Too late to career switch to trading ?
Hello All,
I started working in the technology division at a major BB in NYC after getting a masters in Computer Science. Though I had no plans of changing my career path, I am getting drawn towards trading since some time. I started to trade equities in my personal account to get my hands wet and am doing reasonably fine.
But the dilemma now is that I am thinking of trying to make a switch to trading as a full-time career. I read a lot of posts here about how to approach this but a few things still bother me: my age / recruiting season is already underway / losing prestige (going down to jr trader from my current status at my BB) / tech is a more stable career and I should just stay put
Any thoughts or perspectives on how I should be thinking about these ?
More information on my 4 issues:
1) I am 25 and a few months, is it a reasonable age to make the switch considering that I will have to start from the bottom ?
2) This year's recruiting season is already underway so applying now is almost pointless ?
3) After working at a BB for nearly 2 years, if I start as a Junior trader in a Boutique or MM (if I ever get there), somehow I feel nervous about losing the prestigious name of this BB attached to me ? Is this unreasonable ?
4) The sensible side of my mind tells me that technology is much safer career in this environment and I should continue here for a year or 2 and think about business school in the near future.
1) 25 is young. Age doesn't matter, up to a certain level. I'm going to start in S&T and I'm not too far off from that age.
2.)This years recruiting season is over, outside of some JIT recruiting for next semester and randomly throughout the year
3.)you work in tech, there should be no aurora of prestige surrounding whatever bank you work at
4.) The decision ultimately comes down to you and what you want to do. Perhaps your asking for advice to justify the predetermined conclusion you've already arrived at. I worked in ops and had to make the decision to leave the safety and comfort of that job for something that was all-around better, but much riskier in terms of available spots and career stability
You're the man.
So If i want to start applying, it would be safer to wait out until the next season applications start going in ?
Start reaching out to people outside as well as start networking within your bank. Don't sit there and wait to drop resumes (which will have a low success rate in itself for these highly competitive jobs, this isn't OCR). It will be tough and you will most likely need to go for a masters degree for trading.
Don't be an idiot and do not rule out boutiques and MM shops, your little technology job at a BB means jack shit in terms of prestige. No brand name will change that fact. That's real talk for you.
Hell no you jump right in. If this is what you want there should be absolutely nothing stopping you but that pivotal few hours in every man's life wherein he is exhausted from sucking the very fumes of each day that he clings to for self gratification, promotion, indulgence, and verification for his hard work, otherwise known as sleep, and keep it minimal. You should A)build up some contacts B) know what production you want to trade and become an expert at it and everything else C)know everything about trading that the top competition would be expected to know D) network internally. Hound those traders to sit with them, grab coffee, anything to get in front of them and impress them E) applying to any and everything you can that is relevant. don't waste time, because I assure you there are many more that are much hungrier than you and that includes your competition F) Repeat steps A-F until you are on a trade desk in the job that you have been busting your butt off for the past few weeks/months
what kind of trading are you referring to? flow, prop, agency, algo? The term trading is very broad and you mentioned that you have some personal success trading your own account which doesn't say much about your ability or even qualify to trade on a desk.
Getting on a trading desk - am I too late for the party? (Originally Posted: 09/22/2009)
I'm in my third year in the advisory group of a Big Four firm where I focus on real estate consulting and valuation. In school I majored in economics and did pretty well. I'm looking, however, to join a trading desk. I know that I'm at a real disadvantage here for a number of reasons, but I would think that at the very least the knowledge that I've gained about the real estate markets could be useful.
I know that networking will probably control whether I am able to make the jump but I haven't had much success in leveraging my school's alumni directory and my personal contacts. Am I basically shit out of luck in making this switch?
I think Revolution's post makes a lot of sense, actually telling me that I have been slacking off even though I kind of know which direction I want to go...
Useful perhaps for trading REITs or real estate related fixed income products.
Finance hiring is down across the board but I don't see a strong reason for why hiring for trading with a real estate focus should be correlated closely to the strength of the industry.
Have you broadened your circle and tried to reach out to people you are connected to? It's hard to know what the "problem" is without more detail. You've got 1 or more of the following issues you need to address: a) your skill set isn't suitable to a trading desk b) you're not communicating your transferrable skills effectively enough c) You're not networking effectively
Try to get some feedback from someone who works on a desk. Figure out which of the above you're struggling with and take steps to address that problem. Here are a few things you might want to take a look at
To broaden the group of people you can reach out to read this: 9 Tips to Use LinkedIn to Help You Get Your Ideal Job - http://bit.ly/M6HBp
Very few contacts have a job they can give. They can however be extremely helpful in other ways including introductions. Take a look at this to help make your networking more effective: How to Make the RIGHT and REASONABLE ASK for help - http://bit.ly/h42ir
Are you doing a good job communicating why you'd be a good fit for a desk? 5 Step Plan to a Successful Career Transition - http://bit.ly/s1Ulp
Hope these are helpful. Make sure to share what you've been communicating/doing with someone in trading if possible to get some direct feedback.
Gotta Mentor www.GottaMentor.com Connect to the Advice & People You Need to Achieve Your Career Goals
have you read "Heard on The Street: Quantitative Questions from Wall Street Job Interviews?"
http://www.filesonic.com/file/4322338715/heard_on_the_street__quantitat…
admin please let me know if the link is not cool and i'll remove it
OP, keep in mind that some MM shops are going to place you/pay you better than BB's depending on a lot of variables. Some of the smaller trading firms will definitely pay you better than the BBs. You have to look at the actual job and not so much the company. Also be aware that while a smaller company may pay less (mine DEFINITELY DOES) you will get a LOT of exposure as opposed to doing a narrowly defined set of functions, and the overall learning experience can position you better for certain types of jobs.
Get as much info as you can, as you're painting with broad strokes and if you're seriously considering leaving the safety of the IT dept, you might want to look very carefully before you leap into a highly unstable job.
I think it's fair to say that you're very caught up in the name brand of your current employer and not so much your actual function: I know plenty of IT kids from school who get off on telling people who they work for, but never really go into what they do (especially Indian/asian friends). If this is the case, then seriously consider WHY you are doing trading. Make sure it's a job you want as opposed to being caught up in the percieved benefits of prestige or pay: if you're in a job that actually interests you and you're good at, your overall life is going to work out better.
It's natural for the halo effect of a good employer to be a huge draw, but you're waking up to perhaps more than societal/parental expectations and choosing your own path...think it over and do it right.
One of my worries; stability, but honestly I am willing to give it up in lieu of some confidence that I can do this.
Hit the nail on the head. I have more exposure to IT as of today than trading, hence my comfort seems to be clashing with something I am interested in....
Its not easy...i've been trying for some time now, its ugly out there. You need to network your ass off, build contacts at your firm and other firms...the size and name should not matter to you. Also remember, your internal directory is your friend. You can look up the names and emails of anyone in your firm. What desk they are on, who they report to etc
why is this front page? i wish you good luck and success OP, but my impression is that you won't make it. a successful career in financial markets requires more than what you are prepared to give.
what does it take to have a successful career in financial markets?
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