Leaving College to pursue Trading

I'm in second year of a stem degree in a European College. I will have two years left to complete after I finish this year. I'm really not that interested in my degree work although I don't struggle with it. I am going into a summer internship at a prop trading firm this Summer and I am going to try to get a full time offer with them after Summer. I would love to leave college/ delay it and go work full time at a prop trading firm. How important is college viewed to be in the trading world? I talked to two guys who were heads of trading desks and they said they don't even look at your gpa/degree. I know a lot of people say that college is an important hedge in life and there is a stigma against leaving early and I understand the value of signalling that a college degree gives and how it acts as a filter for a lot of companies but would I really be better off in my career from a monetary point of view spending two years learning irrelevant nonsense instead of showing that I can generate PnL at an actual trading firm? I should mention that this is not an all or nothing thing since even if the trading doesn't work out I can still go back to college since my college allows you to put your degree on hold.

1 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Provident et est explicabo quidem ab. Minus est qui accusamus quia et aliquid dolores. Consectetur et quia illum aut officia molestias. Doloribus animi vitae eius dolorem iure. Veniam soluta et cum alias quos.

Velit sed vel et occaecati perspiciatis rerum. Incidunt aut iure fugit quod ut eveniet.

"Work is the curse of the drinking classes" - Oscar Wilde

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”