They are 90% salesman, not traders. They are simply managing customer order flow and executing orders based on client instruction. not really "trading" or risking money.. As far as getting that job, they are tough to get without connections, or an Ivy league degree,. Also, if you are an attractive, young female, you can usually get an assistant job and work your way up.. Not saying its right or wrong, its just how it works.
As far as BGC partners , I know exactly what they do, as I retired last May from a competitor after 10 years. They are brokers. Inter-dealer broker is the exact term. I worked in junk bonds mostly , with distressed debt a specialty , and CDS mostly for the last 2-3 years. Interdealer brokers have more in common with an exchange than anything else. Everyone has their group of customers , each one being the dealer of a respective sector and/or credit at each firm. The dealer gives the broker different bids and offers where he or she is looking to buy and sell particular credits , which are then communicated (either by voice or bloomberg) to the other relevant dealers. Those dealers then can respond with a counter, transact at that price, or do nothing. This is done all day long, in sizes ranging $1million face value to $5 or $10million at a clip. You get paid a set commission , which goes up as the credit rating goes down. CDS are cleared between dealers with name give up. Bonds are cleared by a clearing broker and "extra" commission can , and often is made by widening the spreads quoted to the dealers. This aspect has been much reduced within the last few years by NASD price reporting requirements that killed spreads and liquidity for both brokers and dealers. It can be a very lucrative career if you have good customers that you develop a deep relationship with, but it is also a bit hard on the liver and the waistline, due to the constant eating and drinking that goes along with it. I always traded on the side as well, and now do it full time. many of my coworkers, on the other hand , knew very little about markets beyond their particular niche and often were terrible traders or investors in their own accounts.
Me at the desk. The CRT on the right sorta throws off the look, but I use it for gaming. Until I can get my hands on a low latency LCD, I'll keep it around.