Programmer want to do trading, Feeling Stuck
Hi all,
I recently created an account to post about this — I’d really appreciate any advice or perspective you can share.
I currently work at a large bank as a trading systems programmer, with about three years of experience. It’s a great team: good work-life balance, flexible WFH policy, almost no overtime. The people are genuinely nice, and my manager is excellent. My base salary is just under £100k, though the bonus is quite small. Overall, I have no real complaints about the environment.
That said, I’ve never been passionate about programming, and I often find the work boring. I can easily see myself staying in this job long-term because of the people and the lifestyle — but not because I enjoy the actual work.
A bit of background: I went to a top university (non-CS major) and joined this role with minimal programming knowledge. My strengths were always in academics and research — I considered doing a PhD — and I think that’s what helped me get hired before graduation.
Lately, recruiters have been reaching out about entry-level dev roles at top hedge funds, with total compensation around £250–300k. I’m flattered, but I’m unsure if that’s the direction I actually want to take.
A few questions I’d love advice on:
1. I’m interested in trying out trading, but I’m not sure where to start or whether it’s even feasible. Should I try connecting with traders within my current firm? What’s the best way to approach this? Not sure what will be the most effective ways to do this. Or should I try other companies?
2. Is it worth giving up what I have now — decent pay, great WLB, and a very comfortable setup — for something less stable but potentially more interesting?
3. Should I consider preparing for an exit to a hedge fund? I know the job security is lower and the hours are worse, and I’m also not sure if I want to stay in programming forever.
Thanks in advance for any insights — I’d really appreciate hearing from people who’ve faced similar crossroads and who made the transitions before.
Bump
DerivativesRiskEducation Hello! Sorry for tagging you here. I’d really appreciate it if you could share some insights.
Bump
It's a tough spot - I knew I wanted to be a trader since my early teens, read all the books, went to a top uni, applied to all the internships and got rejected and still had to suffer for a few years as a quant before making it into trading. That was a few years ago when it was easier to do. The job market for traders is not very dynamic and seats rarely free up as people who have good jobs tend to hold onto them.
My best advice would be to self-reflect on what makes you interested in trading - whether you'd like to gamble on what company is going to be more successful or do you like undestanding bigger picture macro dynamics or do you like technical funky derivatives stuff and read more on the subject. Maybe some passion will develop and with it getting more knowledge will become easier as it would feel like less of an effort. Once this happens, apply to every single trading position you can see online and start bothering traders in your preferred area for coffee chats, try to not be too autistic when talking to them and at the end of the convo you can ask to keep you in mind if they hear someone in their product is looking for a junior.
Thank you so much for your answer! I’ll spend some more time thinking about the “why.” Right now, I’ve just started considering doing something different because my current job feels unchallenging and mentally unfulfilling. I haven’t really thought deeply about why trading—or what other paths I could transition into.
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