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November 30, 2026
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Prop shops will give you a lot more responsibility fast. Meaning you will have the chance to out-earn analysts at top BBs right off the bat, as well as be given trading responsibilities. But you might also be let go within a year. If given the chance again (I made a similar choice) I would go with Optiver > strong BB desk > Flow > other BB desk given your list here. It really comes down to risk/reward and your personal preference.
Thanks for the response! I was told that this team was very much on early responsibility and that I could be managing a (small) book by my second year. Would that change anything in your opinion? Also what did you end up choosing, incidentally? And why top BB desk over Flow (I assume flow comp is greater but not sure)?
If you think you can learn and grow with the people on the desk, that is what matters at the end of the day imo. If you feel that you can learn more/be more invested with the BB team vs Optiver then that might honestly be the best route for you.
Flow is a good firm but their comp will be lower than Optiver and other top prop shops for the first few years (whether or not this matters is up to you). I personally chose a prop shop with a reputation similar to Flow and don't regret it at all. Way more responsibility, risk, comp potential, etc than the BB S&T offer I turned down. But the BB role was more salestrading and no risk taking so it was an easy choice for me. If it was a big risk taking desk it might be a different story.
At the end of the day it's hard to go wrong with any of these offers and the goal should pretty much be to become a profitable trader (assuming you want to have a career as a trader).
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