Novice looking to learn the basics of Investment banking

I'm a current senior in high school and I've put a lot of thought into going to PSU next year with hope of potentially getting into the Nittany Lion Fund. I realize the NLF is extremely competitive and difficult to get into, but I am dedicated to putting the time and effort needed to get in. The only problem is I don't know much at all about Investment banking, I've found many courses on the topic, however they tend to be very pricey and I don't want to waste my money on something that I don't fully trust. Does anyone have any advice on where I should start? Are there any suggestions on books to read or courses to take for beginners? Or am I just looking too far ahead and should rely on Penn State's education to teach me this stuff? 

Advice is greatly appreciated, Thank you

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I think it's great that you feel like you're interested in IB early on, but I would caution against singling in on an industry that you know nothing about. Sure the pay is great and you can learn a lot, but there are a lot of other sectors within finance that you might enjoy more. If you want a high level overview of the industry, I would highly recommend Investment Banking: Valuation, Leveraged Buyouts, and Mergers & Acquisitions by Joshua Rosenbaum and Joshua Pearl. That's probably the best introductory book out there and if you still think IB is for you after finishing it, the next step would be networking with people at PSU who have done SA internships (and then expanding your network by asking if they know of any analysts you could reach out to). Definitely do your research though. And remember, you've still got 4 years to go, so don't hold back from looking at other career choices at the same time.

 

Banker blueprint on m&I for free plus going on Google and typing any question you have followed by "wso" will usually be about to find posts with the same questions and answers from the past

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