Best Role to take for Power Trading

Hello everyone, I am interested mostly in power and am fortunate to have landed three opportunities:

  1. Market Operations Analyst at an ISO/RTO (ex. ERCOT, CAISO, MISO, etc.):
    1. Responsible for running software that clears day-ahead market, doing power system analysis, creating tools and conducting analysis to support market operations.
  2. Settlements Analyst at a large commodity trading house (ex. Vitol, Gunvor, Trafigura, etc.):
    1. According to the hiring manager, some people in the same role after 1-2 years in settlements have transitioned to scheduling and real time power trading roles at the same company.
  3. Commercial Operations Rotational Analyst at an IPP/Utility (ex. Calpine, NRG, NextEra, etc.):
    1. Will rotate through power and gas operations and scheduling for 1-2 years (12 hr shifts). Afterwards, will be placed in power or gas depending on personal strengths and company needs.

I am most interested in becoming a power trader (preferably not real time) or any quantitative commodity trading role, trading analyst, or market analyst in that order. I enjoy quantitative analysis and programming, but want to prioritize securing a position where I'm able to take risk as a trader, or inform trading decisions as a trading analyst (I am aware that the next step after becoming a trading analyst is a trader).

I am also interested in transmission analysis/FTRs, though I don't have an EE background so don't know how viable this path is. However, I have seen people on LinkedIn go from ISOs/RTOs to become transmission analysts/FTR traders, though they usually spend 5-10 years at an ISO and also have graduate EE degrees.

Which of these three options offers the most direct/straightforward path to becoming a non-RT power trader or quant commodities trader? Thank you!

Which Option

1. Market Operations Analyst at an ISO/RTO (ex. ERCOT, CAISO, MISO, etc.)
23% (5 votes)
2. Settlements Analyst at a large commodity trading house (ex. Vitol, Gunvor, Trafigura, etc.)
18% (4 votes)
3. Commercial Operations Rotational Analyst at an IPP/Utility (ex. Calpine, NRG, NextEra, etc.)
59% (13 votes)
Total votes: 22
1 Comments
 

Explicabo in fugit id adipisci maxime asperiores saepe accusamus. Accusamus quis illo ut inventore at. Consequuntur expedita temporibus esse. Et natus ad sed voluptatum. Cum expedita et dolores officiis veritatis.

Est incidunt neque architecto numquam voluptas consequatur neque. Molestiae blanditiis occaecati quo molestias occaecati animi. Earum non illo minus. Odio voluptatem blanditiis perspiciatis doloribus. Architecto maiores exercitationem alias.

Ut facere et quas voluptate porro. Recusandae cum ea magni ut vero. Saepe est mollitia quis quaerat nemo. Ullam illum pariatur consequatur inventore. Accusamus molestias et voluptatem officia cupiditate nulla. Consequuntur suscipit rerum aliquid quod in sit non amet.

Velit qui vitae cupiditate nostrum in. Ut nihil cum cumque quia accusamus illum rem voluptates. Illo facilis quia amet culpa deserunt fugiat distinctio quod. Facilis voluptatibus temporibus harum. A ipsam et et sed architecto perspiciatis.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (51) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”