Finance major + CS minor
Im currently a first year Finance student, I want to go into S&T mainly FICC. I was wondering if it is even worth trying to get a S&T job, because i heard it was a dying industry. Or if is not how much competitive would a CS minor look.
Sales and Trading (S&T) is not necessarily a "dying industry," but it has evolved significantly due to automation, electronic trading, and algorithmic systems. Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's what you need to know:
Relevance of S&T: While traditional S&T roles have seen some contraction, there are still opportunities, especially in areas like electronic trading, financial engineering, and quantitative roles. These roles often require a mix of market knowledge and technical skills.
Value of a CS Minor: A Computer Science (CS) minor can be highly valuable for S&T, particularly in FICC (Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities). Programming skills (e.g., VBA, Python, or other coding languages) are increasingly sought after, even on sales desks. As noted in WSO threads, desks have become "quite nerdy," and having technical skills can set you apart from other candidates.
Competitiveness: Combining a Finance major with a CS minor demonstrates both market knowledge and technical proficiency. This combination is particularly attractive to recruiters for roles in electronic trading, quantitative research, and structuring. It shows you can handle technical tasks and interface with automated/data-driven systems, which are becoming more integral to S&T.
Career Outlook: If you're passionate about S&T, especially FICC, pursuing it is still worthwhile. However, be prepared to adapt to the industry's changes by building strong technical skills and staying updated on market trends.
In summary, a CS minor can significantly enhance your profile for S&T roles, making you more competitive in an evolving industry.
Sources: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/trading/sales-in-st-dead-end-career-path-in-2020?customgpt=1, Undergrad: Is computer science 'hotter' than a business degree?, Where are all the S&T monkeys?, What College Major ??
If it’s a minor don’t think it’s going to help that much in terms of resume value. A kid with two good networking calls will erase whatever value that minor adds. If anything, I would minor in cs for the skills. Focus on python data and ml libraries.
I don’t think SnT is dying but I understand people have different opinions. That aside I would heavily caution against limiting your recruiting to SnT let alone FICC SnT. There aren’t many spots as compared to IB and as a result the variance of outcomes is larger. Depending on your interest I would also recommend recruiting for IB, ER or AM roles.
But IB, ER, and AM are completely different jobs, no? Aren’t there any alternatives that are closer to S&T, at least in terms of the type of candidate they tend to attract?
In a sense yes. But some roles in AM still involve for example fixed income products. And there are DCM/ECM roles to look into at banks. If you like equities ER is great. If you are dead set that trading is the only thing you want to do then ignore my comment.
When it comes to recruiting you really only have the BBs a couple middle market places and maybe some commodities shops for S&T. When recruiting starts, these opportunities slim down fast. I was lucky enough to break in but many of my even more qualified friends would not get even a call back for the most absurd reasons. If you’ve never been on a trading floor before I say give yourself the flexibility and apply to more positions especially considering prepping for S&T and some of these other roles, IB excluded, shouldn’t take more than a couple weeks anyways.
I see, thank you for you comment!
Do you think i need mastery of python,data and ml. Or just the basic classes?
You won’t be tested on any of these in the interviews so really based off your own interest. I wouldn’t stress about it too much most of the learning in SnT is done at the desk.
I've been hearing this "S&T is dying industry" from 10 yrs ago lol
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