Q&A: 3 years software development to Power trading analyst at a supermajor

Hi..long time lurker, wanted to share some of my experiences going from software development (.NET c# and SQL development) and into a front office, trading analyst role on the power desk of an energy supermajor (bp/shell). for folks that have untraditional backgrounds (studied engineering, comp sci, etc..). Happy to explain how I made the switch after spending 3 years working in software development and what parts of my skillset helped me land the job and what my daily day-to-day looks like. current career path is moving towards power trading, which looks to be likely in the next few years. anyways, ask away!

 

I focus on the Northeast, primarily New York and New England. Right now I focus on capacity, term and ftr fundamentals to help the traders form a view on price. I leverage my software development experience to automate alot of the daily reporting for position and pnl estimates to are sent to my desk head. My desk primarily trades virtuals and term, so my focus is on those markets.

 
nattyphizz:
you build out a neiso power stack model? does your desk build your own AGT view or does that come from your gas desk?

Yes I have, and we form our own Algonquin basis price forecast with the input of our gas team. We basically sit right next to our Northeast gas trading desk, so it's pretty easy to share views across teams

 

Basically was just tired of sitting and coding all day..and wanted something a little bit more real time instead of 3-6 month projects, so applied for trading analyst type roles. Being in Houston, a role opened up in commodotiies so I just went for it.

Here's the thing that people don't tell you..having technical skills in this business gives you a huge leg up because it's easier to find someone who has it and teach them business than vice versa. The desk that I'm on had some severely outdated processes, and was looking for someone greener but had that hard skill set so I could help them move to the 21st century.

 

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