Derivatives structurer, did i make a mistake ?
Hi everybody,
I just wanted your opinion on my situation, as i think i'm starting to think more and more seriously about leaving my job and getting depressed. This post coule be a bit long as i am a bit bitter but i prefer to give too many details to maybe get a better opinion.
I'm in a structuring role since a couple of years at one of the major BBs after completing a SI across various trading/structuring desks.
I was sold this story about constant innovation and how in structuring you are in between sales and trading and develop a broader skillset, that it is less repetitive than trading etc... I had some doubts about s&t in general but this fucking MD litterally called me every 2 weeks during all my final year for a coffee and was pitching me this thing about how great it's going to be.
1st 3-6months were great, the team members are really super enjoyable to be around, there is no douchebag, i was learning loads of things.
But as time passed, my learning curve plateaued very quickly, and today i am realising that structuring as far as i am concerned is being a pricing bot for traders, chasing them half of the day for pricing parameters while being chased by sales dudes the other half.
Innovation is a very remote concept and consists in shifting a barrier or adding a gimmick feature to some product so that the client feels he is getting value from this stupid product with 10% fees stuffed in them.
The rare times you have time to really "innovate", you need to go through several layers of clueless half-retards that represent 80% of the structured sales, then you need them to convince clients, and then to convince trading that it's worth the hassle.
And then if it ends up trading and making decent PNL, every other idiot in the value chain that just happened to be there(from sales to strats to marketing) starts trying to claim that it's kind of their idea and we just helped them price it.
Trading are super happy to be in a "almost no-comp" context and try to screw the client over(sometimes it ends up with him trading our idea with competition because they got too greedy.)
But when it doesn't work, or if someone in the chain fucks up, it's your fault.
Basically it's a position where you share the upside with half the floor and take all the downside.
And i'm getting very frustrated.
I got recently promoted associate which nearly doubled my comp, and got paid quite well compared to other analysts, so pay isn't the problem, it's just making it way harder to leave the job and stop hoping it will eventually get better. People think i'm happy lol...
I'm thinking about a career change anywhere from energy to consulting, to HFT to lauching a restaurant, even if it means starting from scratch again. I have no idea if this is feasible. The good thing is that i started young so i'm actually the same age as most people graduating now.
Any thoughts ?
Sorry if this just felt like a super bitter and annoying thread, if you can help with any insight it would be really appreciated.
I don't have much advice for you since I'm still in college, though I'd like to quote Arnold Schwarzenegger (Reddit AMA) here:
"Stay with the firm until you find your passion. But stay with me here. How do you know right now your passion isn't something that you will need money for? Maybe you will decide you want to start a healthy burger shop. You will need money.
So look at this as a stepping stone instead of an end. We can't always do what we are passionate about, but everything we do can move us closer to our passion. I was never passionate about construction. But I laid bricks and worked so I could support my passion when I was starting out in bodybuilding.
The most important thing is, you need to find your passion. And once you do, put everything into it. Everything. But until then, it sounds like you are at a good stepping stone. Just remind yourself to think of it that way and don't let yourself think of it as the end point. You sound like a smart guy. I bet you will do great once you have somewhere to direct this energy."
I am not in the business yet, but I will give my 2 cents. Are you private o public side? At some banks some structuring desks are on the private, which I guess would help in your situation (you have a lot more info and the traders come in just for the execution)
If you're not learning anything, then why the hell are you still there? All you are right now is a monkey turning the same crank everyday. If I were you, I'd be looking for a new gig, even with the bump in pay. You now have time on your side to find something else that you'd enjoy.
Dude believe it or not, you are still pretty young and could probably quit your job to go surfing for a year and you would still be ok. You could always take your GMAT and apply to business school and decide then
Have you looked into hedge funds at all? I worked on a rate sales desk this summer and a couple guys on the quant strats side left for similar quant positions there, where I presume they would take more ownership for their work rather than being a cog in a giant machine. Since you already got the BB promotion you could leverage that to land in a more senior role once you're there.
It sounds like your real issue isn't the learning curve tapering off. It's that you're a smart guy who's in a role where the payoff (in terms of respect and credit that accrues to you) is structured asymmetrically against you.
Why don't you try moving to trading? You're closer to the money, and if you're good, the upside (credit/respect/money) all accrues to you.
I do think the proportion of quality people in S&T has been declining. Of the people on the floor, I'd say I can respect maybe only half of them (which is much lower than I thought).
Oh dear, so is all that stuff the structurers sell you about the innovation, being less repetitive etc. false??
Hey, sorry im commenting on an old post, but curious what you decided to do in the end.
Have you left structuring? I feel 100% the same way being in structuring
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