Predicament about career choice in Maritime

Hi All,

So this is the situation, i am currently a student in my second year of university in the UK. Since i was 16 i have been reading numerous financial publications, listening to podcasts, and reading books across various segments of the financial services industry. I always thought i would do IB and stick there (i genuinely like the role of bankers on certain desks) however then i had the opportunity to apply to a respected London PE firm. It was fantastic, i learnt a lot and worked with a brilliant team, however, i sat there thinking about what i was doing and i was like, hmmm enjoyable but is this my really my life? 

A bit about me i should say, i have always worked hard and if i am working hard i have no issue with hours, commitments etc. for me it is part of the package that i signed up for. What i like is being kept on my toes and therefore naturally i feel a volatile market is one i would most like to be a participant in. So fast forward 3 months and a close friend says, "hey man, you're knowledgable about finance for someone our age and for university students, you are into politics and you are a confident and personable guy, have you thought about shipping?" I think to myself "wtf is this guy talking about, i don't want to work for amazon...". I didn't know anything about the industry and after reading Tradewinds and Lloyds list as well as some shipping books i was hooked. No industry has appealed to me as much as shipping due to the professionals involved facilitating global change and the importance of geo-politics.

So i go out and think what my next step would be, naturally i have a finance internship background and fairly good knowledge so ship finance stuck out to me. I found a ship finance start up (it's a weird classification but essentially they help owners access financing, important to note that they are not a lender) in Europe and applied there. I got the job and worked there for 8 weeks over summer. It was fantastic, it is a fairly small company so i was given so much time and autonomy, this really helped me learn about maritime financing and how different members of the industry interact with one another. The team were second to none, the MP's were such cool guys, respected in industry and tbh really all the guys on the team were fantastic at their function. Whilst out in the city i met this guy who travelled on the same train as me every morning. He was another English guy and so we got chatting. He mentioned he had some shipping contacts and was happy to share with me. At this time i was hanging out with the analyst from my company quite a bit in the evenings and on the weekends and his friends (all SNP brokers). We all got on really well and i would certainly call them my personal friends at this point (contact has remained even after i left the country with all of them). I began to learn more about SNP broking and really found it interesting. I don't know what it was, perhaps the interest they showed in me as an evidently passionate guy in the industry or just learning more about their role but it really made me consider broking.

Going back to my train acquaintance, the number he gave me was a Director at a large London based shipbroking firm. I message the director, introduce myself and set up the call. We call, talk for 45 mins (during his working hours which for a broker i have learnt is a lot of time) and the conversation moves from him sounding me out to book recommendations, general chit chat about our backgrounds blah blah blah. Essentially he said he would be happy to give the London SNP desk a call and help set up an internship or alternatively their finance desk (based in Europe) for my placement year. At this point after hearing about what this guy does i was certain i would like to try out broking. 

I return from my ship finance internship, go on holiday for two weeks and return on Saturday and start work on the SNP desk on the Monday. I loved that role, got on well with the directors and junior brokers and everyone (including the CEO) gave me the time of day to chat and ask whatever questions. I really appreciated the environment, the role the snp brokers do and i think it is a role that would suit me ideally.

So now here i am, applying for placement year roles. I feel that if i am to be a broker i should drop my placement, graduate a year earlier and then get into broking (whilst getting my ICS) during my undergrad. However, i feel it may be a bit rash? That is what i thought to myself and plus, i really enjoyed ship finance, i would be happy to go to a maritime transport desk at a bank and work there for a year as i am sure i would learn a lot and probably immediately become an asset of the broking desk (if i was to decide not to go into maritime banking) because it is not a usual trajectory for brokers and therefore i would have very good financing knowledge.

So i was hoping i could get some maritime industries bankers perspective on this one, have you had any colleagues go into broking after banking and do you know of their experiences and more importantly, is the maritime industries desk one that i should really idolise as much as i do?

Thank you for reading.