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Internship v/s Brand name .... plz share thoughts

Joined
10/2/07
Messages
27
Points
11
Hi
I have secured admission to IIT,Chicago in Masters in Financial Markets and i am waiting for some other schools to ....
i am confused between doing a "RELEVANT" job in comaprison to brand name.

i am working at Infosys Technologies Ltd., India (which is a brand and i presume recognised all over the world) since November 2006, although i am working on Finance projects since the time i waz put on projects, i dont thinkpeople at the Brokerage firms (that i will apply to later in my life) will consider that as a "RELEVANT WORK Ex".

So, i have an offer from a brokerage firm in India (the best brokerage firm in INDIA, all the FII's and PIO's know its importance) i can join them for an internship program of 4 months.

So, now i am torned between BRAND(INFOSYS) and "possibly" relevant internship.....

will the internship that i would do, help my profile in any way possible.
because from what i heard, getting internships (leave apart jobs) in big brokerage firm without prior finance background is next to immpossible (there have been few exceptions)

So please let me know your thoughts
any comment on the above topic would be appreciated ....
thank you
 
Where else have you applied? And when have you secured admission for Spring or Fall?
 
could you please tell more about where you plan to attend school and work, i.e. which country?
if you're going to attend school full time in the US (ft is a requirement for all international students), then you'll have to quit infosys anyways, so no puzzle there. just go for the 4-months internship in fin to show both cs and fin experience, backed by proper academic training.

i would think that over a year at infosys should be a sufficient experience, and if you can make decent money at that other firm but work on more relevant projects, i don't see why not. now, the question is what are you going to do after those 4 months pass? if you can stay on - then great, do that. but if you'll have no other sources of income, then maybe staying at infosys is not that bad an idea.
see, it's really an ungrateful task to advise others on situations like these - there's no one right answer, it all depends.
 
could you please tell more about where you plan to attend school and work, i.e. which country?
if you're going to attend school full time in the US (ft is a requirement for all international students), then you'll have to quit infosys anyways, so no puzzle there. just go for the 4-months internship in fin to show both cs and fin experience, backed by proper academic training.

i would think that over a year at infosys should be a sufficient experience, and if you can make decent money at that other firm but work on more relevant projects, i don't see why not. now, the question is what are you going to do after those 4 months pass? if you can stay on - then great, do that. but if you'll have no other sources of income, then maybe staying at infosys is not that bad an idea.
see, it's really an ungrateful task to advise others on situations like these - there's no one right answer, it all depends.


very true, there is no right answer to my question, but some advice wud really help.

(aravind: i applied for fall 2008 session)

to be very precise, would an internship in a brokerage firm help me get an internship in us ....
i have read goldman sachs Analyst director talk about this: he said tht the more a person is trained, the less headache for the new company to train them ...
true, isnt it.

so which sounds better if u were to hire me as an intern
1 year + 6 months in INFOSYS (although i worked on finance projects alone, still not directly exposed)

or

1 year (few months) + an internship in India's biggest brokerage firm .....

and Dmytro u were right mate, the money question tht u raised, is exactly wht my family too is thinking about, i wont be paid at tht new firm, since it is considered good enough to get into tht firm in the first place, whereas i wud make some money being at Infosys, till just before the fall term ....

so that is what exactly i am trying to get advice on:
is the internship criteria good enough to make me leave a paid job (is it going to be that useful)


if one looks it from a recruiters point of view, it does sound mandatory (why would they want want to hire someone with 0 experience in a brokerage firm)

so as one can make out ... i am confused, so please share your comments, it wll be very useful for me ...

Thanks and Regards
Ashish Tare
 
It really depends on what role you play, what level of decision making is involved. As far as the brokerage firm is concerned, it will keep you up to date with the market! While INFOSYS will keep you on track with the cutting edge tools reg Software application to finance. Since you want to go to IIT, if I were you, I would intern at Motilal Securities because it would help with respect to my studies and further an internship along the same lines. Recruiters look how targeted you are. So any relevant financial markets experience is going to boost your resume wrt your targeted approach! As long as you are applying in finance i.e. markets etc, unless you are having a bank as a choice, a brand name like Infosys shouldn't really matter. On the other hand, are you an It kind of guy or what do you want to do is the question.

Have you applied only to IIT or anywhere else? Just curious :)
 
I don't think INFOSYS is a great pay master as well. Well. may be it would be comparatively higher, you shoudn't be diverted at this stage. You still are going to be a student so don't bring money into the issue unless it is absolutely unavoidable.
 
GRE: 1380
Quant: 800
Verbal: 580
TOEFL ibt: 107
acads: First class (Mumbai University, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (No.1 in Mumbai University and in top 10 in INDIA)
working with INFOSYS (since November 2006) so an year ....


i have applied to:
IIT
POLYTECHNIC
RUTGERS
will apply to GEORGIA
and one high: University of MICHIGAN


so, to answer wht i really want to do:

no i am definetly not the IT kind of guy
i want to be in private equity eventually, but i guess one cannot get into that directly
so an ANALYST role in Investment Bank or Capital Markets
even that i m not sure
tht whether in Capital Markets or Foriegn Exchange or Investment Banking
what should i apply for .....

did i answer your question .....
 
Given this situation, If I were you, my obvious choice would be the brokerage firm internship as I already will be having one year INFOSYS experience. This will diversify your portfolio/resume.
Regarding your apps you should really take up a skool in a city like Chicago/NYC/. With the current state of markets, that would be a safer option always. As far as inner details like choice of field is concerned, you have to decide based on your interest.
 
Aravind: to which universities have u applied

u made a very good point about CHICAGO/NYC so which schools should i apply to in these states, because other than IIT in chicago i dont think i am eligible for any other school
and in NYC i have applied for one

do you think the sub-prime issue will hit us in terms of internships and jobs and salary

what is ur profile ........
 
Back up here a minute.
So you have applied to many programs already and want to know if something you may do in the future has any relevant to the applications you already sent ?

The only thing relevant when you intern at a financial firm is that it gives you some idea of how things work and what you want to do with your life. It may have zero effect on your application to colleges.

Secondly, don't hang your head too much on the brand name and all that crap. Look at it from the adcom point of view. I know INFOSYS is one of top technology service in India but as far as the adcom is concerned, it's just as relevant as you work for the 20th biggest IT consulting firm there.
Just for the record, every Indian applicants I came across with is either from some IIT, work at the top IT services firms, volunteer for some children foundation, etc there so if you look at the big picture, the names do not make or break an application as much as you like to think.

To your last query, the choice of where you study makes a HUGE difference on what kind of job you end up with. And in this kind of market condition, it makes a difference between having a job and no job.

Being able to talk to someone on the phone in the morning and meet them for interview during lunch is something you can do living in NYC. Jobs opportunities come and go quickly so being on site at any moment notice is a huge advantage.

And lastly, I'd would get rid of "juzz,wud,iz,plz" and use proper English instead. This site is frequented by practitioners, recruiters, and adcom people from different programs to whom you may want to make a lasting impression. :)
 
Thank you Andy,
i get your point, and i assure you mistakes will not be repeated. :)
About the advice, yes, now i see the bigger picture and realize that names do not matter as long as they impart knowledge.

Andy, my basic question though was, how much would a hiring committee value a 4 month internship done in an area where i would like to work. Because from what i heard, internships done at a place which is not that renowned, would not help.Sure it will impart knowledge but might not be a plus in the resume. And why would i company hire an intern having zero finance work ex. So that was my basic question, actually.

I do realize that it may not add any weight to my application to the university.
I was looking at it from an Internship point of view which i would want to do during summer or in between the semesters.

Once again Andy, thank you for your views and i have made note of your comments.

Thank you.
 
Sub prime crisis has already hit and affected job opportunities! Its going to be tough so make sure you prepare and take advice from successful people like Andy and other experienced quants in the forum!

I have applied to U-Chicago/NYU/Princeton/CMU/Stan etc... I have got through Chicago which I am planning to take up because graduate from UIUC with a MS in Mechanical Engr in December and this is the only college which has given me an admit in Spring. The biggest drawback with my profile is I don't have any finance experience through I have done advance course work in Financial Engr etc etc. NYU is my dream univ and I would be happy if I get through there and its like a challenge to get into that univ as there is lot of competition :D.
 
Sub prime crisis has already hit and affected job opportunities! Its going to be tough so make sure you prepare and take advice from successful people like Andy and other experienced quants in the forum!

I have applied to U-Chicago/NYU/Princeton/CMU/Stan etc... I have got through Chicago which I am planning to take up because graduate from UIUC with a MS in Mechanical Engr in December and this is the only college which has given me an admit in Spring. The biggest drawback with my profile is I don't have any finance experience through I have done advance course work in Financial Engr etc etc. NYU is my dream univ and I would be happy if I get through there and its like a challenge to get into that univ as there is lot of competition :D.

you have a good profile, MS from UIUC is impressive.
Regarding the sub-prime issue, how do you plan to ensure that it will not effect you.

Also, where are you from. just curious :)
 
Basically from Chennai. Insure yourself by preparing well firstly. Preparing your resume is the key component to getting an interview call. I think there are some books available in out here which help you figure out details regarding such important things like resumes and interviews. We think we know everything but once we read such books, at least I, realized I had to learn more tips about job hunt.
Secondly since we all are facing competition, we should try to master as much as possible. Once you get an interview call, the college or brand name is irrespective. Its the individual personality which is responsible to convert the interview to an offer. Update yourself with current affairs. Be confident about your fundas and even in a slightest doubt, read the whole basic stuff again. Its okay if you spend some extra time. At least you will be confident. I don't want to give general tips like this when there are so many seniors out here. :P
 
Basically from Chennai. Insure yourself by preparing well firstly. Preparing your resume is the key component to getting an interview call. I think there are some books available in out here which help you figure out details regarding such important things like resumes and interviews. We think we know everything but once we read such books, at least I, realized I had to learn more tips about job hunt.
Secondly since we all are facing competition, we should try to master as much as possible. Once you get an interview call, the college or brand name is irrespective. Its the individual personality which is responsible to convert the interview to an offer. Update yourself with current affairs. Be confident about your fundas and even in a slightest doubt, read the whole basic stuff again. Its okay if you spend some extra time. At least you will be confident. I don't want to give general tips like this when there are so many seniors out here. :P

true ...
but this applies to any field and any situation, tackling the sub prime, shouldnt that be a bit different. Also, we cannot be sure of that issue being still around when we complete our graduation in 2009.

i have emailed you, on your GMAIL id, we can chat through gtalk.
Just let me know when you have time and can talk.

Thanks,
Ashish Tare
 
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