Job recommendations for not so great communicators
Hey guys,
Interested in hearing thoughts on jobs/career paths that involve no external communication (e.g. clients, outside vendors, etc.). I am ok with internal communications with co-workers, managers in my current operations role but am more interested in researchy positions that mainly involve screen time with computers. I don't care about pay at all - just looking for something with minimal communication (at least externally) and more research/analysis/report writing. Specific job titles and companies are appreciated as well.
Thanks in advance everyone.
Trading. 100%
Exactly. Non-communication is one of the best things about trading
Thanks. Any particular type of trading, institutions, security types that you would recommend for the criteria I mentioned? Also, any advice to transition from a mere operations role? Thanks.
All trading matches your criteria so it's pretty much a question of what kind of trading you're most interested in.
Thank you
.
I would advise to to re-frame what you are asking for. You simply do not want a sales or direct marketing role, where >25% (or thereabouts) is spent calling, talking or presenting to external folks. Your preference is to focus the majority of your time doing analysis and research, crunching numbers, coding or other type tasks. You could frame this as you'd rather do the work that the sales and marketing efforts rely on.
Do understand that in many research roles, your ability to communicate is HUGE. I'd argue in some cases it's more important than many sales roles, since entire investment strategies/decisions/positions can rest on how you articulate your findings. And, eventually, you will end up being a subject matter expert - which means you'll get called upon for external folks to talk to you.
The reality is that you should never say this in an interview and get comfortable with the idea that in virtually every role on the planet, you will need to talk to people outside your firm at some point or juncture - even if it's only a small part of your time. If you said the above in an interview situation, or even informally at a coffee chat, it'd be a huge red flag.
I think what OP wrote is quite reasonable for an online forum post. Most likely he wasn't going to say the same thing during informational coffee chats or actual interviews. In fact that's probably why he posted this on WSO, so that he can say what he actually thinks without fears of consequences.
OP probably already knows this and figures he'll eventually round out his skill set over time. Perfectly reasonable (smart, even) to recognize that many jobs over-reward extroversion and if you're not into that, you might be more successful finding one of the jobs where that matters less.
quant programming / engineering...if you have the chops
even as a SWE you still have to collaborate and touch base with multiple stakeholders.
honestly, i don't think there is any professional level job that doesn't require at least somewhat decent communication skills.
Quant, Trader, Equity Research, anything with Excel Modeling
Thanks all - yes, I'm aware that saying this during an interview/informational meeting would be a red flag. That's why I'm asking on a forum like this.
Would anyone else like to elaborate on some of the positions? Perhaps some less known positions or unique hole-in-the-wall places that involve 90% modeling/only internal communication amongst colleagues and heavy report writing, etc. Thanks in advance.
Anything in research. Yes, research folks still have to communicate a lot. But we're talking on a relative basis here. If you're interested in finance and markets and want to communicate relatively less, then trading (as discussed above) or research. One less obvious place for these jobs is private wealth management shops; they need people to put out market reports and often have trouble recruiting them because most of the people trying to work there are interested in the chatty client service roles.
Many have suggested trading. Makes sense, every trader plays a lonely hand, and one can't cajole the markets etc.
But the reality is that the vast majority of buyside traders have great communication skills. Its really difficult to get to that stage unless you can speak with confidence, conviction and can persuade others in a field with a high attrition rate. Great communication skills inadvertently becomes a prerequisite for the job. Same goes for research.
Work on your communication skills. Try and do some public speaking if you're in school. Maybe sign up for Toastmasters. It will benefit your career even in trading/ research, and at the very least it will benefit your dating life...
If you really want to minimize communication then try something like software devs
Equity Research
Could you maybe elaborate? I feel like equity research involves a lot of communication with company management conference calls, travel, etc. Are there specific positions/titles that focus primarily on modeling or are behind the scenes? Thanks.
As a person who used to HATE human interaction, my extensive research has led me to believe actuary is the perfect position. Career progression is dictated by exams you study for and your day-to-day is all about doing analysis on risk and writing reports about it. It's one of the few careers where people skills can be truly secondary to your technical skills.
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