BB IBD vs Prop Trading

Final year university student in London, holding two full-time offers. One is for IBD at a top 5 BB and another for options trading at a prop shop (IMC/DRW/SIG/Maven). Not sure what to pick, and would be curious to hear any thoughts.

BB IBD Pros:

- Much higher job security. The prop shop will eventually fire people who do not make money. 50% are out by year 3.

- More stable compensation

- Work is fairly straightforward and much harder to fuck up

- Less stress (you can't really lose money)

- Household name / "prestsige"

- More transferrable skills / exit opps

- Higher compensation ceiling?

​

Prop Trading Pros:

- Better working hours (50-60 hours vs 70-80+ hours)

- Slightly higher initial pay (about £20-40k more)

- Potentially much faster pay progression

- More interesting work (for me, as I am more STEM-oriented)

- No need to eventually transition into a salesy role (I am introverted and while I COULD do salesy stuff if I tried, I don't know if I'd enjoy it or be very good at it)

​

I guess the main thing that's pushing me away from taking the trading offer is the high chance of being fired within a year or two if I turn out to be shit.

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