I agree with Ditch , a degree will certainly help you get interviews .. but in order to get hired and keep your job , you'll have to be able to fool people into thinking that you know more about trading than you really do. As for graduate school, you're better off dedicating time towards an obsessive self education asap. It takes many years to reach proficiency.
Thank you very much for your response. I lost money but was told that it was uncommon for a beginning trader not to lose money in the first year, break even the second year, and start to really make money in the third year. There was a problem with the way I was managing money since nearly 80% of my trades were profitable on a daily basis but then I would have days where every trade I made lost money thus undoing the previous week's work. So I admit I have a lot to learn, I know that I will not become a great trader by virtue of my education....I just hope my education can get my foot in the door so that I can learn from the best and eventually become the best. I actually got that position without a letter of recommendation from my former manager.
I appreciate your response. I just feel like I am continually having to defend myself when all I really wanted from this forum was to get an idea of what my options are after I graduate from Oxford. I just wanted to know whether my decision to take up pure mathematics will adversely affect my ability to obtain a salaried trading position. Thanks for the tips. I knew that there would be some people on here who are actually willing to help me. Thanks
what a crazy thread. the whole idea of going to Oxford to become a trader is like going to librarian school to learn how to be a race car driver.
To be more specific: You're not cut out to be a self-employed trader. Anyway, you seem to have a desire to belong to a certain crowd, good luck on that.
I want to get my education first but was curious about whether my Oxford degree in pure math could hurt rather than help my chances at landing a salaried trading job. Pure math has nothing to do with trading but i think it will teach me a hell of a lot about discipline. Thanks
uh, what ? quit talking out of your ass. If you really wanted a wall street type job you would have taken that $55k gig and we wouldn't be wasting thread space on this. by the way, even if you want to be a quant a M.S is Bullshit, you need a Phd.
sorry to dissappoint you but everything I said on here is true. I will be going to Oxford (assuming the loans are all sorted out...more headaches) and I do wish to trade securities for a living with salary. I should appreciate it very much if you would point out which parts of my posts imply that I am clueless? I consider myself pretty well informed. You will notice that obnoxiousness was borne on this thread not of itself, but rather of the many negative and demeaning comments I have received from the people on here. You can say I was obnoxious as a defense but you can't say that I was ever obnoxious offensively. My comments have always been a response to negativity. Open your eyes and you might just see that... By the way, I am not quite mensa material....my IQ was professionally determined to be only 145 (that test was done when I was about 10 years old though so it is probably higher now...lol)
The only skills I hope to obtain in graduate school are related to discipline and analysis. I hope my education will help me get a foot in the door so I can be in a position to become a good trader. [/B][/QUOTE] Sorry to say this: but the kind of discipline you are going to learn is not the kind you need in the markets and most traders are not really to0 big on analysis. The only reason would be to get a quant job but then again that is not trading unless you get involved later on in the actual trading process.
...but in order to keep your job you'll have to fool people into thinking that you know more about trading than you really do..." ? Is that how you keep your job? Sorry but getting my foot in the door because of oxford is entirely different from keeping my job because of performance. You should know that at least....I am willing to dedicate many years of my life to learning the trading game.