Susquehanna lists $8,600 weekly pay for some graduate interns

Susquehanna International Group is advertising weekly pay of as much as $8,600 for some graduate-level interns, Fortune reported. The listings underline the high price Wall Street firms are willing to pay for quantitative talent, even before candidates start full-time jobs.

The pay applies to 2027 quantitative trader and quantitative research internships for master’s and Ph.D. candidates in New York and Philadelphia, according to job listings cited by Fortune. Over a 10-week summer program, that rate would total $86,000.

Undergraduate interns at the trading firm can earn about $7,600 a week in some roles, depending on the position, Fortune reported. The firm may also offer signing bonuses on top of base intern pay, according to the report.

The figures stand far above typical U.S. wages. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said median weekly earnings for U.S. workers were about $1,235 in the first quarter of this year, meaning that one week at Susquehanna’s top listed intern rate is close to seven weeks of median worker pay.

Susquehanna is also offering benefits meant to make the summer program more attractive, Fortune reported. Interns receive free housing, complimentary breakfast and lunch, and access to social events such as poker tournaments, dinners and sporting events.

The firm’s recruiting focus on students has roots in its history, according to Fortune. Susquehanna traces its origins to six college students who met at Binghamton University in the late 1970s, a group that included future billionaires Jeff Yass and Arthur Dantchik.

High intern pay is spreading across trading firms

Susquehanna is not alone in paying interns at levels that rival full-time professional salaries. Fortune reported that Jane Street is advertising summer intern compensation at a $300,000 annual rate, paid pro rata for a roughly three-month program, or about $5,700 a week.

Citadel and Citadel Securities interns receive roughly $4,300 to $5,800 a week in base salary, depending on role and experience, according to Fortune. The pay reflects competition among trading firms for candidates with strong math, coding and research skills.

Those positions remain difficult to win. Goldman Sachs has said its internship acceptance rate has stayed below 1% for three straight years, Fortune reported.

Jacqueline Arthur, Goldman’s head of human capital management, previously told Fortune that the selection rate reflects both the strength of the opportunity and the quality of applicants the bank draws worldwide. She also said about 40% of Goldman partners began as campus hires.

Entry-level hiring is splitting by skill set

The pay comes as some executives warn that generative AI could reduce demand for entry-level white-collar workers. Fortune cited warnings from technology leaders including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, as well as rising pessimism among many Gen Z workers about their job prospects.

At the same time, companies are paying heavily for a smaller group of engineers and researchers who can build advanced AI systems, Fortune reported. Some compensation packages have reached tens of millions of dollars, and some have gone higher.

Fortune cited the case of Scale AI founder Alexander Wang, who reportedly received a package from Meta worth more than $100 million. Wall Street intern pay remains far below those figures, but Susquehanna’s listings show that firms are spending aggressively for early-career analytical talent.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.