Hey guys, I am a recent college graduate trying to get a clerk/runner position on the floors in Chicago. I have tried to find jobs online and have emailed a bunch of brokerage/trading firms in the city but have had no luck. If any of you guys have any information/advice that could help, I would really appreciate it.
if you are taller than 6 feet and with athletic build, approach a nice sized congregation of clerks wearing mustard jackets at the back of the cme during lunch.
i was there. they are too busy trading to post jobs online. networking is key. talk to those mustard jacket guys. better if you can smoke with them.
board of trade? why the floor? the building is a dump. send your resume to legit firms you can always sit and do nothing as an intern
Well, I didn't want to discourage the guy that floor trading is on its way out. Mostly made guys who want to give their kids experience since they didn't make the cut for an Ivy League school. Still I think there will be random openings from time to time.
I suppose there are some networking opportunities, but would you be networking with soon-to-be dinosaurs? I hope the poster is aware that the NY floors are pretty much gone (completely in soft commodities) and that 10% of CBOT agric futures action takes place on the floor (I think it's about 50-50 in ag options). Check out the CME site, they're happy to squawk about GLOBEX with a daily chart showing floor vs. electronic activtiy. Find some CME or CBOT floor traders or brokers on Twitter. Many of them grumble about the inevitable day when they'll have to do something else. There is no doubt that starting as a clerk or a runner you can learn a lot about the mechanics of your assigned market(s), but is that a good preparation for the market of the future (the future has already arrived in many products)? And if I/we still haven't convinced you, be sure to watch "Floored" and "The Pit" - they're both available on Netflix, I believe. Here's a brief (8 minute) video made by Iowa Public Television
A lot of people who wash out can stll get jobs in clearing. So that keeps your foot in the industry. The current CEO of the clubby Merc, Phupinder Gill, was a lowly market reporter (light blue coats) in the 80's and rose thru clearing. Every non politically attached worker drone looked to him as the Messiah. (No pun intended for you non-Christians.)