How to improve myself...

I go to a non-target school where very few people make it into the finance industry.

I have had some opportunities to work for small firms in the industry however, I would like to improve my general knowledge of finance, IB, etc.

I have a lot of friends that go to target school (I went to a super competitive HS), but the classes we are taking are vastly different. The classes at my school do not go anywhere near the depth as they do.

So can anyone recommend any books or courses I can take to boost my knowledge. I would like to start off with the basics and move up one step at a time.

THANKS

3 Comments
 
Best Response

I would recommend writing down a list of finance topics, and then going out and getting books pertaining to them. For instance, you could get a book on 1)valuation (Mckinsey or Damodaran write pretty good valuation books), 2) LBO's 3) M&A 4) High yield bonds etc. I'm just looking at the books on my desk, but you get the pt. Stay away from the world's are flat and freakanomics mainstream type books for now, and focus on really learning finance inside and out, and then once your an authority or at least know the fundamentals you can better judge those broad based books, that may transform your thinking without you really knowing what your reading. But also look into some books like Accidentla investment banker, which was written by a senior MD at Evercore. Its a really good book. I can't think of any others, but there are no short cuts when it comes to really learning finance. Just read as much as you possibly can. Read everything and anything that pertains to finance and accounting.

 

Also, this is something I noticed with kids who aren't yet accustomed to banking, but is something you should know before you meet with people in the industry. And I don't know if you do this, but don't call it IB no one says that, most people refer to it as banking. There are some morons in my school who are working operations who call it IB and think they sound intelligent.

 

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