Joining a prop firm

jacopobr

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Hi guys,

I am new on this forum, i have read many threads in the last weeks but it's the first time i write here. I am evaluating the possibility to join a prop firm in london in september or december, and I'd like to hear some comments about wheter I can reasonably expect to have a chance in joining a graduate/training program in some good prop firm (i am not interested in arcades at all). I am Italian, 23 years old, I am a last year student of the master of science in finance in the most accredited business school in italy. Now I am doing a 6-month internship in a Tier I italian bank in the structured finance risk control division, which will end in late july, and i am going to graduate in semptember with a gpa around 27/30 which should be simlar to 2:1 (UK) or 3.5 (US). I got my bachelor degree two years ago in the same university and roughly with the same gpa. I don't have any other work experience. I have played poker quite a lot during my studies, and in the last 6 months i managed to earn almost 10k euros becoming a very good high stakes heads up (which means 1 vs 1 for those of you not familiar with poker) player; i think this would be helpful in terms of money management skills, numerical skills, and the ability to take important decisions under pressure. I have very good numerical skills and i'm planning to take the gmat. I don't have any experience with trading basically because i didn'y want to risk my parents money, but now that i have earned some money i'm going to open my own trading account very soon and start practicing; i have always been fascinating by trading, and during the last weeks i surfed the net a lot to gather information about trading, prop firms, technical analysis and so on; i have also bought some books about technical analysis and trading in general, and i am starting reading them; anyway, I've always read financial newspapers (even if mostly the italian ones) so i am quite informed about the markets. Now the question is: given my background, do i have any reasonable chance to join a prop firm after my graduation? i know i don't have any experience, but i plan to trade on my own account in these months, at least to understand how it really works and getting some real experience; in addition, they offer those training programs that i think are specifically planned for unexperienced graduates, so i am not sure the lack of experience in previous trading jobs would be a problem. I want to stress that i am not interested at all in arcades, i want a real prop firm that trains me and backs me after the training.

Hoping you will be able to answer me, I thank all of you in advance,

Jacopo
 
Hi Jacopo,
Welcome to T2W.
Along with the list of skills you mention - add English to the list. You have a better command of the language than most of us natives - very impressive!

Regarding getting a job, this FAQ might be of interest to you:
How Do I get a Job Trading?
One obvious thing you lack (that I can see) is not having any experience. Opening a £100 Spread Betting account trading 1p a time will at least be a move in the right direction. If all goes well, you'll be able to show consistent profits over a reasonable time period, and that won't do your application any harm at all.
Good luck,
Tim.
 
Thank you so much for your advice Tim, as I pointed out in my post I do want to start trading on my own account as soon as possible, since I have already realized that it's a necessary condition to be considered for a place in a prop firm. I really hope that some months of online trading, a lot of readings and the rest of my background will be enough to at least get some interviews.

Thank you for your kindness,

Jacopo
 
Thank you so much for your advice Tim, as I pointed out in my post I do want to start trading on my own account as soon as possible, since I have already realized that it's a necessary condition to be considered for a place in a prop firm. I really hope that some months of online trading, a lot of readings and the rest of my background will be enough to at least get some interviews.

Thank you for your kindness,

Jacopo

Hi Jacopo,

With your background, you probably stand a decent chance getting a shot at the interview. Give this a go. If you are unsuccessful, build your record and go back. If you can get a record together you shouldn't have too much of a problem regardless of whether you have been rejected.

Tom
 
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