Has anyone here worked at Akuna? How is the firm for a college student just getting into trading? Is the name good? I know it's new so it's not as well known as some of the well-established prop shops. I know it's also not as good as somewhere like Jane Street, but how does it stack up against other Chicago prop trading firms?
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To answer that, I need to know what you are looking for. Why do you think its not as good as Jane St?
You shouldn't be worrying about "name" or "prestige" if you want to trade, go do IB instead.
I'm looking for advice on trading as a long-term career, as well as career growth in this field.
I don't think it's as good as JS because JS is more selective in their interview process and more well-established in the field. I also believe JS is a better and more well-known name.
Akuna: Option MM. Jane Street: ETF Arb. Totally different career paths.
First off....if you want to get into trading, you need to leave this mindset behind. This isn't banking. No one cares about your name, your "level of prestige" or any of that bullshit. At the least, they care far less than you seem to think they do.
As someone mentioned above, 2 totally different shops. Also, by all accounts, JS is extremely hard to get into. I tried, and didn't. I made it a few levels deep at Akuna before not making the cut. I would worry more about what sort of skill set you have, how well you know what you know, what product class that's most applicable to, and how you can leverage your skills and knowledge to land a job...from there you should be able to narrow it down to positions that best fit you at various firms...at some those just won't exist.
Okay that's fair. I was really wondering because I'm curious about exit opportunities, and I believe a better name will likely help me if I want to get into a different field in the future. So in this case somewhere like Jane Street would trump Akuna. I'm going to Akuna this summer, so that's why I'm asking. As a computer science major, I don't know much about this field but got this opportunity, so I'd like to make the most of it. I want to learn as much as I can about prop trading and its viability as a long-term career. Hope that makes sense.
For sure.
Here's the thing...trading is the exit op. If you are good at trading, you can write your own ticket. By "good at trading" of course I encompass a wide range of things you may do for a trading firm related to actual trading. But overall, developing the skill set you have and using it in an effective way is going to be your key to getting a trading role anywhere. If you kill it at Akuna, I promise you that you will not have trouble getting a job somewhere else if you really want to leave. And at the least...if you truly continue to learn and improve yourself as you continue in your career...there will be many opportunities open to you. Don't worry about exit opps now. Worry about getting the job. Any slightly decent prop firm will be a great jumping-off point.
As a CS guy you've got a huge advantage, coming into the industry now. They're looking for people like you. If you can add a little financial market knowledge on top of your CS skill set, you will be in great shape.
Well see that's what I'm most worried about. There is a chance that I'm not a good trader. I did trade a bit of my own money with a low-cost brokerage last summer and did okay, but who knows how that will translate to a much more serious, professional environment. Which is why I'm scared about trading. Sure, I could enjoy my internship at Akuna this summer, get a FT offer, and start working there, but I've heard the turnover there is very high (as are most prop shops from what I hear). My concern is losing money for a couple of months and possibly getting fired. That's why I've heard trading is a very risky industry to be.
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