Career Path: ER or Trader

I’ve heard pros and cons of each. A trader career at a fund or AM firm would be UNREAL to me, but I’ve heard job security is awful, and that most only last 5-10 years from burnout.

I don’t want to generalize, but I feel like ER is safer. From people in the industry, how is job security in trading, and do you really get fired if you make only a few mistakes, and is a 10 year career true?

278 WSO Academy Sales & Trading Session Reviews: 4.86/5

Class of '28 Aug 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Sales & Trading Career Roadmap (optional)

“John listened before giving advice. I told him I had accepted an offer at Bank of America but was still interested in JLL and Wellington. Instead of telling me what to do, he asked what I wanted from my career and helped me think about which path would give me more options. I also liked that he was honest about what he knew and didn’t know. He gave me a clear reason to keep working toward JLL, while reminding me that Bank of America was still a good place to start. When I practiced my interview answer, he told me what worked and gave me one simple way to improve it. That made the feedback easy to use. Most of all, John made me feel less stressed about figuring everything out right now. He offered to help with a mock interview too, which meant a lot to me. ”

Class of '28 Apr 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Sales & Trading Mock Interview

“The mentor provided extremely detailed and thoughtful feedback throughout our session. What I appreciated most was that the advice was not generic. He took the time to understand my background, past experiences, and the specific roles I am currently recruiting for, and then tailored his suggestions accordingly. He also connected many of his recommendations to his own professional background and experiences, which made the feedback much more practical and credible. Instead of simply telling me what to change, he explained why certain answers or approaches would be more effective and how an interviewer might interpret them. He also shared specific examples from his own experience to illustrate his points. I came away from the session with a much clearer understanding of both my strengths and the areas I should improve, as well as several concrete ways to strengthen my interview preparation. Overall, the session was extremely helpful, personalized, and actionable, and I would definitely work with him again.”

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+20	Starting out in Merchandising to Trading Desk.	6	3d
+14	Best way to move to NYC, LDN from Tokyo	7	3d
+12	Rates Vol TA -> FO Macro Sales?	1	2d
+9	Moving from Electronic Trading Coverage to a Risk-Taking Seat?	1	3d
+6	Asked for 3 more interviews after a superday? S&T BB	1	5d
+3	Choosing SNT summer internship london	9	15h
+3	Color on RBC Capital Markets/Trading	2	5d
+2	Target schools	3	5d
+1	Starting on trading desk after being in Compliance	3	1d

1	redever	99.2
2	BankonBanking	99.0
3	kanon	99.0
4	Secyh62	99.0
5	Betsy Massar	98.9
6	CompBanker	98.9
7	GameTheory	98.9
8	dosk17	98.9
9	DrApeman	98.9
10	Mimbs	98.8

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Career Path: ER or Trader

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Score Breakdown

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Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Elite Career Bootcamp. Top Job Offer Guaranteed.

Career Path: ER or Trader

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