Nothing when you leave or get fired or ... your boss escorts you out the door ( they actually watch you pack your stuff to be sure you don't leave with any client info). You don't have a client book but if you have all your licenses ( stocks , options, derivatives) and competent you will probably be dealing with the more " sophisticate or should i say active clients ( wich is a bit less painfull then taking customer service calls where you deal with idiots screaming at you all day long).
Whats gonna stop me from writing down client phone numbers on a piece of paper and taking that home with me?...Sounds like being a discount broker is pretty gay from what ive read.
Being a discount broker if you have an interest in trading makes no sense. They have nothing in common with one another - it's akin to signing up as a used car salesman because you might one day want to be a mechanic. If you like sales and customer support and steady paychecks, it's better, I guess.. but why register on ET if that's what you want?
I believe its very difficult to get a significant job with a firm like Morgan Stanley, Goldman or other big name broker without a golden resume. For example, if you have a degree from a random state school what are your chances of becoming a trader for Morgan or Goldman? I think if the discount broker job is the only one you can find, I say go for it and it will probably give you some industry experience so you can move higher. So you work a year or so at a discount broker, get some licenses, build some experience and then apply for another concern whether it be a hedge fund or institution. I think you would be more employable having a college degree plus industry specific experience and licensing then just your college degree. Actually, I think I have seen a few ads on craigslist where a hedge fund is looking for that exact type of person. Someone that has some exposure to the industry yet still young and fresh and where they can mold you. As for living in NYC and making 48k, it can be done. You dont have to live in Manhattan though. Riverdale in the Bronx is the cheapest best place to live. $850 a month for a one bedroom and no its not in a bad neighborhood. Queens is another place or you can live in New Jersey. Its far easier getting laid in Queens and the Bronx then it is in Manhattan. I would rather be getting laid in Queens then lonely in Manhattan. The advantage of living in Manhattan is that you hear car horns all the time and walk out to very dirty crowded streets with garbage piled high on sidewalks. I say if you cant get a job anywhere else, just go for the discount brokerage or financial advisor gig for a while. While your there, try to get to know people in other departments and at other firms and then apply elsewhere in a year.
Hey, I'm not knocking used car salesman. Some people are born to sell, and those who make a good living doing what they're gifted at I applaud. If your heart is in being an auto-mechanic, though, and you intend to eventually move your way up to being a head mechanic at a repair shop, becoming a used car salesman is simply not the best choice. That's all I'm trying to say.
Sure... but if your plan is too become a good trader you need a basic knowledge of the markets and you will not get it doing the monkey hitting keystrokes in a chop shop...
i would refer to them as customer service reps. being a stock broker prior to 1990 and ideally prior to 1980 was a goldmine...huge commisions and they had access to info. with the internet the only money in brokering is in the OTC space.
its basically a sales type of position. the ones that money are traders for the big inv. banks. like UBS, Goldman, Merrill, etc. But those are shit hard to get. movies are all hyped up. if anyone watched one of those movies and says " i want to do that", they r just fucking themselves up.
I was a full service broker for a long time. I didn't read all of the replies but the real question is: what's the difference between a "full service broker" and a "discount" broker? The difference, quite simply is, that the full service broker works primarily on commission and manages accounts (usually generating his accounts through seminars, networking, etc...). Discount brokers are essentially customer service reps who also place orders. They are NOT soliciting orders: that's the big difference. They cannot make recs - hence they are salaried.