Breaking in with no degree (UK)
Hey everyone, first post....
I've not seen anything directly on this in any other post, and I'm just wondering **is it possible to break into finance (talking sales, brokerage (institutional, prime etc), repo trading, pretty much anything front office ** in the UK without a degree, straight after A Levels?
Thanks a lot guys, Appreciate it
No... Unless you have experience working in FO before and the job specifically says "Degree or in lieu of experience..."
Your best chance is a BO role...
Thanks for the reply guys. Isn't it possible to find a decent amount of brokers, maybe with Tullet or Tradition with no degree though? or is that the bygone days ahaha....
You won't get any decent job without a degree ... and in response to the previous comment, most BO guys I have met in London actually came from semi-target / target schools, so it is not that easy to get
Thanks for the reply guys. Isn't it possible to find a decent amount of brokers, maybe with Tullet or Tradition with no degree though? or is that the bygone days ahaha...
A lot if not all brokers will still want a degree.
You need to look at school leaver programmes such as those offered by the big 4 (this will be more likely Audit or some other area which could open up some doors) or a few commodities companies offer apprenticeship programmes (BP used to for sure, and Trafigura do now). The former will get you a decent job but transferring to FO (particularly at a bank) will likely not be possible even if you are there for an number of years.
The commodities companies could potentially provide the opp to be in the equivalent of Front Office but it wont be easy. Interesting route to take though.
You can always trade your own account. Unless you are a coding wiz with a resume to prove it, getting in will be next to impossible without one. Even if you are great at programming you would at best be able to get a BO job. I have seen guys pull it off and get some excellent salaries, but they are strictly in development and not actually running any trading strategies.
Breaking in with no degree in the uk (Originally Posted: 04/17/2017)
Hey everyone, first post....
I've not seen anything directly on this in any other post, and I'm just wondering **is it possible to break into finance (talking sales, brokerage (institutional, prime etc), repo trading, pretty much anything front office ** in the UK without a degree, straight after A Levels?
Thanks a lot guys, Appreciate it
I'm more interested in a brokerage role, or repo work....thanks for the reply too.
You could but it will be a long hard role and much faster to just go to college. If that's not an option. You get a job- any job- even mailroom. Take advantage of whatever tuition reimbursement the bank will give you. Kill it at whatever job you have- constantly look at internal postings to move up. Will take at a minimum 5 years as my best guess but probably longer. Still will be short on skills and still need to go to college.
TL,DR: you have a shot, it will be much harder and you will still need to go to college.
Just so i dont have to make a new thread, is repo trading largely part of treasury desks? JPM do an apprenticeship i think on that. cheers
You have number of great options in the UK aside from getting a full degree, which is a major time and money commitment.
Look for apprenticeships. One in Bloomberg takes two years, pays you money for living, can be done straight after your GCSEs, and will give your RQF Level 4 in Analytics at the end and a job at Bloomberg. After couple years of FT there you can definitely transition to a good brokerage.
Also, I would look into CISI qualifications - they have a lot of different qualifications with different levels on Capital Markets, most of them are Ofqual-regulated. This will show that you know your shit and have an interest especially in the capital market.
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