im am currently a freshman finance major at depaul university in chicago, and am killing to get involved at any one of the exchanges in chicago. i would love to learn any market. does anyone's firm need help? or know about job opportunities elsewhere? i would do anyjob for any pit at any exchange.(clerk, runner, answering phones, any entry level work with chance for advancement) i will sweep the floors if it will help me learn the market. i really want to work in these pits before theyre gone. my resume is attached, give it to anybody you know. any advice is appreciated. thanks
My broker used to be a floor trader. He said they like to hire guys who are sharp, athletic, and assertive. I know kinda of an oxymoron, no offense jocks. I got to watch the guys in the NQ for about an hour, last year and the freakin' push and shove, it's great. That's why they like big guys to push little guys out of the way. There is no FIFO in the pits. My broker is a shorter, squatty dude and he said 1 day I guy stepped in front and took his order so he grabbed his tie and punched him in the stomach! Then he bought him a beer at the end of the day. It's darwinism at it's best. Post Edit- I think you will be best served trying to get a visitor pass like I did. My broker joked you look solid let's send you down. I said I can hold my own and can throw a mean elbow. He said seriously no one would trade with me unless they knew me. They only trade with those they know. They have to know your rep before they will trade with you.
im a big guy, and pushing and shoving is nothing new to me, ive played football for years and play rugby now. the physical part of the job is one of the reasons why i want to do it, i think it sounds awsome oh and ive seen how the pits work on many occasions, it didnt scare me, i just wanted it more
Dude I am with you all the way I am only 16 but would give anything to be trading down in those pits. But with electronic volume taking over with around 70-80% of all futures being traded on the screen for the exchanges it doesn't look like it will make it 2 more years. Even the grains at the cbot are over 50% electronic. The only contracts that are still holding out are the meats and lumber. Good Luck man and long live the pits!
Ive been on the CBOT floor for over 16 years, and am counting the days left, I can tell you honestly the floors are completly dead...When I first started, the floor was full of people, packed shoulder to shoulder, loud non stop action....The bond pit had hundreds of guys, the legends....Now...on a good day theres about 10-15 people standing in there...Im not kidding.....in front of a computer screen, trading..... waiting for the lowly order to come in the pit or the screens to go down and they fill can an order again...they say they come in for somwhere to hang there hats, they dont wanna sit at home...the same thing is in the 10yr, 5yr, and the dow pit..maybe 5 guys in there, the grain room is still semi-full, theyre just starting there demise to the screens...Now the options pits are different, not alot of trades happen on the screens so theres still order flow, not like the old days but enough that theres guys making a good living at it...brokers and traders....but eventually somebody will develop better screen based option trade and that will be that....With the summer coming, everyday i see young kids come down with there resumes, handing them out, hoping to get picked up for three months, but these days you need to know someone...Thats the bottom line...Unless you are a smokin hot chick....no really, they always get hired...but thats another story.....I fill paper in the bond options pit and ive already got a stack of resumes in my pocket, im sorry i wont be hiring anyone this summer, im already overstaffed..So my advice to you is if you want to trade, learn the screens, and just read about the glory days of the pits, cause now thats all they are...a thing of the past.
I have to agree. Why waste your time trying to get into something that will be dead. Try to intern at a hedge fund, CTA or investment bank.
good post.....sounded more like a eulogy.....& an accurate one at that. take his advice scurtin & work on becoming a screen master...the days of the pitbulls are history & the pits will be wax museums soon enough.future generations will be looking at the funny, colorful jackets,ticket pads & prehistoric flat panel computer systems, wondering how they ever traded that way.
Such a wealth of knowledge and only 17 posts in 6 years. Don't be a stranger, this site could use more people like you.