Is two years of IB the best way to start off?
When you enter into investment banking you have 2 years of nonstop powerpoint, excel, and communication. You learn to get the job done no matter and to have fortitude, among other things.
During those two years you are a learning machine, but for a narrow group of subtopics which may have 1) diminishing returns and; 2) limited applicability in your future life. To break into investment banking you already had to have a pretty good level of all of these things (communications, ppt, excel, fortitude, etc.)
On the other hand, if you are a voracious reader, you can transform yourself and the way you think after a single good book. A year of reading for a few hours a day will change your life trajectory, but many of us have been working so hard that we haven't had time to pick up a book in almost a year (or hit the gym). I know plenty of people who came into IB and walked out with severely stunted growth in some areas vs. their peers who had the time to develop and learn new skills.
I'm curious as to what your thoughts are. Is the time invested in IB worth the opportunity cost of the free time that you could use to learn and develop yourself on your own?
Interesting idea, but I think you're overestimating human willpower. While its undoubtably true the extra time could be better spend on books/gym/etc, the reality is if people are not in the environment forcing them to develop, they don't. This topic has been studied to death and explains scenarios ranging from why ultra wealthy families lose most of their wealth within 3 generations to why people stick to their gym resolutions for only a month or two.
WTF are you talking about? Your "growth" friends cannot impress anybody over the age of 30 with their "skills." I guarantee you that the IB analyst is more impressive in all ways in a meeting/conversation/social setting/just-about-every-situation than people not in IB after 2 years. After 2 years, you know more than, and can BS better than, just about ever other person in the workforce that has not done IB.
In 2 years you could easily ready 100+ books and leap frog over bankers
This might be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard in my entire life.
I would be willing to wager you don't know many people who don't work in finance which is skewing your perception.
Wager: You prove to me that the IB analyst is more impressive in all ways in a meeting/conversation/social setting/just-about-every-situation than people not in IB after 2 years, & after 2 years, they know more than, and can BS better than, just about ever other person in the workforce that has not done IB.
I win: You convince HR at my shop to finally get me a standing desk. You win: I send you a dozen bagels of your choice from NYC.
If you need to rely on somebody that did 2 years of IB to BS enough to your HR dept to get you a standing desk because nobody else can do it, then it must be true.
Boom.