When a junior in college reads the offer letter, they have a certain expression on their face. A half-smile of astonishment, the kind you get when something seems too kind to be true. $5,000 per week. More at times. For a twenty-year-old who had been struggling with the cost of an upgraded meal plan up until that point.
Goldman Sachs is paying its summer analysts in 2026 that amount, give or take a few hundred dollars depending on the division. On an annualized basis, it comes to about $110,000, which is more than the majority of full-time American workers make after ten years of employment. The interns will put in nine or ten weeks of work. Some of them won’t be old enough to rent a car legally just yet.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Program Name | 2026 Summer Analyst Program |
| Duration | Nine to ten weeks |
| Eligibility | Undergraduate students, typically third or penultimate year |
| Reported Weekly Pay (Investment Banking) | Approximately $5,000 to $5,400 |
| Annualized Equivalent | Roughly $110,000 to $115,000 |
| Application Volume (2025 cycle) | Over 360,000 applicants |
| Acceptance Rate (2026 cycle) | Around 1.16% |
| Total Spots Offered | Approximately 2,900 |
| Locations | Multiple Americas offices, primarily New York |
| Notable Alumni Path | Allison Berger, VP of Global Banking & Markets, started as a 2017 intern |
| Application Status | Currently open, rolling basis |
It’s difficult to ignore how strange the situation is. AI displacement is estimated by Goldman’s own research desk to be 16,000 net jobs lost each month, with 25,000 destroyed compared to 9,000 created. The same company that publishes those depressing spreadsheets is also paying summer interns sums of money that would make an accountant in the middle of their career blink. As you pass the West Street lobby, you get the impression that two distinct economies are taking place within the same structure.
It’s almost ridiculous how competitive it is to enter that lobby. For its 2025 internship cycle, Goldman received over 360,000 applications, a 300% increase over 2018. The acceptance rate for 2026 is approximately 1.16%, which is lower than both Harvard and most other universities. Approximately 2,900 pupils passed. Resumes that seem to have been written by ChatGPT, which has turned into its own silent filter, are reportedly being rejected by recruiters.
The salary itself is not particularly novel. Because of the ongoing talent war with tech companies and the fact that no bank wants to be the one to lose a top recruit for more than $5,000, Wall Street has been increasing intern compensation for years. The contrast has changed. Reality Labs is still being trimmed by Meta. Layoffs from Salesforce, ASML, and Ericsson have added up to a running total of over 90,000 in 2026. The announcement of 1,111 interns from Cloudflare came across as a minor act of rebellion against the prevailing sentiment.
In 2017, Allison Berger, who is currently a vice president at Goldman, completed her summer internship. She mentioned working on “complex problems” that summer, which sounds modest until you consider how much those problems typically cost to solve. Goldman prefers to recount her journey as an intern, full-time analyst, and vice president. Additionally, 360,000 applications are explained by this version.
In ten years, it will be another matter entirely if the math still holds true. It’s unclear if investors’ perception that banking will be immune to the AI cuts affecting corporate and middle-office positions will hold true for the upcoming earnings cycle. However, the offer letters continue to be sent out for the time being. $5,000 every week. Nine weeks. A summer that will permanently change the way a small group of twenty-year-olds view money.
Leave a Comment