I disagree. I headed up an global industry group in the 80s. Then went into derivative trading.

They like engineer undergrad degrees with an MBA for research. You have to be able to understand industries, like I had auto manufacturing.

But now when financing is done, you have to be able to create different structures, not just a simple IPO sometimes. Or deal with creative private investments that were done before the public offering.

And if you are in fixed income, you have to be able to strip and mingle. If you don't know how to create derivatives, then you are not going into fixed income.

It isn't that you couldn't find a place, but if you are going into the "Jet" type program -- that is what they called it at Merrill when I was young. They took the brightest and talented undergrads and then interned them in different departments for 18 months and then let them choose a dept. Not happening today.

And if you are a plain vanilla broker and do not derivatives, then you shouldn't be managing money.