What is the best way to start out in the investment industry?

Is it better to get a job at AG Edwards, Edward Jones, Merril Lynch, etc. and undergo their training program or is it better to do on-the-job training with a local independent investment firm with over 15 years experience and learn from actually doing the selling/investing/portfolio mngt in real-time.
Both with offer minimal salary consideration.

You don't mention your educational background. If you don't already have a bachelor's degree, I would strongly advise you to go that route before you start job-hunting. A bachelor's degree in economics or finance (or better yet, an MBA) would serve you very well in the financial services industry.

I personally would not work with an investment firm whose employees did not have at minimum an MBA, and when you're working with other peoples' money, it's all about trust. Having excellent credentials is a major part of earning that trust.

Good luck to you.

Actually, . . . . If I had it to do over again, I would sink my time and money into Real Estate. If I had purchased land as a young man of 21 many,many years ago, I would be a Real Estate millionaire several times over. I had ample opportunity to invest in some land as kid and I could have made so much money it would have embarrassed many of the talk show host on TV that try to get people to invest.
I would encourage you to re-think your strategy and make sure you want to really invest in the market where it goes way up or it crashes like recently.
Real Estate is always a great investment and a wonderful return on your money.

Talk it over with some of your friends and family first.

I think you will like the prospects more than the market. !!

neither; go to the library. read till your eyes get tired.

read at leat 15 books on the topic.

and your query is myopic --which is good. THE SECURITIES
field is only ONE field of investing. There is also
Real estate, small biz [which is the world's largest]
and mybrids of the above.

securites [if you do not control the company] is a passive
industry. that is why I stick to small biz.s!

Start hanging around people that get it! And get in a million dollar opportunity in order to have money to invest. Just so you know if an opportunity does not have a million dollar pay scale then your chances are slim to none of becoming an investor and also most high paying jobs is sales so get in the game. Or if you are a CEO then no need to worry about it just start investing in real estate. That is the best investment out there. And read alot.
Enjoy life

Go with the wise man who said to go to the library. Those companies won't teach you a thing. They are looking out for #1, that is commissions. Alot of the earnings estimates those companies come up with for companies they analyze make the most irrational assumptions.

Read 10ks, read about an industry, and then: read some more

Buy the most stock when everyone is scared. Hence buy in a recession, sell in a boom.

I did the stockbroker route in the mid 90's, wasnt for me, its mostly sales. I went into the trading end of the business back in 1998 and now own a trading firm which has multiple relationships with brokerage firms. Check out my website www.rematatrading.com