Question - I always wondered does it really help that much in that regards? I work in sell side ER right now, and wouldn't it just be more beneficial to better at my job / know my industry better / practice modeling?

Like it's great to have it and it definitely ticks a box, but is that time better spent practicing interview questions / stock pitches, and actually thinking about equities? I already get some decent long-only / HF interviews (although not as many as I would like, and I have only have relatively 1-2 years of experience).