Which do you think you should do straight out of college. Join Group one Trading/ DRW Trading Group (a solid trading firm in Chicago that pays a salary and bonus for you as a trader trainee) or go to Goldman Sachs & Co. as an investment banking analyst in NY. Assume that I have a top undergrad business education with top grades but come from a relatively modest background. Will the trading firm get me in to a good business school if I wanted to switch careers? How hard is it to succeed at these types of solid firms? This firm specializes in trading options based on volatility (ie. events such as earnings releases and news that affect the volatility). What are other benefits/liabilities of these jobs?
b schools are easy to get into - everyone has mba's now Not going to goldy would be a touch choice for me, if they made the offer...... who wants to live in chicago anyways?
interesting. so you think from a pedigree undergrad and at least one summer working at goldman sachs i-banking I could still get in to business school later on? To me it is tough because goldman's bonuses are skyrocketing right now. I intend to earn ~150k all in my first year at goldman. I am interested in trading, but I have never done it before. I like the business model at this trading firm and they are on the rise, but I would only earn around 60k there first year and after that who knows.
Do you actually have a firm offer from goldman? Cause if you don't then you are really getting ahead of yourself. Also, if you actually managed to get a Goldman banking offer, then you certainly must have the degree/grades necessary to get a trading-desk offer from one of the top investment banks. If you want to try trading, I highly recommend you do this instead of going to Group one. It might be too late for the fall campus recruiting season, so I would just directly approach the banks and let them know of your goldman offer and excellent grades.
Yeah I have an offer from goldman sachs for i-banking. I probably could have gotten an offer from a top-tier bank in their sales&trading division, but I did not try. The trading firm is actually a market-taking firm that specializes in options and trades based on volatility. I think it is comparable though to DRW Trading, Peak6, Group One in that it is a solid company, just like a prop shop that does not really train you. They pay a competitive salary to train you and then you will hopefully become a full-time trader.
Read this: http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/bizfinance/biz/features/15197/index.html 2 years at goldman and you'll have your choice of B schools with a good GMAT score. Not to mention the high profile contacts you can get there. You'll also be surrounded by some really really smart kids who will be great contacts in the future. Bosses there will also be amazing contacts when you leave.
DRW is probably one of the top private trading firms. Fred Schuster (head of options) and those guys are very good. Fred was president of Societe Generale in Chicago before he went to DRW. It depends on what you want to do, since you mentioned B-school, then I suspect you want a more traditional career. You would learn more at DRW for the first year than you would at GS, and DRW, if you do well, would get a chance to trade fairly quickly. For the first year or two anyways, you would learn more at Donnie's firm. Also, you mentioned that you would make 150k in the first year. I doubt it, a first year analyst, unless in a great group (oil and gas, for instance), would barely break 100. I know some of the principals at DRW, and I spent 10+ years on wall street.
DRW's option markets are becoming more efficient... intermarket and stat-arbs are getting more difficult. You'd be crazy not to take the GS job.
well I disagree with you on the comp at goldman. Remember, I would not be doing trading at goldman sachs, I would be doing investment banking there.
The majority of sell-side recruiters have not heard of DRW. :eek: Head of SocGen in Chi is akin to being a VP of equities in Dallas. Wilson is a prodigy, but I don't see the trickle-down economics to a trainee in an increasingly-efficient marketplace.