So what are traders personalities really like?

traders all need to be cool under pressure (sports is good conditioning for this); I think most traders are opinionated, but you need to be to take risk. at the same time, you can't be stubborn because you need to change what you're doing (often quickly) if it isn't working.

that said, I think personalities vary greatly - some people are loud, some are reserved, and I haven't seen any trend across product groups. my general observation is that the nicest people are invariably the most talented; some guys may be assholes on the floor, but they should always be cool when they take you for a beer after work. if a guy is a tool all the time, he better be a top producer.

Simply put, there are some really nice people and some real jerks. Some may seem like jerks but are just intensely focused on the task at hand and then are different at the end of the day. Yea there are comments that are sexist. There are definitely abrasive personalities. You'll need to rely on your thick skin at some point in your time there.

Honestly trading isn't quantitative unless you're a real quant trader. Can you add 3 digit numbers in your head? Can you do division with simple numbers? I would hardly call that quantitative. What concerns me more is that you are "very worried" about the personalities on the floor. I think a successful person in trading is conscious of what they're getting into but otherwise indifferent re: the personalities of coworkers. People are there to make money; most other things are secondary or not important, including reporting each other to HR for slightly offensive comments (of course not ridiculously offensive things). Having the personality is 10x more important than being "quantitative".

Also, do some more research on the difference between trading and research. They couldn't be more different as far as actual job and environment.

lol, not to so sound like one of the pretentious d-bags you are referring to, but believe me this will be the very least of your concerns as a trader.

If you go into quantitative trading and work at a quant/algo shop/fund, you probably wouldn't have to worry about toxic personalities as much as if you were elsewhere. The cultures at (most of) these places are similar to those of start ups/tech companies.

The research and trading environments are quite different, and the personalities of people in each are as well. Of course it also depends a lot on which product you’re trading and in the case of research your product area as well, eg if you’re doing quant research, equity research, credit research, etc. For example, equity research puts a lot of emphasis on writing skills and most equity research folks would never want to spend a day on the trading floor. Quant researchers are, for lack of a better word, more nerdy and often come from engineering or math backgrounds (often did not study finance, accounting, etc.). I’ve never met a douchey quant. Then you even have some research people sit on the trading desk and serve as desk analysts. I’d suggest you pick up a Vault guide or read through some more of the forums here to try and understand the big differences between trading and research.

One more suggestion for you, try and connect with alums in trading and research. Speak to them for informational interviews. Understand their personality, ask what personality traits are valued on their team, what backgrounds they look for, and ask them candidly about any other concerns. You’ll find you can learn a lot through informational interviews, especially on the personality side.

Lastly, if you are in New York and can manage to meet any alums for these informational interviews on their trading desk I think that would be eye opening for you. I did it in undergrad many times as each firm is different, so it is possible, you just need to find the right people through your alum network. Good luck!