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TraderTW

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Hi all...I have just joined this site whilst searching some career information. Lucky escape i think because it looks the the ol' "boiler room scam"!

I have a business related degree (2:1) and i really want to pursue a career in finance - ideally as an analyst for a top tier bank. Obviously it's pretty tough at the moment so I've been looking into other finance fields. This got me onto stockbroking/trading.

Cue your knowledge and experience!!

I'd need to start as a trainee to learn the ropes and build my contacts, and I dont mind starting entry level. The only thing is, there are so many fraudsters out there. I was very close to accepting the trainee stockbroker carbon credits role until i read information on this site.

What tips/advice would you give to someone who wants to break into this field, ideally with one of the banks? I'm doing the usual...registering cv's, contacting directly...but i need a breakthrough.....

Thanks in advance :D
 
Only advice is to apply to loads of places, apply to the smaller investment banks. Maybe look at some market makers and information providers such as Bloomberg/Reuters. You might need to do further study.

If you want to become a trader then it depends if you want to go prop or working for an investment bank/fund. Loads of arcades/prop shops around, you might get lucky and find one or two recruiting. Then you have some of the market makers such as Mako/Tibra/Liquid capital and then the obvious investment banks which is going to be the toughest to get into. Where's your degree from?
 
TraderTW said:
Hi all...I have just joined this site whilst searching some career information. Lucky escape i think because it looks the the ol' "boiler room scam"!

I have a business related degree (2:1) and i really want to pursue a career in finance - ideally as an analyst for a top tier bank. Obviously it's pretty tough at the moment so I've been looking into other finance fields. This got me onto stockbroking/trading.

Cue your knowledge and experience!!

I'd need to start as a trainee to learn the ropes and build my contacts, and I dont mind starting entry level. The only thing is, there are so many fraudsters out there. I was very close to accepting the trainee stockbroker carbon credits role until i read information on this site.

What tips/advice would you give to someone who wants to break into this field, ideally with one of the banks? I'm doing the usual...registering cv's, contacting directly...but i need a breakthrough.....

Thanks in advance :D
Click to expand...

I don't want to come across as elitist but the reality is IB really target graduates from the target unis- oxbridge,UCL/durham/bristol/imperial/warwick etc and in a mathsy subject usually. Generally the further you go from oxbridge the more your degree subject matters.You could get into sales with a more humanity-ish subject but trading is mostly mathsy degrees.

Then there's prop firms- if you can already trade you can just get backed and make money but you get sacked a lot quicker.
 
Chartsy said:
Then there's prop firms- if you can already trade you can just get backed and make money but you get sacked a lot quicker.
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What?!? I guess you haven't heard of whole departments in IB's getting booted for no reason other than the bank's making cutbacks? I know of people that have worked at prop firms for years without getting sacked.
 
TraderTW said:
Im more interested in becoming a trader..sorry i should have specified in my previous post..so any advice would be greatly appreciated :)
Click to expand...

A verifiable track record in trading will help, a lot.

If you want to trade, why are you waiting for someone to give you a job to do it? If you cant trade successfully then, you wont last long there.

A verifiable track record in trading will help, a lot.
 
jiggly said:
If you want to trade, why are you waiting for someone to give you a job to do it? If you cant trade successfully then, you wont last long there.
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Because retail trading is nothing like what the people in prop shops/IB's do and most people don't have the funds to get the resources to do it themselves?
 
Masquerade said:
Because retail trading is nothing like what the people in prop shops/IB's do and most people don't have the funds to get the resources to do it themselves?
Click to expand...

Maybe, but isnt it all just buying and selling and clicking some buttons to do it?
 
It is and it isn't. If you want to trade using market depth, if you want to trade spreads, then there's arbitrage strategies and so on you need more than just a buy/sell button. Being able to make your own book rather than being a price taker. Retail side is a very simplistic form of outright trading and just one of the many forms trading takes.
 
Masquerade said:
It is and it isn't. If you want to trade using market depth, if you want to trade spreads, then there's arbitrage strategies and so on you need more than just a buy/sell button. Retail side is a very simplistic form of outright trading and just one of the many forms trading takes.
Click to expand...

He wants to be a trader, lets help him.

My advice is to start by opening a personal trading account and learn. This is what I did.
 
Well if he wants to be a trader, my first piece of advice would be apply to all the prop shops, IB's, funds, market makers and even spread betting companies. If he's still unsuccessful from there , THEN open a personal trading account if he still wants to go down that route. May as well try it first rather than do it in the wrong order.
 
Masquerade said:
Well if he wants to be a trader, my first piece of advice would be apply to all the prop shops, IB's, funds, market makers and even spread betting companies. If he's still unsuccessful from there , THEN open a personal trading account if he still wants to go down that route. May as well try it first rather than do it in the wrong order.
Click to expand...

Following the markets and keeping current with what is happening in the world can set him apart from the other candidates. If he is doing that, then he might as well trade too. He will have some first hand trading experience to talk about at the interview stages and this could set him apart from the other interviewees to secure him the job.

I got a job with a market maker like this. It is beneficial to demonstrate your interest than just having the scholastic qualifications in my opinion.
 
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For interest it certainly helps to have some knowledge about general business affairs. Just the problem is when you go to an interview and tell them you've been trading your own account they might ask you to start producing statements and it's going to feel pretty stupid to show your account's either down or up a few hundred for the last few months when you're sitting there trying to get a job. If you're trading decent size and making good money - then by all means talk it up that you've been trading for yourself. But then if you're successful and make a load of money for yourself they're going to ask you "why are you here?" but there's answers for that.
 
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