FAQ How Do I get a Job Trading?

[rawrschach]

Nope. It's not gonna help either.

Maybe you misunderstand me. HR wants to sit down and look at their stats and say that they've hired from the best (in their perception) schools.

Same goes for the actual departments.

If you don't want to drop a fortune on school then the big league banks are probably out of your scope.

If you have ability then you should be able to make it as a trader through other avenues.

 

[Aspen Trading Group]

This tells you that:

1 - working in finance doesn't matter
2 - speaking 3 languages doesn't matter
3 - having an MBA most definitely counts for nothing
4 - managing people counts for nothing

The subject you study doesn't really matter.

If you want to get into a firm (not a prop shop) the only way to stack odds in your favour is the school you go to. For trading it'd help if it was a highly quantitative modelling course, but being interesting and easy to get along with will help a lot as well.

e.g. at the LSE you would have more careers events a week than you can physically attend. These events will be attended by the people in charge of hiring, both actual traders and HR. Being a non-idiot and easy to get along with is how english majors end up in investment banking. Trading might require more than a humanities subject because firms seem to think its important to pretend to make mathematical models of mandelbrotian variables shoehorned into a gaussian framework.

Could not agree more. Let me expand:

1. The MBA program is key. Top 10 schools and you can at least get in front of the big players when they come to campus to recruit. I did my MBA at Oxford and while I had my own trading firm already, it was easier to get in front of the Goldmans and Morgans of the world if I had chose, versus being at Univ of New Mexico or the like

2. Past experience for trading jobs? Forget it - trading desks on Wall Street are trial by fire and you get hired by either school affiliation or your network. Read the new book The Buy Side - perfect illustration of this.

3. Managing people? Not what a trader does - he manages himself/herself and their Rolodex

Hope that helps.

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

The other option would be going for a position within finance but not as a trader per say, and if you have the charm and have access to the right people you could get onto a trading desk eventually. You could apply for an market analyst position or something similar where you would be surrounded by market info and learn about the markets via that in the meantime

 

[Aspen Trading Group]

The other option would be going for a position within finance but not as a trader per say, and if you have the charm and have access to the right people you could get onto a trading desk eventually. You could apply for an market analyst position or something similar where you would be surrounded by market info and learn about the markets via that in the meantime

I have known many a market analyst at the big banks - they rarely see the light of day and have no exposure to 'the markets' - that type of training would be a waste of time IMO.

Sure, you could charm your way on to the desk but you are not even remotely close to the desk to know who to start schmoozing.

Better off the network your way in versus slaving over spreadsheets and fundamental analysis that means ZERO in the context of hoe markets work.

 

[SlowlyButSurely]

I have known many a market analyst at the big banks - they rarely see the light of day and have no exposure to 'the markets' - that type of training would be a waste of time IMO.

Sure, you could charm your way on to the desk but you are not even remotely close to the desk to know who to start schmoozing.

Better off to network your way in versus slaving over spreadsheets and fundamental analysis that means ZERO in the context of how markets work.

I would disagree with this point as fundamental analysis is more important than most people on here would think in my opinion. Regarding your main text - if you personally know analysts that have had difficulties getting in that way then fair enough.

 

[Aspen Trading Group]

I would disagree with this point as fundamental analysis is more important than most people on here would think in my opinion. Regarding your main text - if you personally know analysts that have had difficulties getting in that way then fair enough.

I have nothing against fundamental analysis - I think having a solid macro view is essential for trading. But as a junior analyst you are pouring over spreadsheets all day. In my opinion that does little to offer insight to the world of trading.

 

[adilfx]

as en employer in the business i will agree, it is hard getting noticed. most firms are looking for experience, but how to get in the door. i would recommend attending industry trade shows, networking is key. for example i know an ex colleague who got a job after attending the bloomberg industry drinks.

 

[Black Jack]

There are many websites that specialise in the trading industry; Cityjobs and Junior Broker are both fairly good. The other thing to consider is an internship, I have seen this a lot in the city, it would obviously be unpaid initially but there is potential for a permanent job to arise as a result of completing an internship successfully and professionally.
Maybe also consider friends and family, do you have a friend whose father works in the industry, or even a friend of a friend. Linkedin is good for networking, you can also search for jobs by industry, then try connecting with people that are in a field of work that interests you, I regularly get requests from people I have never heard of, it’s worth accepting them and also making the requests yourself, you never know who you may end up connecting with, your future boss…….?

 

[vimal1]

My recommendation....having tried it...is to 1) trade relatively small on an MT4 account for 3 months and prove you have a good risk/reward return, drawdowns are not significant and of course you make an overall profit ; 2) Contact some of the companies that offer you funds to trade on their behalf of which there are many (but they need to see successful trading per step 1); 3) Trade on their behalf for a further 3 months...they will usually give you £1k or so to trade with a good profit share ratio and 4) After this period, they will scale up and you will have a good track record then to take to other such firms. This way you may not be directly working for a firm but you are then as good as a proprietary trader. Feel free to PM me if needed.

 

[Guerrero120]

Actually how can i get a job ?

 

[mikeball87]

i work at Matterson & May, a private investment/wealth management company in Manchester England, DM me your details

 

[senor_kabong]

Anyone here hiring traders? I work for a l/s fund in the US as directional futures trader as well as equity options.

 

[Ivana23]

hey guys. I am pretty new here so i would also like to ask the same question. Any answer would be of great help.

 

[Fxstay]

you must be well experienced to be have job as trader

 

[drtro]

Are there any real prop firms in futures/FX anymore? Every place I've applied to goes through interviews and orientations then sneaks in a "btw we need $5K" fee. I trade prop for an equity firm, and have been utilizing the same strategy in futures and FX. Would like to find a firm that isn't some off shore deposit $5K to cover losses but we still take profit split kinda firm.

 

[joe7777]

Hey porph. No as I said, due to my job I was on and off day trading, well spread betting really, so I never really got into it. Now that I'm free again I've just been revisting the basics and back to paper trading for a while. My university isn't a top target university but it is in the Russell Group and I study Economics and did various financial modules which really made me interested in finance (wish I had studied that instead).

Like I said, I want to become a trader because I enjoy it, not for the money although that of course would most definitely be a bonus! If I could, I would trade my own account and maybe get some others interested to invest some capital in me!!! =D (realistic?!) I enjoy trading and after working in a Big Four I can pretty much read and (prepare if I wanted to - with lots of mistakes!!!) a b/s or p&l of a company, however I'm more interested in the technical side of it as opposed to the fundamentals. Coming from an Economics background I would say I had a solid understanding of fundamental analysis (I'm on an average of 80% so well on course for a 1sts), but it's really the technical analysis that I enjoy most - the understanding and psychology of the market.

At the moment I would say I know enough not to fluke a good trade, but not enough to understand a bad one! Haha.

BTW you said you're training for a CIMA and work 9-5?! Haha, what firm is that with?!?! I was working alongside ACA trainees doing the same roles and it was anything BUT 9-5!!! It was more 8-8 some days!!! Lol.

skype me at joseph777744 my partner is hiring and he offers remote trading and 50% splits

 

[binarymatt]

You really have to know some one to get a job as a trader. If it is something you end up doing, be prepared to handle a lot of stress, especially if you are carrying inventory over night.

 

[fxzarada]

forex traders can be totaly independent. Why work for other if you good and work for you nd people around you

 

[mickael28]

Same doubt as fxzarada, the idea to start with a trading firm to get experienced is good, but if you are in a different career and manage to get the required knowledge and experience on your own to be profitable, why would you want to work for a firm instead?

 

[NVP]

SHORT ANSWER



Get four things:

1. Get passionate
Love the markets. Learn everything you can about them and develop a heartfelt passion for them.

2. Get educated
This is particularly important if you want to get a job with the likes of Goldman Sachs. A first class honors degree in the right subject(s) from a top flight university is no longer desirable - it's essential. If your student days are behind you, consider an Open University course.

3. Get experience
Don’t worry if you don’t have a large account, that’s unimportant. Spread betting at £0.10p a point is far better than no experience at all. Demonstrating that you understand how the markets function and have developed a methodology to trade them is what counts.

4. Get profitable
Providing a verifiable track record of consistent profitability over a reasonable period of time will separate you from well over 90% of all other candidates. If you are in this enviable position, be sure to mention this first at the top of your CV. It’s almost more important than your name and contact details!

The Long Answer expands on these key points and offers suggestions based on the perspectives of three very different applicants, separated by age and experience. The Youngster is at school or starting uni’ and has decided that trading is where their future lies. The Career Changer is under 40 and wants to jump ship, while The Old Timer is in much the same boat but over 40.

and 5)

get real .......