Let me just preface this with this is me speaking as a player and not a staff member.
This is a terrible, horrible idea, and here's why.
IP (skillpoints) is a theoretically finite resource, you only have so many level ups before you hit the soft level cap of exponentially doubling XP, there are a few other ways to get IP such as crates, SNARGs and certificate points but they're relatively slow compared to levelling.
By contrast, research is essentially infinite, if somewhat slow to begin with, it will continue to accrue over time, weather you need it or not and eventually you will max out all your research, with patience, its not supposed to be an overnight thing, if anything you should be able to convert SRPs into small amounts of IP and not the other way around, since you will eventually run out of other things to do with it.
Any high level player will tell you that IP is the thing they value most in the game, its like gold dust, you only get so much and its never enough when you're dealing with an ever expanding and branching choice of sub careers, where as sooner or later as I said, you'll max out your sett research and it'll be useless to you. As Coops has often said, CE is a game of patience and not of getting quick short term gains by shooting yourself in the foot.
I had a similar feeling when I was at your level, Sparky, but now, few levels later - I'm desperately short of IP. Wait few Levels, New Advanced Toys are really IP drains.
On the other hand, IP ca be bought for $$, while SRP not. so it would be too easy (Settlement lvl 1 to 5 in one evening? no problem, where is my wallet?). It's not CE way.
