Do physical commodity trading ever exit to their respective industries?
I'm interested in pursuing physical commodity trading (glencore/trafigura etc) out of college but ultimately I want to be working at a oil/gas/agriculture/steel type company in a sort of managerial role. Is this type of transition common?
The transition from originator to a managerial role is very common at my major. Mainly because that role does not interest/fit the skillset of many traders
In my experience it's less common to see end users or producers poach from a trading house because they just can't compete on comp. That said, they can compete on lifestyle, location, and work/life balance so you'll occasionally see people move over for that.
If you're worried about the ability to make the transition, I wouldn't be. Any airline would love to hire an ex-Vitol fuel trader. They just typically can't pay enough to get them.
Alpha --
Agree 100%. The main issue (at least for the WSO masses) is total compensation. If you are willing to take less money, but trade that for a real life and a lower cost of living, you can EASILY exit to a utility or corporate reliant on commodities (airline, steel, aluminum, renewables, trucking, etc.). Physical commodities folks live in places like Doniphan, NE, Hammond, IN and similar. If you are willing to exit to a corporate/utility, $200k + is a very, very nice life working 8-6.
Definitely doable and you will be a good bit sharper than most of your peers. But yeah, the comp hit is pretty much inevitable unless you work your way into the c-suite for a very large producer or consumer.
As mentioned pretty common called a “retirement gig”. Comp hit is expected but way less pressure.
I'll take a VP slot at a refining, utility..Base comp 200k + 100k+ bonus. Only downside is lots of meetings which blow
If SocalGas ever came calling i would for sure answer and offer my services..Socal can't be beat. Trading starts at 5am and done by 2pm just in time to hit the beach bike path for some biking/jogging maybe even an early evening pickleball
comp is WAY off.
speaking from facts not opinion and not at the refining company i worked at..numbers are a bit conservative actually
Utilities prolly less
100% agree utl will be massively lower
I am trying to hire someone right now from a supermajor on the products side and i cant find anyone under 700k.... power and nat gas may comp lower overall but oil and products guys comp well
200k+ 15 years ago at a utility. Either salaries have stagnated or I am missing something
okay I'll be honest I'm a bit surprised by most of the replies here - perhaps I was using the wrong terminology i.e. when i said managerial role
This was more in line with what I was thinking about. That is, leveraging all the experience gained + network to start a manufacturing company for example (young ambition) as opposed to trading down for a more cushy lifestyle
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