To become a trader or an Analyst

[iliosis]

Hello friends, this is my first post on the site and it may be a big one because I have two questions, here it goes goes:

Question 1:
I cannot decide whether I wish to become a trader or an analyst, I love reading and doing research which would incline me towards becoming an analyst, I have already been trading on the American markets for 2 years with my own few thousands , however I am also the competitive type and I feel that becoming a trader would be more enjoyable or even exciting for me. Can somebody give me a bit more description of both positions, and maybe compare the difficulty of landing a job in these positions, that may affect my decision.

Question 2:
Since the dream here is to work in the IB industry, I have recently decided to switch my degree program into what I want to do. The 2-3 options I am looking at are: Applied Math and Finance minor, Pure Finance (Business degree) and Finance with Economics (BA).

Which do you think is best for me to do. The easiest one is pure Finance, I have studied Economic Theory thus far and my marks have been good. The hardest option is Applied Math with Finance minor (Bsc); while this sounds the most interesting it is also the most challenging and obviously my GPA will not be as top-notch as if I were to do pure Finance, example, I can possibly get 3.7GPA or higher in Finance, while I may only pull a 3.0 to 3.2 in Applied Math.

I am a 21 year old student, about half way through my degree.
Any thoughts on my options?

Thanks for any input!

 

[Jack o'Clubs]

The jobs are so different, I don't think you can meaningfully compare, it's a bit like asking should I be a barrister or an architect? Somewhere in the resources section of this site is an interview with an equity analyst which might help with the 'what does the job involve' question. Otherwise resources on here are more slanted towards trading. The advantage of being an analyst is that there is more variety in the day to day job and the skills are more transferrable outside the industry if one day you decide you've had enough. On the other hand tinkering with models and writing 'maintenance' research can be pretty mundane. There are plenty of outlets for a competitive character as an analyst (individual and team rankings, client scoring, recommendation performance, etc). Also excitement - plenty of sweaty palm moments at 06.59 waiting for a company to report when you've gone and made a big call on it, and then dealing with it when it doesn't go to plan. I think the character traits to do both roles are sufficiently different that you will likely be one or the other, few people are equipped to do both. If you get into an IB on a grad scheme you will likely find they choose where they think you should go, rather than the other way round based on your personality.

Do the harder degree and work harder to get the same grades as you would in the easier one. I don't mean that facetiously, but getting into an IB is not easy and you want every advantage you can get.

 

[Omoh101]

An internship is also a way to experience the job 1st hand!

 

[Adamus]

One of the Market Wizards in the first book was an analyst and he didn't like the way his work was handled by the firm he worked for.

On the other hand, you also have a big choice in terms of being a trader: would you trade for yourself with your own money and if successful, set up your own hedge fund, or do you want the 'security' (does that exist?) of working for a big bank on one of their funds or trading desks and working your way up to a position you want?

I'd say the Applied Maths isn't going to help you so much, as long as you're pretty good at maths anyway.

I see from your spelling of math you must be the other side of the Atlantic - I don't know what the corporate world is like over there but being a small cog in a corporate machine in the City here ain't what I'd wanna do.

The main training you need is in developing balls really. I don't think it would make too much difference whether you did Finance, Economics or Math. Isn't there an option combining all three? While you're doing that, also take up something where you regularly get the s*** kicked out of you, like rugby or kick-boxing.

 

[tommac]

as above3 --totally different. If you want a long term "career" go analyst -if you fancy a gamble for big bucks go trader. Can`t comment on degree course ( didn`t need them in my trading days lol)

Ps -every 21 year old thinks they`re competitive and has what it takes--take care

 

[Magos]

The answer is simple: a trader