A friend of mine has just graduated college and is interested in working in the electronic trading field. He isn't a trader, but wants to learn more. Doesn't matter if it is customer support or programming. He graduated with a Computer Science degree along with a Business certification from the University of Texas. Here is a list of firms I recommended based on experience and opportunity to get his feet wet. 1. Cybertrader (Austin) 2. Velocity Futures (Houston) 3. Vcap Futures (Austin) 4. Trading Technologies (Chicago) 5. Interactive Brokers (Conn.) 6. Schwab (San Fran) 7. Etrade (Virginia) The reason I chose thes firms are because of possible opportunities for entry level, geography, and technology driven. Please feel free to comment on any of these firms from the standpoint of being employed. Thanks in advance for your help.
I know several folks who went to TT in Chicago... They require experience, although it depends on the manager that you talk to... He may be able to get in, but I don't know how easy it will be... I almost interviewed at TT, before I got sucked into the Citadel machine... -c
most prop shops (trading arcades) will give you an interview for a trainee trader position with no experience. Mind you it will help your application if you can prove you've traded your own account for a while. They wont be that concerned about whether you made any money, its more a piece of evidence that you are eager to learn about the industry etc. I trade in London but im sure its no different in the States, just do some research on trading firms particularly the trading arcades where you are a self emplyed trader but trade the firms capital and bombared them with c.vs and just convince them you want to trade more than anything in the world. Its pretty competitive but you should at least get a few interviews
Do you have any information on the amount of employees they have and also what the employee experience is like. From there website, it seems they treat their employees very well. Not to mention, they are so well known and have great products.
I told my buddy the same thing, however he doesn't have any trading experience. The great thing is that he doesn't mind starting at the bottom in a customer service role.
Is there an age limit? Do they want someone out of college or will they look at someone that is 30-40-ish?
I don't believe age is an issue. The idea of being out of college is that these training programs may not pay or pay very little. Most of those older may not be able to pay the bills this way. However, if you have enough capital in the bank, it may be a place to start.