Internship Choices

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
1

<p>I'm a freshman at Stern currently weighing my options for the summer. I'm not sure what I want to do for a career, but probably a financial-services field (Finance/Econ major).</p>

<p>What would be better for me: a paid internship at a small company that no one's probably heard of (not a pure financial services firm, but is related--finance-tech and executive search firms) or an unpaid internship at a more reputable firm (a group at Merrill Lynch)?</p>

<p>I'm not desperately in need of money, but it certainly would be nice. Would the unpaid internship at Merrill be THAT much of a boost on my resume?</p>

2

<p>Honestly, so many people have big firms such as Merrill Lynch on their resume that it’s not a big deal. At those companies, you’ll be a small part of a very large firm. They rely on their name to get interns w/o paying them. My advice is to go with the smaller company, get paid, and do a great job. Make yourself stand out. Remember, it’s not about what’s on your resume, but what you DID on your resume.</p>