best route to becoming a trader in the city (london)

so you must have made a f*cking fortune then did you?

even if they have lost HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS i suspect their phd's got them a whacking great salary.


EASY TIGER... I made a few quid yes.. and I am not working in the City anymore... and thats because I dont "need" to work anymore... this is mainly off the back of spotting what the "experts" did not...

I agree that these guys earn very well, but I am afraid it does not make them GODS... They get it wrong... A LOT...

And I dont care who you are, or what you think you know... NOBODY can predict the future... with or without a PHD...
 
didn't say they were gods. i'm saying that qualifications which you get from studying make it more likely to get you a job in an IB in whihc you can earn an awful lot of money. so contrary to what the man says-qualifications give you an 'edge'.

so how did you get it correct-the future that is? if nobody can get it right? 50:50 and it went the right way?
 
didn't say they were gods. i'm saying that qualifications which you get from studying make it more likely to get you a job in an IB in whihc you can earn an awful lot of money. so contrary to what the man says-qualifications give you an 'edge'.

Ok.. Agreed, exceptional academics get paid well in IB's... but what I am saying is that working for an IB does not confirm the result... many people leave or are made to leave.. only a few eventually make the grade... i.e. the strongest (or luckiest) rise to the top..
so how did you get it correct-the future that is? if nobody can get it right? 50:50 and it went the right way?

I never said nobody can get it right... what I said is that most of the "experts" did not see it coming.. (some did, take Goldmans for example)...

As for me, well I would say I put my money where my mouth is and bet on a collapse in the UK housing market... and I won..

I was LUCKY!!! ... or maybe It was simply obvious...

or perhaps if I worked for an IB I would say... Blah indicator blah blah
Liquidity issues blah blah ... credit swap blah blah blah

:LOL:
 
I beg to differ:

Well done you-I'd hardly say it had collapsed but anywyay.


ok try telling that to the following shareholders (of which i shorted)

Persimmons
Barratts

Barclays
Northern Rock
Alliance and Leicester

Wolseley

:LOL: Again.. it was luck... anyway... we went off topic.... :)
 
Dboy007

I think you have to try and understand what gratification you seek from trading. The IB route seems
like too much work at 26. You say you have an upcoming property company and so you obviously have an entrpreneurial streak. Why not focus on that and get into the trading around it, either with an arcade or with your own account.

In the 5-7 years it takes to do all that study you could have built up a trading account to a very good size and be immersed in the markets, gaining the 'win' sensation of being a trader. You'd then be able to reap the benefits of this income instead of stressing about deadlines and exams.

The other thing about trading is that once you master your market, you could virtually setup a home based trade setup in any location in the world and this would appeal to your desires to travel.

One last thing though, doing a degree wouldn't be a bad thing as you could learn a lot about economics and finance for example which would help you with the property market deals and the
financial market analysis.
 
A degree is not required, nor is a masters or a super-clean school/college academic record - that is perhaps the biggest misconception in young people when it comes to getting a city job. Perhaps if you want to do a graduate scheme yes, but work in the city (as a trader or any other profession) - no.

All you need to do is have an understanding of the business and then be able to newtwork, have persistance and it will come. You have to be extremely proactive may I add; and strong interpersonal skills will get you a long way. You do not need to study or pay for any of this.

In my own situation I went to Uni and now am currently doing an internship at one of the top 3 US IB's, however when it is over I am going home to trade full-time and will make a big effort to network with every prop firm in the city whilst trading (hopefully with some success!) until they can't say no! I make it clear to all I speak to now that I want to trade, be it for myself, an IB or a prop house... by the end of this year it will be my full-time profession.

The alternative to the above route is a 2 year grad scheme, followed by 2-3 years of (trading) floor experience and professional qualifications and then, if it all goes to plan, I might be able to begin trading institutionally. I am not prepared to wait 5-6 years myself.

To acknowledge the above poster if I had a million in my bank I would be off to somewhere exotic tomorrow! I am interested in finding a mentor, turning 1,000 into 10,000 in 6 months is one thing, managing and returning millions is going to be a lot different I imagine but that is where I want to be 5-6 years down the line, not just starting out.
 
ok try telling that to the following shareholders (of which i shorted)

Persimmons
Barratts

Barclays
Northern Rock
Alliance and Leicester

Wolseley

:LOL: Again.. it was luck... anyway... we went off topic.... :)

you missed Merrill, Lehman, UBS , Bear and a couple others.

I hope you smile on me when I see you driving your Ferrari down the CITY lol
 
you missed Merrill, Lehman, UBS , Bear and a couple others.

I hope you smile on me when I see you driving your Ferrari down the CITY lol

Lol... yeah I missed quite a few really... you wont see me in the City of London anymore matey,, those days are over,,, I have moved to the SUN... :clap:
 
Lol... yeah I missed quite a few really... you wont see me in the City of London anymore matey,, those days are over,,, I have moved to the SUN... :clap:

You are living my dream.:D
I will wait for the next market cycle and then come and join you.:)
 
i'm absolutely hopeless at maths and i'm currently working as a trader (and have been salaried trader in the past). being good at maths has very little to do with most trading. if u r spread betting and / or trading futures then how difficult could it be to calculate what price u buy something and sell something. However, if u work for an investment bank and need to calculate yields and maturities from CDS levels then that is another story...i guess. I think that the main reason why many firms ask u to do a numeracy test is because they are overwhelmed with applications and need to narrow the field considerably.

-------------------------------------------------

You may have been born with the talent already how to apply maths in the real situations, as the opposite to trying to figure out for whole life why 2+2+4 (thats what the math scientists mainly do)

Regards
 
hi people

normbeef i was wondering about the entry route you took to become a trader. i am currently 20 years old and studying 1st yr ba economics. however i'm not one of the people who got straight a's in my alevels i actually did quite poor.. is it still relistic for me to think i can get a job as a trader and become succesfull or i'm i just living in dream land?

please be honest with your replies

thanks
 
hi people

normbeef i was wondering about the entry route you took to become a trader. i am currently 20 years old and studying 1st yr ba economics. however i'm not one of the people who got straight a's in my alevels i actually did quite poor.. is it still relistic for me to think i can get a job as a trader and become succesfull or i'm i just living in dream land?

please be honest with your replies

thanks

Not unless your good at maths and have a track record.
 
you never know

hi people

normbeef i was wondering about the entry route you took to become a trader. i am currently 20 years old and studying 1st yr ba economics. however i'm not one of the people who got straight a's in my alevels i actually did quite poor.. is it still relistic for me to think i can get a job as a trader and become succesfull or i'm i just living in dream land?

please be honest with your replies

thanks

ask yourself if is what you really want to do as its a life commitment, like almost everything if you `d like to excel in.

I have had similar route as you probably. I am on my final year (degree in finance). Today I have passed first of the SII exams :).
I have started to learn trading while on my 1st year at uni, and outside uni. First book was on tape reading then on expectation investing, now I do only trade on price movement.
I may as well get a job in trading or just trade for myself soon.

My advice is to go to free seminars and try to join investment society at your uni.
Finding a good mentor probably helps
good luck
 
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hi people

normbeef i was wondering about the entry route you took to become a trader. i am currently 20 years old and studying 1st yr ba economics. however i'm not one of the people who got straight a's in my alevels i actually did quite poor.. is it still relistic for me to think i can get a job as a trader and become succesfull or i'm i just living in dream land?

please be honest with your replies

thanks

My route will not be the same as yours, and anyway I really class myself as an investor of sorts as I was always rubbish with intra-day etc... :sneaky:

Thing is... If you really want to get into the trading / investing game badly enough you will find a way and the feeling will never go away.. whether you sit in your bedroom retail trading, or you get into an IB or an arcade of sorts..

I have had many times in my life when I wanted out or trading thinking "thats it for me I am not doing this anymore" and within weeks I am back reading some book or looking into a new system or other... that is what makes me tick...

My advice to you is keep trying and never give up ever...

ohh and buy some OIL... (long term of course :LOL:) 3 - 5 years its a nailed on winner
 
norm-you're a pro-how are you buying oil 3-5 years out from here? sounds like a hefty trade to finiance.
 
First... I am not an OIL trader... and never take advice from me as I am often wrong...

But I am going to take a very large long position in OIL over the next few months... I am expecting to hold this for perhaps up to 5 years...

My target buy price is around $30.00 my sell target is around $90.00

and I am financing it with my own money...
 
not taking advice mate-i just want to know how you're foinf to structure the trade. i.e futures/options, spreads what?
 
not taking advice mate-i just want to know how you're foinf to structure the trade. i.e futures/options, spreads what?

Nothing exciting as that.. just CASH into an ETF thats all... like I say its a long term thing
and I am not leveraging so my costs are brokerage, CG-TAX, and inflation.

I am certain about nothing else in the world at this point in time except that OIL will almost certainly rise in value over the next five years... just how much how fast and how much remains to be seen.
 
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