<p>Some CC forum members and many college admissions pitches suggest that students should pursue their passion. This passion is often implied to be the fine arts; and I understand the messaging. But what if an 18 year old’s passion is investment banking? Son has been on this track since his first lemonade stand. I stressed a well-rounded liberal arts education; but now he wants to transfer from his good college to a college that has lots of ibankers interviewing on campus. His grades/activities suggest that a transfer is feasible and tuitions are equal . I rationally suggested that he pursue his passion at a top MBA program after several years of employment. But, wait a minute… would a parent make the similar suggestion if their son was a cellist or dancer? </p>
<p>There is no major called investment banking. The schools which host big numbers of I-bankers recruiting on campus (Swarthmore, Harvard, Princeton, Duke, Dartmouth, etc.) have no lack of opportunities for a well rounded liberal arts education. Which colleges are we talking about here? Your post is not very rational…</p>
<p>What the heck does it mean to have a “passion” for investment banking? Investment banking isn’t a thing. What we call investment banks are institutions that arose largely because of tight government regulation of the banking business during the 50-year period between the Great Depression and the Reagan Administration. They engaged in a bunch of financial intermediation that regulators weren’t permitting chartered banks to do, and in some areas directly competing with banks in some corner of the market that was not heavily regulated. Their businesses were – and remain – famously disparate, with lots of intra-firm battles between departments where the people had completely different backgrounds, personalities, and approaches to life.</p>
<p>At this point, with most of the regulatory barriers having broken down in the past 30 years, and with all of the major investment banks having submitted to regulation by federal banking regulators, I am not certain what “investment banking” means anymore, other than a constant search for areas in which one can make money from financial intermediation. I can imagine (although I have trouble believing that they exist much in real life among mid-teens) passions for trading strategies and game theory, financial engineering, marketing and sales of financial products, investment analysis, merger and acquisition strategy and analysis, retail financial product sales. All of that is stuff that investment banks do, and that other companies also do, mostly. But it would be hard to be passionate (much less knowledgeable) about all of them.</p>
<p>When a high school kid says, “I have a passion for investment banking,” what I generally hear is "I want to make a lot of money, fast, and live the high life in New York.</p>