Should I stay in my role in a niche market?
Hi guys,
I am looking for some tailor-made advice regarding my situation—just a few elements of context.
- I have been working in a physical commodity trading firm in a very niche market for 1.5 years as Trading Assistant, in direct contact with Traders. This is a small team, and the global headcount is not big either.
- I have an exceptional work-life balance. However, this is a problem for me as I do not have a lot of responsibilities, and I can spend the whole day just listening to traders and doing a few projects of my own. Accordingly, my boss (who is very well-ranked in the company hierarchy) seems happy with this and my overall performance. I understand that he likes this slow-moving progression.
- However, my comp is pretty good for my city ( I had a bonus just a few months in, and I have yet to see the one for 2022). Total is around $ 65k, but this is very generous for my hours - I regularly work less than two effective hours a day)
- Physical trading is my dream job sector.
- The market is very unsophisticated, and sometimes I feel that I am missing a lot and that my learning is thus too basic.
Accordingly, I have a lot of mixed feelings about my job. I feel that I am in a very generous company, and if I continue with this, I might have a proper trading seat in the coming years. However, I feel also that I do not deserve it, and I would like to feel pressured and earn my bread. In addition, I am super grateful to skip the operations trap and this kind of back office position and directly be in contact with traders.
As you can see, there are a lot of pros and cons to my situation. Am I ungrateful not to enjoy this position? Am I in a paradise that I should wish never to stop? Should I try to move to a more mainstream commodity but a more competitive one? Should I just be patient to get a proper trading seat and finally feel pressure?
I am lost, as I sometimes feel very different from my young graduate peers. Thanks for any feedback you may have.
You want to work 12 hour days?
If it comes with more learning and a precise professional horizon to aim at, I would be happy to. However, I have never gone through this kind of hours so I might be fooling myself about it.
I think learning is key and you either pay to learn or get paid to do.
But that being said; don’t pass up on something that’s too “good to be true” just cause your unhappy with the immediate short term.
If I only worked two hours/day in a unsophisticated market I would be trying to spend the remaining hours building models and trying out ways to be more “sophisticated”
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