I also work in the industry. If you remember, some of the IBs (Bear Stearns? Lehman? etdc.?) have folded or merged, among other things. Others are hemorrhaging jobs.
well as a start I can assure you from personal conversations that BOA, GS, Deutsche, CS, Macquarie, Citi, JPM, Barcap, ABN among others definitely hired new grads. Thats already 9 banks, not all of those made the top 10 list though ;-)
All you need is SKILL and MONEY. Put em together and you have an ATM machine that spits out cash after punching in the correct PIN. If you don't have money, get an easy job and save up a few thousand. Then go at it! Ha, it's not at all easy trading your own cash...But it's a good way to start! Oh and your silly masters degree or whatever doesn't matter. Not at all. You'll need the cirtificate in "Hard Knocks" and "Bad Beats" which may take 1-2 years, or longer.
Trading is like being a closer in baseball. If you can give up a 3 run homer in the 9th to lose the game knowing you threw your best stuff, and come back the next day without thinking about yesterdays game, you have the make up of a successful trader.
Listen, they are hiring interns for the most part. The IBs will always make space for a few Ivy League grads to maintain their relationships with those schools for recruiting purposes, as well as maintaining the networking established by the Ivy League system. There is essentially a hiring freeze, with some exceptions. The new grads getting hired would get a lucrative job regardless, not that they need to work in the first place.
Your contacts are simply not good enough. I think you need to know that even prior to the current financial situation, getting a trading job at an institution was quite hard unless you were an Ivy league grad. Now it's hard for Ivy league as well and MBAs. Also, you need to decide if you want trade trade or do more sales & trading type of work. Prop trading desks at IBs are very exclusive. Sales & Trading is easier to get into but those are cushy jobs that have many applicants. Other than that, you can look at firms like First New York Securities. Other than that, it's you trading for a "prop" firm that hires anyone who can present $5k. There are a few which don't ask for a deposit, but you still need to cover your own living expenses.
Don't said something like that in front of Bruce Kovner, George Soros, Marc Rich, Tudor Jones, Eric Bolling, Bill Dunn, Andrew Serotta, Marco Dunand, John Arnold, Louis Bacon.