Complaints at Morgan Stanley over low salaries for tech interns

Summer internships in investment banks aren't supposed to be about getting paid: their main purpose is to enable the participating students to land job offers for when they graduate. But if you're paid well, it's a plus. And Morgan Stanley's tech interns don't seem to be paid well at all, comparatively speaking.

Interns arriving on Morgan Stanley's London tech team this summer say they're getting £36.4k ($47.5k) pro-rated for their work over the 10 week period, plus a £1k accomodation allowance. 

This is substantially lower than tech intern salaries at other U.S. banks. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Citi are all understood to pay in the region of £47k, pro-rated, to the students interning on their technology teams this summer.

Morgan Stanley declined to comment on compensation for its technology interns. The bank is understood to pay on a par with rivals when it comes to full-time junior hires, and is said to be reviewing compensation for its summer hires to ensure it's line with the market. 

The low pay for tech interns at Morgan Stanley comes as most banks are chasing computer science and other STEM students as they recruit for their technology functions. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs  increased pay for its first-year technologists with masters qualifications to £98k ($128k), up from £67k in 2018.

While Morgan Stanley pays its technology interns less than the rest, the tech interns joining the bank this summer say there are compensatory aspects to the low pay: Morgan Stanley is said to offer better training than the rest.

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