A few questions on getting started in physical trading
Hi all, I'm currently still an undergrad and trying to break into physical trading (I had in mind working in agriculture or energy). I've been going through the topics posted on WSO about physical trading and from what I gather, it would be best to start as an intern in logistics/operations, try and get to know the traders, and make sure to kick ass in whatever role I'm thrown in. I just have a few questions on going about this direction if you anyone could please provide some input.
I live and go to school around the NJ/NY area and am able to make my way to NYC by train. While looking for places to contact, I've begun to suspect that there may not be a lot of firms that handle commodities in general around my area, but I may be wrong? Could it just be that I haven't been looking in the right places? (I've been searching via LinkedIn and Indeed). What firms should I take a look at around my area or are there really not many?
Is it more important that I study finance or supply chain-related topics in preparation for starting out in logistics/operation roles? I am going to study both in my own time but I want to know which one I should place a greater focus on early on in order to make me better prepared for breaking in. I don't want to come off like a clueless idiot while networking with people who can help place me into a role that would give me experience.
Lastly, in the event that I am unable to find a trading firm to make contact with, what other types of firms should I take a look at? I've been given suggestions to maybe try interning in a supply chain-related role from companies like Hershey, Nestle, etc. However the people I asked who gave me this input are not familiar with physical trading at all. The idea to me sounded okay but I also have no idea. I hope someone could weigh in on this suggestion, I'd really like to know if this was an idea worth entertaining. It's a lot easier for me to make contact with firms like Hershey or Nestle (I think my school has some network with energy firms too) than a straight trading firm, so if this is a suggestion I should put serious consideration into, I would like to know.
Thank you all for the input!
My advice: get your foot in the door, any way you can. Internships in the commodity world are not like investment banking - you can get a long way with just networking and don't need to go through a formal HR program. Once you have foot through the door, even if this is a 2-week "work experience" or something, it gets a lot easier to land yourself something full time.
Sugar/Grains/Coffee at Nestle/Hershey/Starbucks etc. could be very interesting. They are going to be big clients of any physical firm, so having contacts there will certainly be valuable later in your career if you go into trading.
In your area you have plenty of big firms though. Bunge are based in White plains, NY. Glencore have offices in Stanford CT. In NYC you have a lot of futures brokers: SocGen, Intl FC Stone, ED&F Man, Marex Spectron, RJ O'Brien to name a few. Also check out physical fuel oil trading/brokerage - Blue Ocean Brokers, World Fuel Services.
If you do some solid work on Linkedin with a bunch of employees at all those firms you are going to get somewhere. Try to organise coffee/lunch informational interviews. If you come across interested and driven, people are very inclined to give you a shot.