<p>So I say this all the time: I want to work on Wall St. What does the job actually entail? My understanding about the whole finance thing goes as far as what I've read on CC and WSO. So I'm trying to pick an introductory book about finance/investment in general to have a firm grasp on the subject (in addition to my knowledge gained from my AP Econ class) so that I can decide if Wall St. is actually for me.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any suggestions about what are considered the broad and introductory (and preferably not overly mathy/boring) books in finance? Based on my research, The Intelligent Investor seems like a good place to start. Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>Some of the other books that I’ve heard are good are:
The alchemy of finance, the gorilla game, one up on wall street, the theory of investment value. Which would you guys suggest is the most “introductory” of them all?</p>
<p>The Intelligent Investor is an interesting read, but probably not a good introduction to finance in general - it’s more of a guide to value investing, and is actually more of a book that tries to convince that value investing is the best way to invest rather than showing you actually how to do it. That being said, if value investing seems like a path you’re interested in (and it should; it’s one of the only good ways to invest), reading the Intelligent Investor followed by Security Analysis is a good start.</p>
<p>If you’re actually interested in how the mechanics of finance works, you’re kind of going to need a deep math background first. That requires a good probability theory course as well as a real/complex analysis background (ideally at the graduate level). Then you can start learning about the elements of securities pricing. Before that, you might just want to look into how to read balance sheets; in that case, Khan Academy is a good resource (or any decent text on Accounting).</p>
<p>“If you’re actually interested in how the mechanics of finance works, you’re kind of going to need a deep math background first. That requires a good probability theory course as well as a real/complex analysis background (ideally at the graduate level). Then you can start learning about the elements of securities pricing.”</p>
<p>What clueless pretentious BS! Try reading William Sharpe, Investments.</p>
<p>I think that it is great that you are thinking through what type of job/career you might be interested in and are starting to do some research on this topic. </p>
<p>I second the recommendation of “Investments”. Don’t worry about the edition or age (15 yrs) and if was my money I would buy a used copy for $10 or so. As an aside, I think a larger library of books purchased used, particularly if they are classics in the field, is much more valuable than fewer books purchased new.</p>
<p>This may not be a fit for you, but this workshop by the CBOE is designed for college students and sounds like a great opportunity to gain an introduction to a wide range of investment-related topics using hands-on and and real-world focused exercises: [CBOE</a> - Investing and Trading for College Students | Seminars | Education](<a href=“The Options Institute | Cboe Options Institute”>The Options Institute | Cboe Options Institute)</p>
<p>Please note that I don’t have any knowledge of this workshop other than what was on the web page.</p>
<p>I don’t believe that learning about finance and investments will help you understand what jobs exist on Wall Street and what it would be to work in one of those jobs. Gaining finance and investment knowledge may help you have conversations about Wall Street jobs, but you need to understand that are a wide range of jobs and companies within this field. </p>
<p>Check out web sites that are focused on finance and investment jobs to see what types of skill sets are in demand and if you can find career advice articles focused on this industry. Web sites that might offer this include:</p>
<p>For insights into investment and finance jobs I recommend that you try to learn from those in these jobs. The following is a semi-random selection of resources that provide industry insights and career advice:</p>
<p>If you’re interested in working in the Wall Street trenches and wonder what the day to day life is like, there ‘s no better book than “A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers” by Lawrence G. McDonald. The author grew up in Massachusetts and writes about his part time jobs while in high school and college. After graduating from Boston College, he gets a job working for Lehman Brothers on Wall St. The book describes his entry level trading desk job and his rise to a vice president’s position in the firm. McDonald goes into great detail about his life at Lehman Brothers and the politics and personalities of the company during the 2007 financial meltdown. This book is a great read! I’ve read it twice…</p>
<p>To go along with the book, get a DVD of the movie “Margin Call” which covers the same territory about a fictionalized banking company (modeled on Lehman Brothers).during the mortgage crisis. </p>
<p>To get a feel for how math whizzes changed the Wall St. landscape, get “The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It” by Scott Peterson (a Wall Street Journal reporter). No math knowledge required…the book looks at the personalities and their complex computer trading programs </p>
<p>If this doesn’t scare you away from a career on Wall St., then good luck to you!</p>
<p>Just an FYI: you can read all of these but you’ll still spend your first year or two on the street making powerpoint presentations 'til 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning.</p>