This question is for people who actually are/have recently worked on a trading floor at a big investment bank:
About what percentage of new S&T analysts start relatively versed in derivatives, stats, calculus, programming, have passed the CFA Level 1 exam, and have read (and understood) books like FIASCO, Fooled by Randomness, Against the Gods, Reminiscences, Traders Guns & Money
I feel like i'm pretty into trading and havn't started my FT job yet. i'm just wondering if that's normal.
I'm going to be rotating around desks, but I want to get placed quickly on a top-paying desk (I'm thinking of equity derivatives or commodities based on the Trader Monthly's compensation info). Any suggestions on how to accomplish this? What else can I do to differentiate myself?
"About what percentage of new S&T analysts start relatively versed in derivatives, stats, calculus, programming, have passed the CFA Level 1 exam, and have read (and understood) books like FIASCO, Fooled by Randomness, Against the Gods, Reminiscences, Traders Guns & Money"
im not in the industry yet. i would guess 80%+ if it's a respectable firm?
CFA? programming? 80%+? Really? I don't think so...
Ya i'm not in it yet either, so don't really know that well.
Based on my classmates (25 or so) going into banking/s&t, i'd say like 20% have that skillset, although I don't think its that useful for banking (maybe cfa level 1). Coming from a summer in banking, I noticed that like 40% of analysts are clueless (hardworking) monkeys, and another 40% are bright but a lot of math/probability would just be over their head (just didn't take the undergrad courses for it, probably never will). This may be different depending on the firm, but I guess I'll figure that more out when I get there.
Maybe the math/probability isn't necessary? It seemed to be recruited for, although some had the attitude 'If you have the initiative to get the job you will be able to pick up the rest'
Also, I'm 1-2 years older than most people who graduate undergrad which probably has something to do with me being impatient to start.
What kind of programming are you talking about here? Like, Excel VBA / Eviews / Matlab stuff or proper C++ / sql / python type stuff?
By the way I'll be on a commodities desk. I was a commodities junkie long before the area became a popular destination though, and will (if it's up to me) still be there when this fad has passed (and the pay goes back to its normal, lower level). As the saying goes, this too shall pass.
Why not pick a desk you like and will excel at for years to come; isn't that your best shot at long term wealth?
lots of different programming (throughout high school & university): VB6/.NET/VBA, C, C++, C#, Perl, Java, Javascript, Matlab, SQL, Unix/Bash... i understand python is similar to perl, i duno what 'Eviews' is, but i've been into that stuff long enough to be confident i can quickly figure out any required language.
In terms of "picking a desk I will like and will excel at for years to come." I agree, that would be ideal. I haven't got a clue which desk that would be and right now don't know how I could figure that out, other then to realize that I want to make a bunch of money in the medium term.
So, I thought expected compensation was a pretty good way to get some direction on what desk to try for, but of course my goal will change as I learn more about the roles and myself (ie. if I learn that i suck as something compared to others, I will avoid that)
maybe not as high as 80% then. However, the S&T SAs from my school, that I know of, know their shit. not as extensive programming experience as yours, but still some C# and SQL. Decently versed in Hull's book, and they've got another year to read/learn more.
EViews is a statistical analysis package by the way. I only know because I use it when doing academic research.
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