I'm currently in my final year of a MBA/MS Financial Engineering dual-degree program at a top-ranked American university. I am fortunate to have two tempting offers on the table - one from a top tier investment bank (in equity derivatives trading), the other from a respected trading-intensive buy-side firm. I have never been so torn in my life. On one hand, a trading floor of a major sell-side shop is a natural training ground for the buy-side and I can say with certainty that this firm will exist in 5 years time. On the other hand, the hedge fund compensation structure is attractive, but who knows how the hedge fund industry will develop over the next 5 years. I have two weeks to decide before one offer explodes. Any thoughts? I'm hoping to learn from the others on this forum who have had to make this decision....Thanks in advance.

this is a good question that may pertain to a lot of young forum users. Can someone please answer this question.Please provide any insight on the nature of work between buy-side (hedge fund) trading and sell-side trading.

This is a very interesting question, hopefully we'll have some nice dialogue on this one. First off, congrats on having your choice of two good offers!The one where I'll comment is with regard to the following:Quotewho knows how the hedge fund industry will develop over the next 5 yearsVery frequently, I hear predictions that the hedge fund industry has become overly competitive. With so many new funds being created, there is too much money chasing the same strategies, bringing down aggregate returns.This may be true to some extent, and some use this logic to label the hedge fund industry as a bubble ready to pop. To that, I would say the following: look at the aggregate returns of US mutual fund managers. It is well known that mutual fund managers underperform their benchmarks on average, after fees. Yet somehow, the mutual fund industry continues to flourish, and fund managers continue to be paid well.So what we're comparing is hedge funds, who have positive and declining excess returns, to mutual funds, who have negative excess returns (on average). I say if mutual funds can survive, hedge funds can too.Along similar lines, some people on the sell side may tell you that the hedge fund industry is risky, etc. All the while, they continue to bet on hedge funds by pouring resources into their prime brokerage operations.In your case, I think more important than the industry as a whole, is the specific fund in question. Every year, some funds do very well, and others close up shop. Find out as much as you can about the place, their track record, etc.

Unfortunately, it looks like the original post is 10 months old, but perhaps we can debate the original question nonetheless.