Commodities Analyst at Citadel and similar roles

Hi,

I'll be working as a Commodities Analyst at Citadel (or similar firm) starting next summer and am really excited for this opportunity! I was choosing between my current role and prop trading at some quant shops (e.g. Optiver, JS) but enjoyed my summer internship experience in a similar role and decided to return to the industry. I know it's late to be asking this having already made my decision, but I was wondering what kind of opportunities would be available to me after working for 2-3 years? Ideally I'd stay and eventually become a PM but would like to see what other avenues are available. If I was in prop trading I could switch to another quant shop as a trader or perhaps do more QR type work, but I think my experience might pigeonhole me into a commodities specific role since a lot of the skills I develop will be about understanding commodity fundamentals/ad hoc commodities modeling and analysis work rather than the MM type trading strategies that most prop shops employ.

I have a general sense of what physical traders at places the supermajors/trading houses do, most stay or switch between various physical shops or perhaps transition into position taking with paper/derivatives. But, I'll most likely be learning how to trade paper. I wonder if this will put me at a disadvantage compared to the physical traders who gain a lot of insight into the physical markets from their years spent as ops/schedulers? Just spitballing here.

Thanks!

8 Comments
 

Would I be right in assuming that landing the PM spot (which I've seen some do quite fast, i.e. in their 20s) is the end goal for all traders in the commodities space? I assume that but also see PMs/traders jump between various commodity funds every few years, would've guessed that they'd find a place they like and just stay.

 

Molestias soluta accusantium eum repudiandae. Rem cupiditate cumque ab ex aut.

Voluptatum qui ipsa molestias. Cumque qui similique enim unde. Sit iusto quae molestiae ut qui quaerat sint.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”