Just been offered a job on trading floor

M

Matt Houston

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Hi,

Brief background: Got a job at a London brokerage firm in accounts dept, didn't get on with FC so resigned after three months, got drunk with options trader in pub who mentioned position going in options team, said he would mention to his boss I'm a good hard-working guy. Two weeks later and just got out of meeting with CEO who offered me the job.

So I am not sure what to do, I am 28 years old, half way through my CIMA studies, is this a viable career option? It will obviously be very junior, mentioned something about sending trade confirmations and supporting the traders, also said something about having to take Eurex exams. Something that was constantly mentioned was I'd be under a lot of pressure. I had big plans of moving back to South Africa one day, if I choose this career path I guess that will be out of the question. What about finding work in other countries....Australia for instance?

Sorry, bit of a mess of a post, mind is racing 1,000 miles a minute. I have always been interested in trading, I was so excited when I got the accounts position in this company, and you know with all this talk about London being the world finance centre seems like the right place to be, but I don't know if I should take it.

Any thoughts on my jumbled confused email?
 
Moving to Australia?

Do you have a degree? Can you get sponsored? Have you checked the requirements? Moving to australia is not that easy.

Being australian myself if we are in a position to be very picky about who lives in Australia then we should be.

Having said that, you will find Australia generally a little bit close-minded. Many Australians and the governement think they are more important in world affairs than they really are. You'll also be visiting a cultural void where sport is a lot more important than anything remotely intellectual or artistic.

I don't live there myself for these and other reasons.

My advice - if you are happy to forego the obvious weather and lifestyle benefits that Australia provides then stay in London.
 
Well this is beside the point of my post but it's the weather man, I was thinking I'd get married to a beautiful Aussie girl, everybody's doing it ;)
 
Matt Houston said:
Well this is beside the point of my post but it's the weather man, I was thinking I'd get married to a beautiful Aussie girl, everybody's doing it ;)
Click to expand...

Aussie girls aren't that beautiful. Most are a bit rough around the edges and have no concept of how to dress. In addition to that a "benefit" of living in such a sunny country is the sun-damage (aka "sun tan") that you get. Most australians (including myself unfortunately) look older than they are.
 
An Aussie with insight - that's a bit frightening (you could almost be a kiwi with that first post). But to be fair, a lot of the younger Aussie girls don't have much sun damage.
 
Kiwi said:
An Aussie with insight - that's a bit frightening (you could almost be a kiwi with that first post). But to be fair, a lot of the younger Aussie girls don't have much sun damage.
Click to expand...

Very true, awareness and spf2000+ has helped. I was going to mention that but didn't know what age group Matt would be looking for and didn't want to imply he was a dirty old pervert :D

Of course if he is looking for some hot young thing then sydney is a fantastic place to work in the summer.
 
I can't believe you guys have hijacked my post into a thread about Australian girls and suntans.

I was only half serious re the Aussie girls, and being from South Africa there is no need to educate me on the ins and outs of suntanning.

The point of this thread is, I am concerned that maybe accountancy is a more viable career, you can get work anywhere in the world, albeit a little dull.
 
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Matt Houston said:
I can't believe you guys have hijacked my post into a thread about Australian girls and suntans.

I was only half serious re the Aussie girls, and being from South Africa there is no need to educate me on the ins and outs of suntanning.

The point of this thread is, I am concerned that maybe accountancy is a more viable career, you can get work anywhere in the world, albeit a little dull.
Click to expand...

Take the job.

You can find Aussie girls in London too.

As for sunshine - read the conspiracy theories on Global Warming... nice thread on this site.

Take the job.

Don't do accountancy. Dull and boring and you'll end up well off and dull and boring.

Do trading and you'll end up rich, full of life and you couldn't care **** if a tidal wave was going to hit your pad because you are indestructable.

Take the job... :p

My apologies I should qualify, accountants are not dull and boring just that their jobs are... Sorry only my opinion.
 
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Atilla said:
Take the job.

You can find Aussie girls in London too.

As for sunshine - read the conspiracy theories on Global Warming... nice thread on this site.

Take the job.

Don't do accountancy. Dull and boring and you'll end up well off and dull and boring.

Do trading and you'll end up rich, full of life and you couldn't care **** if a tidal wave was going to hit your pad because you are indestructable.

Take the job... :p
Click to expand...

You see, this is the kind of feedback I was hoping for. Thank you.
 
Matt Houston said:
You see, this is the kind of feedback I was hoping for. Thank you.
Click to expand...

I agree with Atilla...take that job....on the inside you have influence ..on the outside you have none and there are many who would give their right arm for a crack at this.

Accountants....pah...boring:rolleyes:

good luck

cv
 
Matt


Take the options team job. You took the accounts job merely because you were excited to get into a brokerage firm. I think you need to satisfy yourself that either this is the best move you have ever made or that it doesn not really suit you after all. If you don't go for it you will probably regret never trying and will be constantly disatisfied with the accounts job. The Eurex exams are probably no different in difficulty than the CIMA exams and the work you have already done in accountancy may help give you the right mindset for dealing with volatility, option strategies and so forth.

There is nothing to stop you returning to CIMA and accountancy if this does not work out. Decisions are reversible.

Good luck

Charlton
 
Take the Job

I agree with Atilla, CV and Charlton - take the job Matt. Here's why . . .

In the mid 1980's I worked in local government for a while. My immediate boss and I were good mates and, when I left, he said he envied me leaving the council and wished he could do the same - but he felt he couldn't. He'd joined the council straight from school aged 16 and had been there almost 20 years. It's the only job he'd ever had. He said that if he left, he'd kiss goodbye to the then very good pension scheme and besides, he only had to put in another 15 years and he would be eligible for early retirement. (Notice the use of the word only.) Well, surprise surprise, those 15 years expired 5 years ago and my friend is still there, in the same job, still dissatisfied. The powers that be clamped right down on the early retirement option just ahead of my friend becoming eligible for his. So, now he's got to see it through to the bitter end (only another 10 years to go) as his final salary will affect his pension. Basically, he's spent his entire life working in an institution that he doesn't much care for - just so he can have a decent pension. I just pray that when he does finally retire that he lives to a ripe old age so that he can enjoy it.

You can go down the safe, conservative route like my friend or you can embrace a small amount of risk and take the job. It's not a big risk because, as Charlton points out, you can always revisit the accountancy option in the future if the trading route doesn't pan out. It's a no brainer, IMO. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Tim.
 
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timsk said:
I agree with Atilla, CV and Charlton - take the job Matt. Here's why . . .

In the mid 1980's I worked in local government for a while. My immediate boss and I were good mates and, when I left, he said he envied me leaving the council and wished he could do the same - but he felt he couldn't. He'd joined the council straight from school aged 16 and had been there almost 20 years. It's the only job he'd ever had. He said that if he left, he'd kiss goodbye to the then very good pension scheme and besides, he only had to put in another 15 years and he would be eligible for early retirement. (Notice the use of the word only.) Well, surprise surprise, those 15 years expired 5 years ago and my friend is still there, in the same job, still dissatisfied. The powers that be clamped right down on the early retirement option just ahead of my friend becoming eligible for his. So, now he's got to see it through to the bitter end (only another 10 years to go) as his final salary will affect his pension. Basically, he's spent his entire life working in an institution that he doesn't much care for - just so he can have a decent pension. I just pray that when he does finally retire that he lives to a ripe old age so that he can enjoy it.

You can go down the safe, conservative route like my friend or you can embrace a small amount of risk and take the job. It's not a big risk because, as Charlton points out, you can always revisit the accountancy option in the future if the trading route doesn't pan out. It's a no brainer, IMO. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Tim.
Click to expand...

Sad but very interesting aspect to life and psychology.

Some people don't like change (my dad) others thrive on it. Risk appetitie various for people according to their DNA structure. :rolleyes: and past experience.

People who leave the army or prison after long stretches often feel suicidal outside. It's the routine perhaps. Or it could be association to ones fellow man. Braking that link is like severing the umbilical cord. :rolleyes: Without a social life support system one ceases to exist.

I think your friend would be much worse off doing anything else. Complaining and dissatisfaction become a luxerious indulgence to people who don't do anything else. I say this sincerely and respectfuly as an observer. Way of finding ones attachment to society and fellow friends etc.

Idiosynchrosies and diversity of individuals are the beautiful wonder of life.

Enjoy all that you do. :)

There is a fantastic book about two humans and two mice about finding cheese. It's called

Who Moved My Cheese?

Strongly recommended reading for people facing change. Funny short book with a big lesson in life.

Change is the only constant in life.
 
Matt Houston said:
I can't believe you guys have hijacked my post into a thread about Australian girls and suntans.

I was only half serious re the Aussie girls, and being from South Africa there is no need to educate me on the ins and outs of suntanning.

The point of this thread is, I am concerned that maybe accountancy is a more viable career, you can get work anywhere in the world, albeit a little dull.
Click to expand...

I can't believe you are 28 and need to post on a discussion forum to get career advice, but I was still willing to offer some advice where I thought I could. It's ok, no need to thank me, just behave like I would expect any south african to.... stereotypes are fantastic aren't they, especially when accurate.

Heres some advice: Learn to think and make decisions for yourself.
 
*JDR* said:
I can't believe you are 28 and need to post on a discussion forum to get career advice, but I was still willing to offer some advice where I thought I could. It's ok, no need to thank me, just behave like I would expect any south african to.... stereotypes are fantastic aren't they, especially when accurate.

Heres some advice: Learn to think and make decisions for yourself.
Click to expand...

That's nice.

Thanks to everybody else who contributed, it's been helpful.
 
*JDR* said:
I can't believe you are 28 and need to post on a discussion forum to get career advice, but I was still willing to offer some advice where I thought I could. It's ok, no need to thank me, just behave like I would expect any south african to.... stereotypes are fantastic aren't they, especially when accurate.

Heres some advice: Learn to think and make decisions for yourself.
Click to expand...

Hi Matt,

Congratulations on an excellent polite reply to this post.

I'm thinking this is a stupid answer to some basic question about careers.

My decision on a personal level is to ignore this piece of advice from JDR and weigh future advice from JDR appropriately.

Consultations and second opinions are always good. Just ask the highly trained medical profession.
 
Atilla said:
Hi Matt,

Congratulations on an excellent polite reply to this post.

I'm thinking this is a stupid answer to some basic question about careers.

My decision on a personal level is to ignore this piece of advice from JDR and weigh future advice from JDR appropriately.

Consultations and second opinions are always good. Just ask the highly trained medical profession.
Click to expand...

My advice to you Attila is to read all relevant posts before expressing opinions, the post that you refer to was not my first. It is interesting that you compare asking for advice on a discussion forum with the medical profession. You either know nothing about the medical profession or have some odd delusions of grandeur.
I have no problem with Matt asking for advice it is his response to such advice that rankles. Most forum posts go off topic at some stage. Generally the original poster accepts such diversions with magnanimity.

Matt. Some more advice. If you still require help with your life decisions you'll get better advice from your parents or other trustworthy relatives than you ever will here.

You are on a trading forum, of course everyone is going to say "take the trading job". Why not go post on an accounting forum. I bet you'll get a response to take the accounting job.
 
*JDR* said:
My advice to you Attila is to read all relevant posts before expressing opinions, the post that you refer to was not my first. It is interesting that you compare asking for advice on a discussion forum with the medical profession. You either know nothing about the medical profession or have some odd delusions of grandeur.
I have no problem with Matt asking for advice it is his response to such advice that rankles. Most forum posts go off topic at some stage. Generally the original poster accepts such diversions with magnanimity.

Matt. Some more advice. If you still require help with your life decisions you'll get better advice from your parents or other trustworthy relatives than you ever will here.

You are on a trading forum, of course everyone is going to say "take the trading job". Why not go post on an accounting forum. I bet you'll get a response to take the accounting job.
Click to expand...

Must confess this is so much better reply than your first piece of advice.

However, I must weigh this post up with your first reply and think about it:rolleyes:

Yes good post. :cheesy:

Although this is a trading site I should add I am an IT professional with a good education and have a number of friends and relatives who are accountants - so I have some experience of their social and career life styles. :eek:
 
Atilla said:
Although this is a trading site I should add I am an IT professional with a good education and have a number of friends and relatives who are accountants - so I have some experience of their social and career life styles. :eek:
Click to expand...

As do I.

It depends what you want out of life, Matt. Here are a few other points.

If you want to be able to say you work as a "trader in the city" and get looks of derision (and everyone stereotyping you) from everyone except other city-boys and wannabe WAGS then go for the trader job.

Want the financial rewards at a potentially quicker pace? - Take the trader Job.

Want bigger financial rewards a little bit later where you can laugh at the paltry £MILLION pound bonuses of your trader friends - stick with accounting.

Want the chance to be chewed up and spat out by a ruthless cut throat world that comes with no real friends just people that see you as competition for the next promotion - become a Trader...

I could go on, but I don't want to sound too anti-trader.

In summary: The world is run by accountants. If you want long term power and rewards go the accounting route. If you want short term gratification and a chance at early retirement that will never actually happen due to your spending keeping pace with your earnings then go for trading.

Disclaimer: Should you truly wish to progress in Trading then you should ensure you wear your "old boys" tie at every opportunity, not doing so will leave your career prosepects down to pure luck and there not being an old boy available.
 
I've already asked my close relatives and friends, and I thought it would be interesting to hear what folks on here had to say, which it was, including your last two posts, so thanks.

I think you took my comment about hijacking the thread a little more seriously than it was intended, no hard feelings.
 
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