Quote from Hydroblunt:
Nice story but that's a rare situation. And I would be shocked if this was at a big firm. It certainly lacks the bureaucracy.
Bottom line is that bt116 knows exactly what he is talking about. Mid/back office is not a smart way to break into trading desks. The chances are very slim and it's mostly dependent on unique situations happening (like yours), rather than your intelligence, aptitude & talent. Hence, taking the route you suggest is equivalent to playing the lottery. Not exactly good trader mentality, is it?
And just to backtrack to my story of my buddy. He was actually very well liked by the trading desk and knew the heads pretty well. However, it all came down to the fact that the trading desk could only hire certain Ivy league grads. Even when the traders put in a word for him in order to get into the program, H.R. completely ignored it. It did not make any sense to me when he told me this stuff.
That's just how it is nowdays. It may be illogical & silly, but that's the reality.
Hey Hydro-
All of my replys have been to the OP who asked if this could be done at a bulge bracket firm. This answer I gave was an emphatic 'yes'. So yes, my transition did take place at a bulge bracket firm. And if you've read my posts, you'll see that I indeed warn that this is a longshot and I haven't advocated "playing by the rules".
The first order of business is to clear up the misconception of what constitutes middle vs. back office. If you can't see the trading desk from your desk, then you are back office. A true middle office job will have daily interaction with the desk, mostly dealing with the TA.
The ONLY way to make the move is when there is "out of the normal" cycle of hiring. Like I stated, you don't send your resume to HR and hope to get into the "training program". You wait until the day when the BSD on the desk is screaming get me some f'ing help on this desk NOW. HR does NOT make the hiring decisions on desks, the MDs do. HR will send them the pool of acceptable candidates, from which THEY will choose the winner, not HR, during the "normal" hiring cycle (when the programs begin. But there are windows of opportunity, and one needs to be patient, ready, and lucky. I am obviously a firm believer in making one's own luck. So in a way, getting a job on a desk is alot like winning the lottery.
It is obvious that the OP does not have the credentials, pedigree, etc. to get into the training program. If he did he wouldn't be asking about middle office. So I've laid a plan, which was also laid out for me, that will give one a shot at getting in thru the back door. Yes, it is a longshot, but it is certainly better than NO shot.
Not everyone hired for desks in the last 5 years has gone through the training programs or has ivy league pedigrees. In fact, that are alot of guys who take pride in the fact that they made it to the desk in the fashion that they did. Telling the OP that it can't be done is just wrong. What's the kid going to do, sit home on his couch, praying that some HR guy is going to decide that today his resume is worthy of consideration, when just yesterday it wasn't? Meanwhile, he's got no cash in his pocket and has zero experience.
Ask some of the vets on ET how to get a job at the CME/CBOT? I'm sure you'll get a few responses that advocate going down to the exchange physically and standing outside daily until someone takes your resume. They don't tell you that at your college career fair, that's for sure. If every guy who got shot down thru the normal channels just gave up, there'd be nobody on desks.
And yes, to the other poster, learning computer programming is THE way to go.
