Quote from ShawnS:
I'm looking for a trading position with a firm and I was wondering if any of them are hiring right now? I'm applying all over the US, but most of the positions I have found so far are for programmers.
http://www.tradersnarrative.com/list-of-proprietary-trading-firms-735.html
After reviewing the site above and conducting due diligence, here are some thoughts:
1. Some firms will "hire" you, but usually it's recent college grads with limited or no trading experience. They will offer a small base for four to six months (First NY is the exception, which pays a base for 36 months). Then it's up to the trader to learn the strategies/skills set to become profitable. If you have trading experience, then forget about getting "hired" with salary unless you've got a PHD in Mathematics and can create algorithims for "black box" strategies.
2. Many firms on the above site are still up and running, but some have either gone out of business, merged, or shut down. SEC crackdowns on unregistered b/d's may have been a contributing factor, especially with the cases of TUCO, Warrior, etc.
3. If you go with a legitimate registered firm that offers traders to join as a "prop", then the benefits are leverage and the ability for a PTD (pattern day trader) to start without putting the 25k in a retail account, and gives you the ability to form a network with like-minded traders.
Keep in mind the cost/benefit of going "professional" if you do join a prop. Fees for platform, data, and commissions will eat up any gains so you must develop a plan to trade large blocks or heavy intraday scalping to get volume and make sure your win/loss ratio does not eat up your initial contribution.
So, before you join any prop firm, be sure you have a thorough game plan on which stocks you will watch/trade, and a thorough understanding on how you plan to make your risk/reward to work in your favor.
Discipline is the key. If you have developed the discipline and can front some capital, then leverage is everywhere, up to 20x or even more.
And a final thought: STAY AWAY FROM NON REGISTERED FIRMS...unless you want to get your funds stolen like those who are still waiting for their funds from Team Trading!