Career advice

Tell him to create a trading business plan. Present it to you. And if you approve finance his initial bankroll. A token amount such as 5k. Tell him he can keep 50% of the winnings(paying taxes also of course:D ) until the loan is paid back then he`s on his own with the balance. And if he blows it he owes you nothing. But no more free rides. I hope someday to help my kids learn lessons about trading. Your a lucky man to have a teenager into investing. Sounds like he will be a rich man someday
 
I was also very active in the market at that age...of course those times were much different times. I would advise telling your son to stop focusing on the market and focus on school. I got fucked in the bear market crash, but it sure as hell taught me a lesson. If you can't get him to stop trading, and you have some money, I would advise having him work on a floor or a trading desk. I think ultimately the way to go is hedge fund/money management because it is a legitimite way one can truly control their future.
 
Here is an ideal (dream) resume, this is someone that I know personally. And to achieve this, he had no direct family connections.

Graduated HS around 16-17, a bit early. Good grades (but not national merit scholar level), valedictorian.

Did a high school month on Wall street (such programs do exist, you just have to look for it, or call the bank directly). The only thing helped him was that he was located close to NYC (he grew up in PA), and obviously was impressive overall.

Went into Wharton, did the combination BA / MBA program (a lot of schools offer this), did it fast track, and finished at 21.

During summer, summer interned at the same bank that he impressed while still at HS.

Graduated, went to work for the bank, became head of a desk at 25 (close to 26). He convinced the global MD to create a desk (with a viable trade), for him.

Resigned at 28 (which was a stunner for everyone that knew him, he was on his way to MD at 27-28, easy), went into Harvard to do a PhD in finance, finished about 2 years ago at 31.

He is now both a professor of finance (at a tier-1 university), and runs a $1.5B hedge fund on the "side".

Yes, he was smart, but also practical. His PhD thesis was closely related to his work as head of the desk.

The key was that he was able to get some Wall Street experience when he graduated college. And then come back out to get a PhD. So he was light years ahead of any average BA *and* light years ahead of any average PhD.

I hang around Wall Street for 12 years, and there are plenty of story like this (some have PhDs, some only have BAs), if you want to know some of the detail profiles, let me know.

Rufus

Quote from dbell66:

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Just wonder if anyone on here has relevant experience in the financial markets with some of the larger trading firms to offer some career and education advice;

My son, who is 15 and still at high school is extremely interested in a career in the financial markets, specifically trading. He follows the market news on CNBC, Bloomberg and the FT daily and has done so for at least the last year and a half, he regularly paper trades, seems to know all the jargon and wants to be the next Warren Soros!
In short, he seems genuinely interested.

I know trading is a harsh business to be in and few are successful but if it is something he enjoys, I would like to encourage him as much as possible. My feeling is, in his early career at least, he should aim for a position with a large and reputable financial company to learn as much as possible.

With that in mind, what sort of educational and general experience path should he be looking at from this point on?
Which degree courses and grade and from which universities would be most suitable and expected by an employer?
Work experiences and internships. And even before that, what qualifications from high school, GCSE & A Level, should he be concentrating on.

In short, what would be the ideal resume ?

Many thanks,


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I am in high school myself. Been trading for my personal accounts since 12 (fudging a lil 12 and a half was around the exact time ;)). Anyways, it is possible to get solid internships at ibanks and hedge funds out there. Tell him to search around. I personally will be starting work at a quant arb fund here in NYC soon. It took me a year and a half of actually trying to find a position to get it and its actually a pretty solid position (that pays!). Academics should definitely be top notch. The funds of top caliber recruit at a very focused group of institutions such as the Ivies, MIT, Stanford, Caltech etc. In England Oxbridge, LSE, Warwich and others. It is also important to know programming. In case he wants to be a quant or a deriv. flow/prop trader he needs to know his way around a comp as well as know good mathematics. Honestly, I am still working on the programming part myself. Otherwise its basically determination and a little bit of luck.

I never had any connections (actually am a very recent immigrant) and I have been able to secure some pretty nice positions. One of my friends also has no contact and he has interned as a summer associate at a BB ibank in their bond desk as well as working throughout the year. It is definitely possible.

Rufus>Now thast a pretty darn ideal resume ;). A year till I apply to Wharton. Crossing my fingers already.
 
Are you applying to the combine (BA / MBA) program? I just wrote a couple of recommendations for some of the summer interns that used to work for me. You will do the MBA entrance after junor (3rd) year, right?

I wish they had this type of programs when I was an undergrad (heh, a long time ago now).

Quote from mahras2:

I am in high school myself. Been trading for my personal accounts since 12 (fudging a lil 12 and a half was around the exact time ;)). Anyways, it is possible to get solid internships at ibanks and hedge funds out there. Tell him to search around. I personally will be starting work at a quant arb fund here in NYC soon. It took me a year and a half of actually trying to find a position to get it and its actually a pretty solid position (that pays!). Academics should definitely be top notch. The funds of top caliber recruit at a very focused group of institutions such as the Ivies, MIT, Stanford, Caltech etc. In England Oxbridge, LSE, Warwich and others. It is also important to know programming. In case he wants to be a quant or a deriv. flow/prop trader he needs to know his way around a comp as well as know good mathematics. Honestly, I am still working on the programming part myself. Otherwise its basically determination and a little bit of luck.

I never had any connections (actually am a very recent immigrant) and I have been able to secure some pretty nice positions. One of my friends also has no contact and he has interned as a summer associate at a BB ibank in their bond desk as well as working throughout the year. It is definitely possible.

Rufus>Now thast a pretty darn ideal resume ;). A year till I apply to Wharton. Crossing my fingers already.
More...
 
Yea you apply Junior year there.

But no I am not going to be doing an MBA. Really dont need management degrees to get into S&T or at quant funds. (more for the private equity guys and ibankers). I personally plan on going into trading after completing BA (hopefully in finance/economics and compsci/math double major). Eventually I would definitely like to get a PhD in quantitative finance.

All in the "ideal" senario state of course. Would be nice if all panned out properly :).
 
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