Some universities are doing just that...allowing students to get trading experience with the classes along with developing a network of contacts. Will be interesting if there's a University out there that's preparing the foundation to offer a degree in trading to help those land jobs at institutions or to be better qualified for internships at firms. Mark
Two things here. One, PTJ did attend Tulane. Two, going to college is not about "learning" something. It's about discovering what you want to do with your life by exposing you to different things. By exposing students to trading in a university setting, they can decide if it's something they have an interest in and want to pursue. Versus turning down that 75k a year job out of school to work at a prop shop because they "might" be interested in trading.
Tulane has an excellent energy trading competition where students from multiple schools compete trading energy futures with their portfolio management skills evaluated by leading energy firms. http://www.freeman.tulane.edu/trading/
My thoughts as well. Obviously they can't teach the holy grail, but there are many aspects of trading they can teach, which would normally take an aspiring trader much longer to figure out on his own.
They would do a tremendous public service if they actually discouraged a certain people from pursuing this career while encouraging others
But then who would be there to take the other side of the trade? It's not just a game of musical chairs. For the relatively small percentage of people who thrive in the markets, there must be a steady stream of those who come and go, risk and lose. That's why people like Jack provide such an invaluable service to the trading community, by always being on the lookout to lure unsuspecting potential donors into the markets. It's the circle of life.