how to become a trader?!

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FourCastles

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I am an engineering grad - with over 2 yrs exp in consulting.
However, over the past year or so - i've developed a lot of interest in tennis and am actively looking to move to a (junior) pro player position (singles and/or doubles).

Been at it for over 3 months now...but no luck so far...

decided to take the Bollettieri tennis academy - not only to develop my own skills - but also to add credibility to my commitment to making a move into tennis.

but - i am not convinced this is going to cut it either - coz i don't think the tennis academy will help in tennis, per se. besides, i'm not patient enough to wait till i get done with my academy and then for the results to be declared, before i move ahead with my transition to prefessional tennis.
 
kkent Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Man, things must seriously be different outside of
> NY. I had an interview at an AM firm today, and
> they practically begged me to join their team as a
> trader. Seriously considering it. But my random
> advice to the original poster is to find
> opportunities in big cities that aren't known for
> finance, i.e. Washington, DC, Baltimore,
> Pittsburgh, etc. Some of these big cities with
> job supply and demand otherwise meeting are in
> desperate need of finance professionals (this
> includes investment banking, where I found it
> extremely easy to get on). Extremely difficult
> for cities like DC, for example, to find
> classically trained finance pros or anyone even
> interested in finance.
>
> Oh, and passing L1 is a golden ticket to power
> finance jobs in the "other" cities.
lol. i guess that is why my passing Level 1 had absolutely no clout.
 
Umm, I'm talking about in the "other" cities, like Baltimore, DC, Pittsburgh, etc. It has had tons of clout for me in the nation's capital.
 
kkent:

mind divulging what you do, firm size and focus?

i'm in a similar situation - just passed L1, working in the backoffice and looking for any "power finance" job. hopefully i'll find that L1 is a golden ticket here too!
 
maybe i need to get out of Toronto. Cause getting CFA won't get you nothing there. any suggestions guys?
 
Frank, I'd suggest looking in New York and Chicago. There are lots of hedge funds there and it seems like you might be interested in working in that industry.
 
wow - tks a lot for a all your views guys!
will certainly keep you guys posted if i do - and i will, coz i'm not gonna stop until i do - make it! :)
 
is a junior market-making role likely to open doors to a trading role? any views on this?
 
KKent,

I gotta say I would love to hear more about these jobs in the DC area, I have spent the past two and a half months being flown around Canada interviewing and have would up with nothing. It has been a brutal experience all around. Pratically all Canadian banks are hiring much lower numbers, which makes life hard for lowley candidates like myself.

I have passed my level 1 CFA and have dual degrees in BA Economics and a BCOMM major in Fianance and a bloody high GPA. As well I was a varsity athelte and a small business owner, even with this @#$%& I still am blown off (usuailly in final rounds) which consist of 4 back to back one hour intense interviews. I cant really find fault in myself other than a lack of work experience, as far as a candidate goes.

Could you point me in the direction as to where to find these postings????
 
Oclean, i would suggest you keep looking and trying. 2 months is no time at all. i would say a good 6 months.

I know this guy that became a bond trader at a small firm and he doesn't have a great GPA or anything remotely close. he is a regular joe who is passionate.
 
Passion is something I got, but in life you have to be real as well. It's rough getting shut down and being so cloose. How did your pal pull it off?

How do you recommend generating further leads??? I dont really cold call firms as such, but I could give it a try..... past that I just send out my resume on job postings and hope to get lucky. The business school that I have gradguated from is great for generating postings but it isnt easy to secure something, especially in these markets.

OClean
 
Oclean, well, i work in a discount brokerage, so I'm really in a position to give advice.

the person that i know that became a trader is the brother of a friend of mine. HOw did he pull it off? he got hooked up, started at a small firm and when a position came through, he did it. he only has L1 and his grades are good but not through the roof.

the thing is, credentials has very little in my opinion on getting that job. everybody who goes for these things have great credentials.

my manager is doing the same thing as you're. he has a portfolio to show his interest and he says that is very important cause the Manager asked him for it. If you trade on your own, maybe you can show them your strategy and your understanding through your attempts at trading.

the thing my manager is lacking is credentials, and he was told to get CFA and its all good for him.

i think with jobs like trading, a lot of "intangible" factors come into play. it makes sense when you think about it, cause what is trading really?
 
Be careful with what you're getting yourself into...

Don't try to get a trader job because of all the glamour and money you think it will bring. Hollywood and the media do a good job of doing this.

There are so many crappy trading jobs out there that you really have to know your stuff to weed out the crappy trading jobs.

It would be better to narrow your focus. Do you want to work on the buy-side or sell-side? Do you want discretionary trading? Quant fund? Traditional stock picking fund? Institutional trader? Retail trader?

To open the most doors, I would learn some programming skills. This way, you can hopefully land one of these jobs at a quant fund because you can't BS your way into this role.... But you can BS your way into a stock-picking fund.

BTW, most trading jobs out there require almost no skill. I'm a trader now at a major buy-side firm and I used to be an assistant at another major buy-side firm. Anybody can do my job and anybody can do the job of my colleagues.

Hedge funds and prop desks are probably different as I have no experience in this industry. But there's a saying."You end your career on a prop desk or on a hedge fund desk"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 11:11AM by homie.
 
Thanks, Homie!

I now have an offer for an '(Options) Market-Making' role and another as an analyst for the 'Quant Research' team.

I can't decide which of these would be a good place to start my career in finance. Could you please give me some advice on this?

Basically, I need to know which of these roles has better prospects in terms of career and $$ in the long run
 
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