Friday 8 April 2011

Sending all the wrong signals

From BusinessInsider:

The investment banking career path is now even more attractive than it was before the financial crisis, when it drew 9 percent of the class of 2008.

Shortly after the dot-com bust at the turn of the millenium, I was able to waltz into any computer/IT course as there were suddenly no takers for an industry that had caved in on itself. It would be 2005 at least, till people considered a career in tech a good option.

And now, despite the entire global economy coming to a grinding halt not two years back because of the investment banking industry shenanigans, students are flocking to it in greater droves than before.

Why? (My theory follows.)

The bailouts. "Privatise profits, socialise losses" has found a large number of takers (surprise, surprise), and the concept of "high risk, high reward" is only an abstraction now. Now that the US government has clearly indicated that highly risky behaviour will definitely be punished with a stern warning and a slap on the wrist, MBAs around the world are essentially going "cha ching!" with the cartoon-y cash symbols in their eyes.

I'm all for the the government showing that failure in business ventures is not a cardinal sin, but most certainly against fostering blatantly amoral behaviour.

Shucks.