Hi, I'm a total newbie, and have recently been going on interviews, trying to get into the trading field. I have a few offers and wonder what people could offer as far as insight into these .. One is from worldco, which is no money down, standard commisions, ticket charges, but the people there just seem way too shady.. from all I've read on ET and in other forums, the general consenses is to stay away.. I also am in the process of interviewing at Hold Brothers, which after meeting a few traders there as well as the completing the first interview, it seemed like it had a good atmosphere.. The traders were generally happy with the place, and there didn't seem to be nearly as much BS fed to me as my experiences with worldco.. Third, I recently went on an interview with a firm that actually offers a salary.. 50k for first year, $15k of which is an end of year bonus, ($15k is minimum bonus with a chance to make even more) .. Not even sure if I have the job, will find out in about 2 weeks. There were about 3x as many people interviewing as there are positions, but I think I did well on the interview. Only time will tell. It is not trading securities though, it is trading futures, mostly government notes, I think, (5,10 year), trading spreads. From all of my research, it seems that most positions with prop firms are trading securities, NYSE or NASDAQ, which I am much more familiar with than futures.. One thing that is better is that there is no requirement to take series 7/55 with futures trading.. What are some of the other differences between trading futures as compared to securities? I have an exceptional academic record (top univ, 3.75 GPA, lots of work experience, B.S dual degree, near 1400 SAT's), and am completely dedicated and set on getting a job as a trader. I sent a resume to FNYS and heard nothing back from them, though I thought I might at least get an interview...guess not.. If anyone has anything to offer as far as inside info or past personal experience, please let me know.. Thanks.
Would rather not say for now.. Still not even sure if I got the job.. Will find out in a week. Also, I found out that Jacoobs Levy Equity Management (not in NYC, but close enough in Jersey) also offers decent salary with bonus.. Anyone else know of prop or non-prop firms that offer a salary/draw?
Just curious to find out, after the salary period is over, or if doesn't end, how much of your profits do you keep, and what the commission rates they are going to be charging you.
Salary period doesn't end. There is no percentage of profits that you keep, but it reflects in the annual bonus you receive. It is not typical prop firm, but a traditional invesment banking firm with a prop dept. (employees trading backed by firms capital). Pretty sure this is the same thing with Jacoobs Levy..
What is the evaluation period? Meaning if you're not profitable, or not profitable enough, before they terminate you. Are there certain goals that you must reach every month?
VERY few firms are offering a salary or a draw. Unless you are a professional trader who can rely on making money stably every month to support your habits (beside your rent and bills) then a salary is great to start out. Future trading has a lot of potential. Good luck!
Even if you are offered a draw or salary, no matter how modest, it has a very finite lifespan unless you're making more than enough money to cover it.
True. BUT - and this is important - it doesn't sound like you have trading experience so getting paid while you learn is a HUGE plus. First off, if you can't trade well at least it's no money out of your pocket. Second, you don't have to worry about $$ while you're learning as you would if you join up with a prop firm. That's a big advantage psychologically. Third, there are plenty of opportunities in futures. Fourth, you may find you just don't like trading or it wasn't what you expected. Again, no money out of your pocket. Finally, assuming you've been trained well, once you see how much you're making you can then bail and go to a prop firm. Definitely go with the salaried job if you can get it.
let me welcome you to the real world. forget that "i sent a resume" crap. what do you expect? that the guy reading it is gonna cream his jocks thinking "damn, we GOTTA get this kid!!". get real. you try reading a thousand bland resumes a day, all sounding exactly like each other... and then try to get excited about it.. from what i've heard, FNYS is a class outfit. i would strongly recommend YOU show THEM how much you're interested in their firm and in working there... sending off a plain vanilla resume does not do this..