Pivoting out of AM and into Trading; what can I do to maximize my opportunities?

Hi all. A quick background on me; I'm 22 and about to start my first stint in a bank's institutional asset management division. The program is rotational where I spend one year working in the portfolio management side, the next year in the sales side, and the last year being a focus of my choice (OCIO, Liquidity/FI Solutions). While I'm very excited about the program; the pay is below average and AM at a bank just doesn't seem that lucrative compared to the "real" AM houses like Vanguard/Fidelity/Blackrock.

I was looking into trading but realized trading is an extremely broad term. I'm not looking into prop trading, HFT/Algo trading or anything of that sort since they favor people with comp sci or engineering backgrounds. 

I have noticed roles such as S&T, Trading Assistant, FX/FI Trading Analyst, etc pop up on job postings that don't seem to really require someone from an engineering background, and I'm curious in general what I can do this year to really have a chance at getting into the industry.

I graduated from an extreme non-target with a 3.5 GPA so I have my expectations aligned; I've looked into MFE programs but I don't really have the inclination for it. What should be learning as of yesterday to give myself an edge when I try pivoting roles?

I'm still pretty clueless to how "trading" as an industry is really split up, and which opportunities I have a shot at. 

1 Comments
 

Officiis distinctio aut laborum ipsum molestiae. Aperiam aut molestiae delectus. Delectus debitis dolore laudantium laboriosam voluptatem.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”