People in S&T
I came into my BB firm with a major inferiority complex - I don't have a STEM background, I didn't intern with the group, and I'm from a non-target school. I got offered a credit trading position, it's not distressed debt or HY, which I heard have cooler people, but I'm still shocked at how seemingly weird the people on my desk seem.
I'm sure they're good at what they do, it's a well regarded desk on the street, probably top 5, but they're not the MIT computer science or Princeton math types. Just a bunch of not cool dudes from non-target schools.
Is this surprising? I thought either 1) they'd be lacrosse players with tons of confidence from Duke or Virginia or 2) STEM majors from Ivy's, the types of people who enjoy explaining the Greeks and convexity while at a bar.
It seems like they're neither and are just average. I'm not trying to knock them, they seem nice and again, I'm sure they're good otherwise they wouldn't be top 5 on the street in their product. But am I missing something here?
This post just theta decayed my mind
They’re not hardo target nerds and they’re not lax chads. Must be losers.
Having had experience working with the “prestigious” BB crowd as well as the “non target” physical trading crowd, I prefer the latter.
People who don’t take pride in their social status (even though they tend to earn more than their bank counterparts) tend to be more approachable, and have less of that toxic psychopath vibe where they expect you to suck up to them.
You are.
People of all types sit on desks. The stereotypical "trader" type pushed by the fallacy class on WSO, would have you believe that unless you fall into a certain category, you will never get the opportunity or be good.
There are only two rules to being a good trader. Make money and in this enlightened age, be a decent human being.
Over the many, many years traders have been old, young, male, female, gay, straight, white, black, yellow, ivy league, former truck driver, nose pickers, triathletes, Magic the gathering players and lax bros.
Does not matter at all.
What matters is what YOU do with the opportunity you have been blessed with and what YOU do to be the best you can be.
I can just add this, people who know their shit and are good traders usually tend to not show off. They are confident in their approach and in themselves. Caveat being most of my exposure to these people has been in physical trading. Of course there are arrogant people in physical as well but they are lower in number given physicals is also about managing relationships and if people hate you they will screw you when the market gives the opportunity.
Whether a desk is "cool" or not is basically labelled by people looking in from the outside. Whether you trade delta one products, options, wheat or pork bellies all that matters is can you make money. What I've found is traders respect that over the particular product you are trading given the different dynamics of the different trading desks.