Career Guidance - Trading or Capital Markets

Background: 1st year analyst in Market Risk Management at a top BB (GS/JPM). Math/Econ degree from a top 25 school.

I've had conversations with the group's MD about my wanting to move into a FO position, and he said that he would be more than happy to put me in touch with a few of his colleagues (and also give me a positive recommendation). However, he requested that I be very specific with regard to what kind of positions I'm looking for.

I've always been interested in the markets, and given my quasi-quant background and decent programming skills (VBA, SQL, but no C++ experience), I believe that trading might be a good choice for me. However, I am not sure what kind of desk I would be a good fit for. Exotic derivatives and the structured products desk look very interesting but to be honest I do not think I can compete on a quant-level with the phD and the MFE students that are on these desks.

Does anyone have any suggestions with regard to what desks I could be looking at? Also, I know some areas of Capital Markets (e.g. structured products) can be quanty, but what about others?

Thanks

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