Lateraling to Trading

Going into my S&T internship I was aiming for a trading role, however I was offered a front office non-trading role. I accepted it because I was told rerecruiting was not a good idea - looking back I do not know if that was the best decision. After speaking to a trader at another firm, I was told that I should make the switch as soon as I can to not be restricted to having a non-trading role. 

Is this statement true? Does it need to be somewhat immediate (1-3 years) or could I have 3+ years to make the switch? I feel my current role could be very educational and would not mind staying 1-2 years. Though I prioritize getting a trading role. I would also be interested in working at HF as well.

Currently, I am thinking that I have two options: internal and external transfer. 

How should I go about approaching achieving an internal transfer? Currently, there does not seem to be any openings for the products I am covering. I also do not want to jeopardize my current job if I make it clear that I am interested in trading.

From my perspective, external transfer seems like a better risk/reward ratio because no one at my current firm would know. However, I do not know when/what I should be applying to. I would not be opposed to reapplying for a first year analyst program if that is a way to secure a trading role, despite it may put me back to being a first year analyst. Any advice is appreciated.

I am trying to keep my background vague but still want to give information that could be useful. I am not picky on what product I trade. I graduated from a target school with a near perfect GPA in an economics related major, and I technically qualify as a diversity candidate. I do not know if there are full time diversity programs or if that is of any benefit. I would prefer not to use that but if it is an option I’ll take what I can get.

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What is the "front-office non-trading role" is it sales? Either way, you need to get out ASAP if you wanted to be in trading and you're now in research or structuring, etc.

Apply for new grad analyst roles and any new grad trader roles as they're usually flexible and allow 0-2 YoE to apply to them. Most likely do an external transfer if possible. TBH I'd be open to MM S&T roles as well even if you're currently at a BB depending on the hiring environment.

 

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