I am a Senior at an Ivy League University and I am looking to get into trading after I graduate in May. I had a few interviews at some prop shops in NY but I am a little skeptical about having to put up capital in order to trade. The reason is because I don't know how reputable the firms are and also I don't know how good or bad their training programs are. I want to trade either in NY or in Chicago. Does anyone know of any reputable firms that are hiring or have any tips about how to conduct my job search? Thanks.
If you invested in IL education, it wouldn't be a good decision to go into "prop trading" in the usual sense. You need to put your investment $ to work. Get a job, hopefully in trading.
I agree, If you invested in an IL education.. go out and work for the MAN first. Kicking most people choose IL cause they are out of the box thinkers. If you want a comfortable predicatable life get an IB job. If you want a chance at something greater.. Your the only one that can choose that road. I am assuming you have had previous finance internships, or are you from the humanities side? Either way, if you have no debt, hell try trading, if you have a lot of college debt from IL, then maybe a 9-5 for a year or 2 would not be bad idea just to lighten the load considerably. The less monkeys you have on your back when you start the easier mentally.
Ideally I would like a job trading. All of the big banks came to my school to recruit, but unfortunately I did not get any of the positions. Does anyone know of a smaller firm that is looking for entry level traders (not a prop firm)?
My advice is to go get a REAL job while your life and education are fresh. Then take the time to learn how to position your 401k and other monies you save as you get older. Most traders don't live long either at their profession or their life.
Your a trader right? Why are you discouraging him? The oceans big enough for everyone. I feel the proccess of becoming a trader has the capacity to be rewarding mentally, spiritually and physically.. Not to mention it satisfys our basic urges to be competitive. Would you deny some one this option as a life path? "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." -Michelangelo-
Most traders actually were something else before they traded. On the floor of Minneapolis Grain Exchange there are ex-lawyers, engineers etc... Yes a few actually traded right out of school but most didn't. http://www.citypages.com/databank/21/1019/article8735.asp Once you start working for yourself, you get tainted in the eyes of employers who want worker bees. Your experience as a self employed person really won't count for much unless it is as a contractor doing an identical job that the hiring manager is looking for. Rack up 5 years of work experience. Trading will still be there. But the window of opportunity you are entering won't be there. Later on, it will be hard to get an entry level job, if employers find out you've been out of school 3-5 years already. Trading IS MUCH harder than it seems. It is not an easy or pleasant alternative to looking for work. Being a floor broker actually resembles a job but, trading is really a second career kind of thing, especially in the world of electronic trading.
Remember you can have a "real" job and intraday-trade a foreign market on your own, at the same time. Also if you end up West Coast, you have a couple hours in the morning to trade the NY markets, then go surfing after work.