Hi There,
Long time lurker, first time poster. I am in a conflicted situation- currently 10 years out of college. Spent several years at a major's trading arm before joining a HF/Tradeshop as an analyst. The time spent in physical shops, as well as my quant/programming background has made me somewhat of a unicorn for energy analytics- and the pay has been quite good (given small sample size in an unstructured industry, hard to compare laterally- but about on par with an IB VP all-in).
However, this 'uniqueness' has also been a downside because there are no established paths for someone like me at any company I'm aware of (heads of analytics at commodities firms are industry experts and there is a clear separation between the "strategic" thinkers and the "data" people).
The longer I've been working, the more concerned I am about the long term career options in this type of role. I really enjoy the work, but the lack of formal career progression has honestly been a drag on morale. My options as far as I can see it are: stay, hope to save enough to retire within 5-10 years as a fallback and try something else entirely if career progression is not there. Leave- become a data scientist in another industry (the downside of this is much lower pay initially and unsure of what kind of quality of firms I could join without a recruiting funnel). Retrain- go to masters/mba programs and then join another industry (downside of this is lost income- already on the old side for ft mba).
While coding is enjoyable, it's not really something I want to do forever. But I really enjoy applying a programmer's mindset to solve problems. I'm particularly curious about what others from technical/quant backgrounds in particular have done to shift their career.
Thanks!
Hi oil_quant, hope I can help. Do any of these links cover what you're looking for:
More suggestions...
You're welcome.
Not a bad place to be stuck
I am lost do you like your job or not? Your skills are mad bid currently, also how far away are you from "head of analytics". Is the fund, a MM or a trading house?
Would not worry about the downside, the retirement gig is at Woodmac/Enervus question is if you stuck and to reach higher.
if I were you and risk averse, I would go into data-science at an F100. Most of your skills would transfer. Might take a short-term paycut but you can still clear 6-900k at the very senior levels with pretty great WLB (40-50 hours a week tops).
I know you are probably making more money now but to me, what you are doing is way too niche, and is not optimal long-term.
Hi, may I ask when you mention energy analytics do you mean, e.g. pricing derivatives, gas storages etc, or alpha generation?
Using quantitative techniques to express and scale ideas that come from an understanding of the industry and market in order to find trading biases for spec position taking.
In the time since, I’ve come to appreciate it more as a craft in and of itself. It’s been a hot market as well, lots of volatility, plenty of job openings, comp has gone steadily up every year. Also very good hours. It’s a good way to make a living for the right personality type. Definitely not for everyone.
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