Become A Trader

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Working As A Trader

Communicating with Persons Outside Organization
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
Analyzing Data or Information

Mostly Sitting
$240,000
Average Salary

What Does A Trader Do

A Trader is a person who buys and sells goods, currency, or stocks. They work for financial houses, investment banks, exchanges like ICE Futures Europe, or treasury departments of major companies.

How To Become A Trader

A bachelor’s degree is required for entry-level jobs, and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) is useful for advancement.

Education

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents generally must have a bachelor’s degree to get an entry-level job. Studies in business, finance, accounting, or economics are important, especially for larger firms. Many firms hire summer interns before their last year of college, and those who are most successful are offered full-time jobs after they graduate.

Numerous agents eventually get a master’s degree in business administration (MBA), which is often a requirement for high-level positions in the securities industry. Because the MBA exposes students to real-world business practices, it can be a major asset for jobseekers. Employers often reward MBA holders with higher level positions, better compensation, and large signing bonuses.

Training

Most employers provide intensive on-the-job training, teaching employees the specifics of the job, such as the products and services offered. Trainees in large firms may receive technical instruction in securities analysis and selling strategies. Firms often rotate their trainees among various departments to give them a broad understanding of the securities business.

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents must keep up with new products and services and other developments. They attend conferences and training seminars regularly.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

Brokers and investment bankers must register as representatives of their firm with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). To obtain the license, potential agents must pass a series of exams.

Many other licenses are available, each of which gives the holder the right to sell different investment products and services. Traders and some other sales representatives also need licenses, although these vary by firm and specialization. Financial services sales agents may need to be licensed, especially if they sell securities or insurance. Most firms offer training to help their employees pass the licensing exams.

Agents who are registered with FINRA must attend continuing education classes to keep their licenses. Courses consist of computer-based training on legal requirements or new financial products or services.

Although not always required, certification enhances professional standing and is recommended by employers. Brokers, investment bankers, and financial services sales agents can earn the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification, sponsored by the CFA Institute. To qualify for this certification, applicants need a bachelor’s degree or 4 years of related work experience and must pass three exams, which require several hundred hours of independent study. Applicants also must have an international passport. Exams cover subjects in accounting, economics, securities analysis, financial markets and instruments, corporate finance, asset valuation, and portfolio management. Applicants can take the exams while they are getting the required work experience.

Advancement

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents usually advance to senior positions in a firm by accumulating a greater number of accounts. Although beginners often service the accounts of individual investors, they may eventually service large institutional accounts, such as those of banks and retirement funds.

After taking a series of tests, some brokers become portfolio managers and have greater authority to make investment decisions regarding an account. For more information on portfolio managers, see the profile on financial analysts.

Some experienced sales agents become branch office managers and supervise other sales agents while continuing to provide services for their own clients. A few agents advance to top management positions or become partners in their firms.

Many investment banks use an “up or out” policy, in which entry-level investment bankers are either promoted or terminated after 2 or 3 years. Investment banks use this policy to ensure that entry-level positions are not occupied long term, allowing the bank to bring in new workers.

Important Qualities

Analytical skills. To judge the profitability of potential deals, securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents must have strong analytical skills. This includes computer programming skills which they use to analyze financial products.

Customer-service skills. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents must be persuasive and make clients feel comfortable with the agent’s recommendations.

Decisionmaking skills. Investment banking traders must make split-second decisions, with large sums of money at stake.

Detail oriented. Investment bankers must pay close attention to the details of initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions because small changes can have large consequences.

Initiative. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents must create their own client base by making “cold” sales calls to people to whom they have not been referred and to people not expecting the call.

Math skills. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents need to be familiar with mathematical tools, including investment formulas.

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Trader jobs

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Trader Career Paths

Trader

Finance Advisor Equity Trader Funding Analyst

Mutual Fund Manager

5 Yearsyrs

Finance Advisor Account Manager Property Manager

Fixed Income Manager

Vice President, Fixed Income

7 Yearsyrs

Average Length of Employment

Senior Energy Trader 4.3 years
Commodity Trader 4.1 years
Sales Trader 4.1 years
Options Trader 4.0 years
Stock Trader 3.6 years
Securities Trader 3.4 years
Futures Trader 3.4 years
Equity Trader 3.2 years
Energy Derivatives Trader 3.2 years
Trader 3.0 years
Day Trader 2.9 years
Proprietary Trader 2.9 years

Top Careers Before Trader

Top Careers After Trader

Trader Demographics

Gender

Male
78.5%
Female
17.1%
Unknown
4.4%

Ethnicity

White
74.7%
Asian
13.1%
Hispanic or Latino
9.2%
Unknown
2.3%
Black or African American
0.8%

Languages Spoken

Spanish
33.9%
French
13.0%
Russian
6.7%
Chinese
6.7%
Mandarin
6.3%
Portuguese
4.7%
German
4.3%
Korean
3.5%
Japanese
3.5%
Italian
3.1%
Arabic
2.8%
Cantonese
2.4%
Hindi
1.6%
Dutch
1.6%
Hebrew
1.2%
Hungarian
1.2%
Thai
1.2%
Bulgarian
0.8%
Ukrainian
0.8%
Armenian
0.8%

Trader

Unfortunately we don’t have enough data for this section.

Trader Education

Schools

New York University
10.3%
University of Chicago
8.5%
Fordham University
8.0%
Columbia University
7.3%
DePaul University
5.8%
Cornell University
5.3%
Northeastern University
5.3%
University of Connecticut
4.5%
Harvard University
4.5%
University of Houston
4.0%
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
4.0%
University of California - Berkeley
3.8%
Northwestern University
3.8%
University of Iowa
3.8%
University of Miami
3.8%
Hofstra University
3.8%
Boston College
3.5%
Villanova University
3.5%
Pace University - New York
3.3%
Loyola University of Chicago
3.3%

Majors

Degrees

Bachelors
51.4%
Masters
26.2%
Other
13.9%
Associate
3.1%
Certificate
2.2%
Doctorate
2.2%
Diploma
0.8%
License
0.2%

Trader

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Real Trader Salaries

Job Title	Company	Location	Start Date	Salary
Macro Trader	Soros Fund Management, LLC	New York, NY	Nov 29, 2016	$400,000
European Trader	Balyasny Asset Management, L.P.	New York, NY	Apr 07, 2015	$340,000
Trader-Gasoline	Lukoil Pan Americas, LLC.	New York, NY	Sep 15, 2015	$330,000
Execution Trader	Arrowgrass Capital Partners (Us) LP	New York, NY	Apr 26, 2016	$315,000
Naphtha Trader	SK Energy Americas Inc.	Houston, TX	Jul 12, 2015	$265,000
Naptha Trader	SK Energy Americas Inc.	Houston, TX	Jul 12, 2015	$265,000
Trader	HSBC Bank USA, N.A.	New York, NY	May 21, 2015	$262,000
Trader	HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.	New York, NY	Jul 21, 2015	$250,000
Trader	DRW Holdings, LLC	New York, NY	Jun 01, 2015	$250,000
Trader	HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.	New York, NY	May 15, 2015	$250,000
Trader	Key Square Group LP	New York, NY	Jul 15, 2016	$250,000
Trader	HSBC Bank USA, N.A.	New York, NY	Jul 25, 2016	$250,000
Execution Trader, Event Driven Strategies	Arrowgrass Capital Partners (Us) LP	New York, NY	Jan 11, 2016	$227,178 - $380,000
Trader	3Red Trading, LLC	Chicago, IL	May 25, 2016	$145,000 - $155,000
Trader	3Red Trading LLC	Chicago, IL	Jan 12, 2015	$145,000 - $155,000
Chemical Trader	Altis Group International, LLC.	Houston, TX	May 11, 2015	$145,000 - $155,000
Gasoline Trader	BP America Inc.	Chicago, IL	Aug 25, 2016	$143,000 - $146,000
Trader	DRW Holdings, LLC	Chicago, IL	Sep 08, 2015	$142,938 - $150,000
Trader	Exelon Generation Company LLC	Baltimore, MD	Apr 13, 2016	$142,800 - $182,700
Trader	Societe Generale	New York, NY	Sep 04, 2016	$140,000
Trader	Old Mission Capital LLC	Chicago, IL	May 12, 2015	$110,000
Junior Trader	Citadel LLC	New York, NY	Aug 23, 2015	$110,000 - $160,000
Trader	Kepos Capital LP	New York, NY	Jun 02, 2015	$110,000
Quantitative Trader	Tower Research Capital LLC	New York, NY	Apr 09, 2015	$110,000
Trader (Asian Shift)	Ketchum Trading LLC	Chicago, IL	Dec 23, 2016	$110,000
Quantitative Trader	Ketchum Trading LLC	Chicago, IL	Dec 30, 2016	$110,000

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Top Skills for A Trader

Top Trader Skills

Portfolio
Equity Options
Financial Markets

You can check out examples of real life uses of top skills on resumes here:

Managed market/position risks and executed trades in client portfolios.
Mentored in and then successfully traded complex positions in both index and equity options for monthly income based on theta decay.
Provide analysis on financial markets to improve clients' decision making and meet their investment objectives.
Directed portfolio management and trade execution for $500MM proprietary credit trading book.
Analyzed stocks and foreign exchange trading through applied quantitative and technical understanding.