Job prospects in finance and trading

[Mr J]

They have 14 -30...at least it gives me an extra 5 seconds to answer the other 79 questions :.

Realistically, Are you becoming traders to make heaps of dollars, or is it a status symbol thing?

Neither. Money is certainly part of it, but the main reason is the personal freedom. I'm an independent retail trader, and will probably always be so.

 

[jono1887]

Neither. Money is certainly part of it, but the main reason is the personal freedom. I'm an independent retail trader, and will probably always be so.

What does it mean to be an independent retail trader? do you work for a firm or for for yourself??

 

[Gerkin]

They have 14 -30...at least it gives me an extra 5 seconds to answer the other 79 questions :.



Neither. Money is certainly part of it, but the main reason is the personal freedom. I'm an independent retail trader, and will probably always be so.

You have contradicted yourself.

You have said neither, yet you admit your after the money.

Also you want personal freedom? How is breathing, living, and working trading personal freedom?

 

[jono1887]

Also you want personal freedom? How is breathing, living, and working trading personal freedom?

Well if its something you enjoy.. i guess you could call it freedom. And I guess if your trading from home, that would be fairly free..

 

[Mr J]

You have contradicted yourself.

You have said neither, yet you admit your after the money.

Also you want personal freedom? How is breathing, living, and working trading personal freedom?

I haven't contradicted myself, you just made an assumption. I'm not in this for the status or to get rich. How is it personal freedom? It's not complete freedom, but it's far more substancial than most occupations out there. Living and breathing trading? Completely unnecessary. It doesn't have to be a 10 hour a day job to be done well.

 

[white_goodman]

You have contradicted yourself.

You have said neither, yet you admit your after the money.

Also you want personal freedom? How is breathing, living, and working trading personal freedom?

if thats your hobby and what you find fun, isnt that a freedom of sorts?

 

[Largesse]

imma flex on you

 

[Hyperion]

Does anyone know how much emphasis these proprietary trading firms (e.g. propex, optiver, tibra, liquid capital) place upon a university degree?

Is it possible to get in without a uni degree?

Does having a double degree in say commerce/law help?

And out of interest, how many people here are currently at uni?

Also, it seems there is more interest in these proprietary trading firms than the banks... Why don't people want to work for goldman sachs, ubs etc?

 

[doctorj]

Does anyone know how much emphasis these proprietary trading firms (e.g. propex, optiver, tibra, liquid capital) place upon a university degree?

Probably a lot.

Is it possible to get in without a uni degree?

Yes. The second most senior person in FIG where I work doesn't have a degree.

Does having a double degree in say commerce/law help?

I know Mac Bank like it, I assume many others do too.

Also, it seems there is more interest in these proprietary trading firms than the banks... Why don't people want to work for goldman sachs, ubs etc?

No idea why. They'd be a better career move. Maybe it's because they're not that prominent in Aus.

 

[mazzatelli]

I imagine a trader with a great record will not have any trouble finding a position. I'm sure hedge funds etc would be open to it, although I'm going to guess that larger organisations prefer to groom their traders from the start, to be like a cog in the machine. Even if that is true, I'm sure there are exceptions anyway.

Yes, there is a preference by HF's for those who trade their own account and demonstrate internal drive and willingness to learn.
Problem, is that most candidates strut in and act as if they know everything.

For sell side trading, there is a stronger preference to groom grads.

 

[skyQuake]

I did the non official version and got 25 out of the 70 (the minimum number correct required is 60 to get to next stage) . And I'm not idiot at maths.. got over 90 in 4U last year...

Used to be 55 a while ago... Looks like they're upping the ante.

http://www.dennisfleurbaaij.com/mathtest.php

Its actually 80 questions in 8 minutes. You have 6 seconds per questions!

48) 3:14 - 6:4 =
49) 86.4374 - 33.8868 =
50) 14 - 30 =
51) 55.7161 + 71.0029 =
53) 26 * 88 =
54) 527 / 31 =
55) 28.9442 + 61.3963 =
56) 39.7632 + 94.1182 =
57) 13:5 - 15:14 =

Here as an example of some of the questions...

The website randomly generates a set of different every time you load it...

Not that hard on the addition questions, but looks about right. Also multiplication is usually 2 digit x 2digit under 30s.

Does anyone know how much emphasis these proprietary trading firms (e.g. propex, optiver, tibra, liquid capital) place upon a university degree?

Propex - Low
The other MMs - Lots

Is it possible to get in without a uni degree?

Does having a double degree in say commerce/law help?

And out of interest, how many people here are currently at uni?

Also, it seems there is more interest in these proprietary trading firms than the banks... Why don't people want to work for goldman sachs, ubs etc?

No prop desks in Aus. Different in what you do. Also those IBs have limited presence in Aus and thus are even harder to get in to.

Yes, there is a preference by HF's for those who trade their own account and demonstrate internal drive and willingness to learn.
Problem, is that most candidates strut in and act as if they know everything.

For sell side trading, there is a stronger preference to groom grads.

lol, agree so much.

 

[Timmy]

If you can't join 'em, beat 'em.

 

[Mr J]

What does it mean to be an independent retail trader? do you work for a firm or for for yourself??

Working for myself. I don't have much choice, but trading for myself has always been my goal anyway. If I am able to build a track record attractive enough for firms to be interested, then trading my own account will already be lucrative, and I could just seek additional capital rather than a job.

 

[Dowdy]

Here are some examples of job adds...

Assistant Trader
Employer: Barber Consulting
Position: Assistant Trader
Added: 08-Aug-2009
Closes: 30-Nov-2009
Commences: October 2009 - January 2010
Job Type: Full-time
Payrate: $50k-$75k
Location: Sydney

Details
PLEASE NOTE:
Additionally, you will have excelled in probability and be an excellent poker player.

This is truly a unique opportunity to maximise your potential as a trader.

I think i'm prefect for the job - i'm an excelent poker player and i'm a genius in probability - for example, the odds of me getting the job are 0%

 

[jono1887]

I think i'm prefect for the job - i'm an excelent poker player and i'm a genius in probability - for example, the odds of me getting the job are 0%

With those kind of probability skills you're guaranteed to get the job!

If you can't join 'em, beat 'em.

How do you propose to do this? :

Does anyone know how much emphasis these proprietary trading firms (e.g. propex, optiver, tibra, liquid capital) place upon a university degree?

Is it possible to get in without a uni degree?

Does having a double degree in say commerce/law help?

And out of interest, how many people here are currently at uni?

Also, it seems there is more interest in these proprietary trading firms than the banks... Why don't people want to work for goldman sachs, ubs etc?

Most of the jobs would probably require a uni degree unless you are incredibly mathematically brilliant...

 

[white_goodman]

Most of the jobs would probably require a uni degree unless you are incredibly mathematically brilliant...

in which case you would have a uni degree... I am yet to meet a maths genius that goes to TAFE

 

[jono1887]

in which case you would have a uni degree... I am yet to meet a maths genius that goes to TAFE

True, hence it would be quite difficult getting a job at a trading firm without a uni degree... considering their standards are HD, how would you go about proving that you can meet those standards without a degree?

Used to be 55 a while ago... Looks like they're upping the ante.

Not that hard on the addition questions, but looks about right. Also multiplication is usually 2 digit x 2digit under 30s.

I think its still 55 out of 80.. I thought it was out of 70 before. Have you tried the test before?

 

[Largesse]

The day you finally realise its not just about raw maths scores and HD's is the day when you might actually have a chance at getting a job in trading.


As it stands, you are a long way off.

 

[jono1887]

The day you finally realise its not just about raw maths scores and HD's is the day when you might actually have a chance at getting a job in trading.


As it stands, you are a long way off.

obviously its more than this. but to even get yourself recognised or an interview for that matter... you do need these...

 

[Timmy]

The day you finally realise its not just about raw maths scores and HD's is the day when you might actually have a chance at getting a job in trading.


As it stands, you are a long way off.

Yep.