Long term career in sales & trading

I'll be starting as an analyst at a middle bulge bracket firm this year and wanted to get a feel for what the perception of the long term career prospects in sales & trading are.

Given the specialized skill set you develop it seems fairly easy to get pigeonholed and as the finance industry continues to feel the impact of technological innovation, where does that leave those beginning their careers in sales & trading?

 

I'd like to know as well. It seems like the skill sets are so different that lateral moves into more analytical positions that its a difficult move, HOWEVER sales is such a difficult role to fill it seems easy to enter the industry that way. Thoughts are appreciated.

~Stay Golden
 

The best piece of advice I can give you is to start networking. Get to know everyone you can in the industry and establish relationships with headhunters and colleagues at competitors, etc. S&T has never really been about job security or developing skills but the landscape (as you mentioned) has changed for the worse, especially in the last few years. Find out what types of skills people are looking for and work to acquire them (or appear like you did). The last thing you want to happen is end up out of a job after a few years without any real skills or any connections to help you move somewhere else. If you start networking early and maintain solid relationships, you'll find that you appear more in demand and can make savvy transitions as they open up.

 

S&T and accounting are two completely different professions, with completely different risk profiles.

It takes a unique person to enjoy and flourish in S&T. If you're having doubts about S&T and are looking towards something like accounting, then I'd firstly suggest that you get some exposure to accounting. If you've already gained exposure to accounting, then you're probably going to be better off in accounting.

 

How long is the internship position for? And is the pay prorated?

Consumption smoothing is retarded. If you stay in this game for a handful of years, money will be the least of your worries. Live it up, because this is the one time in your life where you might actually have time to spare.
 

Hmmm, that's a tough one. How strong is the desk for the internship position?

Regardless, I would personally go with the internship at the lower tier BB. Even if you don't get a full time offer, you still have the internship experience to help you land another job. Plus, it's prorated and your other full time offer doesn't seem very appealing.

Consumption smoothing is retarded. If you stay in this game for a handful of years, money will be the least of your worries. Live it up, because this is the one time in your life where you might actually have time to spare.
 

i think it's good that you are a sophomore - if you don't like it, you'll have another year to try something new.

I was at a BB this summer that announced big changes that I think visibly stressed certain groups. However, I still think it was a good experience, though I chose not return FT.

 

BB S&T is just as hard to land, if not harder, as a BB IB role, so having it this early is excellent on your resume. I'd say it looks better than anything besides BB IB/Large Cap PE on your resume and it will get you interviews but you'd just need to say how you can transfer those skills to a banking environment

 

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Jack: They’re all former investment bankers who were laid off from that economic crisis that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have zero real world skills, but God they work hard. -30 Rock
 

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