The intern with the most interesting job at Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs’ research notes are remarkably valuable pieces of paper (well, storage). Governments rely on them – for example, the UK’s office of budget responsibility referenced Goldman Sachs research on the economic impact of Brexit just two years ago. Which makes it all the more remarkable when an intern is praised for contributions to one.
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One of Goldman’s recent research notes concerns the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on commodities prices. Curiously, its first footnote is a special shoutout to an intern Ishan Kalia, for his “extensive contributions” to the paper. Kalia is an off-cycle intern who recently graduated from a master’s degree in economic research at Cambridge.
The paper’s authors, who praise Kalia in particular, are Lina Thomas and Daan Struyven. Both are substantially more experienced. Thomas is a Harvard economics PhD who joined Goldman as a senior commodities strategist back in 2024, and Struyven, a Goldman veteran of more than a decade, co-heads the firm’s global commodities research team.
Both Thomas and Struyven, interestingly, are based in New York. Struyven’s fellow co-head, Samantha Dart, is also based in New York. Kalia is working with some very distant time zones. Before becoming co-head of commodities research, Dart was head of natural gas research, and Struyven was previously head of oil research. Both are uniquely well-qualified to write about the Hormuz disruption.
Off-cycle interns sometimes get a bad rep. They’re generally people who can’t get summer internships for whatever reason, or failed to convert one. They are usually worked to the bone – “treated like a make a wish intern while working the hours of a Congolese cobalt miner,” is one Reddit user described it. “Summer internship is la la land,” said another. “Off cycle is what full time is like.”
Off-cycle internships are also a great opportunity to prove yourself. They’re particularly recommended in continental Europe, where smaller teams mean that you can be closer to the metal on a deal, they’re valuable no matter where you do them. They show banks that you can do an analyst’s job – warts and all.
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