Business shifting to make consulting a more attractive entry level job vs banking?

Wanted to share this on the IB forum mainly to get opinions, so hold you let MS for now.

One growing trend I’ve noticed is the prominence of analytical tools as a requirement for what are historically more “generalist” jobs. Prime example would be almost every strategy job wanting some SQL knowledge (I’m sure this is often not a true requirement, but it’s certainly a desire).

There used to be no real gap in the tools IB used vs consulting (excel and PPT, with bankers likely being better at excel if not both). But in today’s environment, consulting firms are increasingly having new hires learn SQL, Alteryx, Tableau, etc.

By definition, consulting requires its hires to be up on the newest methods or risk falling out of relevance. Do any IBers see this being a risk to the banking value proposition over time as the potential exits open to bankers could narrow as the skillset changes?

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