Engineer in commodity/freight trading

Hello everyone, as the title states i am a Greek mechanical engineer graduate 28M willing to transition to a chartering or commodity trading role. However my grades are rather low (6.8/10) and my little working experience is in different fields. Is a master's in shipping going to make me more competent for such roles since it's a very competitive space? Is my age an obstacle in joining the field taking into account that i will be 30+ when i graduate with such a master's?

Thank you in advance. 

3 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Can't really speak for commodity trading, but I'm in chartering and can tell you your grades/academia will only impress so little.

Think being Greek you're at an advantage, considering roughly a third of the merchant ships out there are owned by Greeks. 

It will be a less linear path than an engineering career, but I suggest starting at Clarksons/SSY/Braemar ACM as a shipbroker and working your way from there. You need to brush up a bit and make sure you're interested too - check out The Virtual Shipbroker website if you want to get some insight into the industry. 

Most important is to network. Everyone you meet or interview with - make a note of it. Keep knocking on the door. Persistence is one of the most impressive qualities you can have when you're starting off as a junior. 

Oh and skip the masters. You're wasting your time. 

Feel free to message me if you need more information.

 

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