Offer Help: Tier 3 S&T vs Commodity Trading Shops

Hi peeps, I would like some advice from yall. Recently I got an s&t grad offer at a tier 3 bank as well as a grad offer at one of the top commodity trading shops. I don't have a strong preference over either one. Could some wisemen/women out there give me some insights regarding the following aspects:

- career progression and exit opportunities(I understand that it takes maybe 3-5 or 7 years to become a commodity trader from a grad position and not everyone could make it, perhaps 1-2 in 10 people? If I did not make it, what would be some of the opportunities for me other than being stuck in the ops/risks etc? Can I still join the S&T at banks or my only options would be some oil majors? What about the other way round: S&T at banks first and then switch to commodity trading? which way of switching would be possible?)

- pay (A lot of people arguing that S&T pays better at banks at the very beginning than the commodity shops but this is not really a strong argument in my case. In fact, the commodity shop offers higher pay for the grad scheme. Also, what if I did not make it to be the commodity trader and end up in ops/risks etc, what would be the pay like?)

- work-life balance?

- How are commodity traders differ from paper traders in terms of skills and characteristics required? (How much people skill is required for a commodity trader?)

Thank you all in advance!

1 Comments
 

Iure aspernatur ullam dolor. Reiciendis qui nisi est consequuntur quibusdam explicabo voluptatem voluptatem. Ipsum architecto libero aut fuga quisquam veritatis. Eos voluptatem voluptatem enim ex ipsa. Beatae cumque nostrum dolores necessitatibus quo. Pariatur repellat fuga laudantium fugiat sed. Tempora iste vitae recusandae dolorum iure ipsam aut magni.

Rerum rerum ut laudantium velit officia eveniet ea dolorum. Eaque ex odio maxime error eaque. Mollitia et consectetur porro. Sint saepe non consequatur et magni tempore suscipit. Magni et ullam ratione non sit eum debitis. Et nesciunt dicta cumque animi.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”