Out of curiousity i googled it and found these facts: # of people in profession: 8,500 Average hours per week: 45 Average starting salary: $80,000 Average salary after 5 years: $500,000 Average salary after 10 to 15 years: $1,100,000 http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/profiles/facts.asp?careerID=70 This profession and working as an investment banker outperforms by far all other professions when it comes to salaries. Working as an attorney after 10 years, will "only" give you 130 000 dollar. And working as a foriegn exchange trader will give you the highest salary throughout all professions in America according to the website, which is quite odd/funny, because I never imagined it would be such a high paid job. This however got me a little bit more interested. Anyone here who knows anything about the profession? How hard it is to get a job like that, and maybe testify whether the facts are true, or a bit glorified. I just dont want to get a false/naive picture here....
My first job in fx was in the UK in 1988 for an annual salary of £11k. Eitghteen months later I moved on to my second job in fx and was pleased with my new salary of £16k.
I heard that there is a lot of work on the telephone...but maybe that is another job within... but wouldn't living and working in London be awesome for awhile? ElectricAmerican
Lon Eagle: Well, your facts dont seem to be in line with the ones just mentioned. Either you are just one of those unlucky ones or maybe the profession has higher salaries nowadays. Or the worst: A highly skilled trader, might just earn £16k in a year.
CIting "He may spend up to 80 percent of the day on the telephone and working at his computer" http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/profiles/dayInLife.asp?careerID=70 And they subsequently write that it is a very hectic job(which it naturally should be, if one has to talk 80% throghout the workday). ". Eighty percent of the traders we surveyed were satisfied with their choice of profession, but over 40 percent responded that they were exhausted at every dayâs end."
First off, London salaries for all but the elite seem to have hardly changed over the last 10 years, while housing costs have. Secondly, 10+ years ago a dealer could quote a corporate a 10 - 100 pip spread and lay it off for 2 point interbank spread - i.e not as competitive as it is now and much greater margin for getting it wrong if you took and held the other side, but those salaries quoted seem very high except for the tiny handful of superstars. I was world's worst FX dealer (and paid as such) and there is nothing glamorous about being at your desk at 7am in London in January. I still remember the grey colour of the Thames at that hour as you went across it.
grads going into ibanks on a desk with a view to get into trading (wont come for at least 2 years unless you including executions trader) in uk are getting around 35-45k depending on which bank. FX Options traders in general get more than spot fx traders and currently even though i think their day has past, credit derivatives traders still earn the most on average