T10 CS & Quant Background -> Physical Trading: Seeking internship advice to build a profile for grad programs

Hi everyone,

I’m currently trying to bridge the gap between a highly quantitative academic background and the physical commodities industry, and I’d love to get your harsh truths and advice.

My Background: I am currently completing my Master's in Computer Science at ETH Zurich, after doing my Bachelor's at EPFL. While my background is heavily technical (Data Analysis, Probability, Statistics, Python...),I feel my true interest may lie in things like markets, energy transition, and global supply chains rather than pure software engineering. I have a strong preference for a commercial, high-velocity environment over sitting behind a screen writing code all day.

My ultimate long-term goal is to become a Physical Commodity Trader. My main target right now is to eventually secure a spot in Trafigura’s Commercial Graduate Program (or similar tracks at Vitol, Glencore, Mercuria,Total,BP).

On the short term I aim at a summer internship that would be in Switzerland (Geneva or Zug) or a 6-month off-cycle internship, ( would be open to any location where work authorization is feasible for a non-EU student (e.g., UK, Middle East, Singapore, etc.)).

My Questions for the community:

1. Pivoting from CS: How do trading houses view Computer Science grads for commercial (not quant/IT) graduate programs? How can I best frame my technical background (e.g., ability to analyze large datasets, automate operations) as a strong asset for a traffic/operations/commercial roles without being redirected to quant positions?
2. Breaking In: i’ve noticed there are very few internship openings actively posted online right now. Given this scarcity, does anyone have advice on how to actually secure a summer or 6-month internship?
3. Profile Building: Knowing how competitive Trafigura/Vitol grad programs are, what should I focus on learning right now to stand out during interviews or even make my cv pass the filtering? (e.g., specific shipping logistics, chartering, mastering a specific commodity ... ?)
4. Alternative Routes: If I can't land an internship directly at a major merchant, what is the best stepping stone? (Trade finance at a bank, operations at a smaller shop, shipping/chartering company?)
5. Grades & GPA Cutoffs: How important are university grades for getting into these highly competitive grad programs (Trafigura, Vitol, etc.)? Is there a strict GPA cutoff just to get your CV looked at? If yes, do recruiters take into account the notorious difficulty and strict grading of rigorous engineering/CS degrees compared to less quant degrees?

Any feedback, advice, or reality checks would be incredibly appreciated. Thanks in advance!