Yes many hedgefunds will hire such people but if you have to ask on a public forum the chances are very slim that a hedge fund will ever look your way You're best bet is getting into a client execution role like UBS as an analyst is by either 1) Coming in through your college as a TDP or intern 2) Coming in from a similar role from a competitor My guess is that option 1 is probably out of the picture, as far as option 2 goes you will need to work you way up probably starting at a much smaller bank in their capital markets division if you know enough about trading and trade execution you might can join as an low level experienced hire then eventually move to bigger and bigger banks till you get to the BB. Best of luck.
Heres the links to their trading floor videos on youtube. Not everybody on that floor is ivy league grads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAS0xDELNlg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfDnXcUuqGw
Most of the people that you see on that type of trading desk are execution traders, salesmen, operations, etc. Very little firm capital is traded. The title "Trader" is used very loosely in the market. If you want to work on a desk like that, get you foot in the door and meet the people who call the shots. Or start at a smaller bank, get some experience and then make the move. If you want to be a discretionary trader you will need to look at a hedge fund or prop. desk. Many of the equity "prop" firms have groups that will back promising prospects.
I know, and thats why it can be so damn confusing...you see some guy staring at 4+ screens and he's only a salesman..lol wtf?..OH my bad a "sale side trader". whatever that is.
Yes they do exists and they're usually pretty small ~10 - 20 people and they are usually the highest paid but also have the highest turn over rates. Most successful prop traders at IB's will usually leave after 2 to 4 years to start their own firms.
Well... either you know someone who will stake you because that person knows you and trust you, or you need to be a part of the institutional world - in which case the chance of you getting staked any time soon is marginal. The reason is simple: why would anyone believe you have an edge? A few retail trades on a small personal account is rather pointless. Even if you have some insight, you have no experience with managing a portfolio (of which money management is only a part of - and it grows to be much more complicated than 99% of anything discussed on ET). Moreover, you and your strategy needs to be marketable. Crossing RSIs and other similar things will find very limited audience. Being < 25 (I think you are) is also a strike against you: you haven't lived long enough to see and survive multiple market cycles. All things being equal, money goes to someone far more senior than you.