, to generalize my advice, go for an internship that is going to be tougher to convert into a full-time job. That may very well be the VC job.

i have a friend who works at a beer company. he gets a beer stipend. hard to turn that down!

rhyme, I vote for the VC internship. The financial services job is the kind of job that you can get at any point in time in the future. But VC jobs are hard to come by and VC experience is a huge plus no matter what you ultimately do.

I voted for #2 !

It all depends on what you want to do afterwards, therefore everyones choice will be biaised by their personal goals if they are unaware of your goals.

Someone stated that they wouldn`t take the consultancy role because its not the `big 3`. Whereas for me, i would go to a consultancy if it specialised in my interest area irrelevant of its size and as long as the company is growing. A smaller company can give bigger opportunities for personal growth and increased responsibility.

1) would be my choice depending on the future potential of the company. The opportunity for quicker promotions and increased responsibilities in a growing company can be an opportunity for fasttrack into senior management. Whereas at a larger company you can be stuck at a similar level for a while with less opportunities for personal development. Here`s my reasoning based on personal experience:-

in chronological order :-
A) I`ve worked in a small company <100 people
B) a large company but not growing ~5000 people
C) a Fast growing company which went from small to big (~200 at start ~1000 when i left)
D) a large multinational top 10 branded company in the world(~60k people)

By far the biggest growth opportunities skill development and promotions were at company A & C and largest pay increases were at company C. The biggest bonuses were paid by company D. Climbing up the corporate chain at companies A & C allowed me to switch over to higher positions in companies B & D, giving me positions above other people who had been at those companies for a while.
Looking at recruitment at higher levels of management in large companies, a lot of people are recruited from high responsibility positions in growing companies e.g the Marketing VP in company C was headhunted by M$ to lead an entire division, the premise being that to entice someone away from an interesting position in a growing company, the offer has to be attractive.

.

I'll vote for # 1 because even though it's a risky proposition, to me it also seems to have the most long-term potential. Moreover, it also sounds like a "fun" kind of job.

I'm super sensitive to location in the US and would never really be comfortable even in decently sized cities like Atlanta or Phoenix for instance. So there goes #2.

As far as #3 is concerned, four days offsite a week would get old very fast and I doubt I would stay at a consulting firm for more than 3 years anyway. I think this will be the safe option for many, but an MBA is a gamble and I'd rather bet on something a little more "exciting."

#4, the small VC firm sounds like the riskiest proposition of all, and the compensation while expectedly low doesn't quite make up for taking on the huge risk that the firm will go bust in 2 years. This is TOO much of a gamble for my taste. Ok, I'll admit I've never found VC that interesting to begin with so some bias is probably showing up here.