Any structurers here? Is it a good career choice? Need advice.
Ok so I was talking to a senior (from credit trading) about my interest in financial markets. At first I talked about the most hot shot role that most males in my school want to join - being a trader. He said trading is not as glamorous as it sounds.
He said his traders come to work at 6.30am in the morning and leave at 7.30pm. You are glued to your screen all the time and cannot afford to take long lunch breaks. He said banks are not hedge funds and don't take prop positions anymore. Just imagine the role of a high end money changer as you offer quotes on buying and selling a particular product and you have a rough idea about what a trader does.
I told him I was interested in commodities. He told me to consider commodities structuring. He said structurers can manage their own time better. They come to work at 9am and leave at around 7pm. They work and research on deals, for example a client has discovered a new coal mine, how can he hedge his exposure for the next few years of production. What swaps or options can he buy?
With each deal, you get to gain more insight and research on say what is coal, what factors affect the price of coal etc. You would also have more networking opportunities as you get to meet many people as opposed the trader who is stuck to his desk. You meet clients and understand their needs, you may meet investment bankers who are financing your client, you may also work with traders as you get quotes for certain products you want to offer as part of your structured solution for your clients needs. And lastly with more networks and relevant skills in these areas, exit opportunities wise, you can still jump to the commodities houses like Glencore and Trafigura after that as you understand more about their products.
He said he understood most students want to be a trader because it sounds cool. I mean if you told a girl you are a trader, she may go ga ga on you but if you say you are a structurer, she may ask what's that. But he said please give structuring a serious reconsideration.
I would like to seek advice from people who are structurers here. Is what my friend said true? I mean he is from the trading side so I would like to hear a second opinion from someone from structuring side. Is it a good career choice? Seems like lifestyle wise (shorter working hours), network wise and exit opportunities wise, it is not such a bad deal after all?
money
go with whatever you have the most interest in. as a junior you should be putting in as much work as you can so working hours is a fucking stupid reason to choose a position unless that's all you care about. either role can lead to quality positions where hours will be better. commodities structuring is definitely more of a niche role but if you're good at what you do, either role will open doors
Structurer (Originally Posted: 01/23/2014)
Hi all,
I'm really interested on Structuring jobs, so I wonder if FX or FI structurer is better than Equity Structurer? How do I get into Structuring desk (qualifications, etc)? Hope to hear some success stories. I am currently in MO PC.
it's about 32% better, yes
What the fuck is MO PC - middle office personal computers? Structuring requires great engineering/quant skills. You need to have a strong brain - if you did finance in uni forget about it, unless it was heavily quant based.
How quantitative do you need to be for structuring? I'm interested in doing structuring (or more quant trading - my SA program lumps structuring with S&T), but I'm not exactly how quant you need to be (do you need to have a masters/PhD or does a BS suffice?).
PC - product control.
In terms of quant knowledge, does a structurer do as much modeling as a quant? How is the day to day activities like for a structurer?
Exit Opps for Structurers (Originally Posted: 03/12/2008)
Hi,
So traders exit for HF, bankers for PE. What is left for structurers?
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