real-time trading / hourly trader salary

i was pretty surprised to see that entry level real-time trading jobs annual compensation is only around $40-45k. does anyone else think that this is really low?

also, how long does it typically take for a real-time trader to become day-ahead trader?

8 Comments
 
Beny23

if you're a prop trader you start at around 60-70k

If you make money. Most prop shops I've spoken to give salaries of around 30k and anything above that is a percentage of your PnL.

"The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets." -John D. Rockefeller
 
Best Response

Real Time traders are essentially babysitters making sure the day ahead positions don't get blown out in the RTM, but do have the opportunity to optimize position by the swings... it takes a really good RT guy to make good money for his desk and in return he gets a raise, bonus, etc. Just like gas schedulers, for every true trading spot on the desk, there are a hundred RT Traders (many with 5+ years of exp.) chomping at the bit. Last I heard entry level RT traders at the banks were getting 55-60 and not many true "spec" shops screw around in the RTM... get into risk (may not be as sexy as BSD* trading) but you'll learn 100x's more about how money flows and is made/lost 100x's faster, and you can use those skills to build a better trading desk/strategy for yourself.

*ask some of the other contributors what it stands for

 

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