What is the traditional course of study for a career trader?

kmiklas

kmiklas

Heya Peeps,

1. What would a career trader typically study as a college/university undergrad (in the USA)?
2. What would they study in grad school?

Also,
3. What is the typical career path for a trader? I imagine:
College -> Grad School -> recruited by Goldman -> Get licenses -> Trade for a few years -> Retire a millionaire at age 42.

Is this about right?

Thanks,
Keith
 
kmiklas said:
Heya Peeps,

1. What would a career trader typically study as a college/university undergrad (in the USA)?
2. What would they study in grad school?

Also,
3. What is the typical career path for a trader? I imagine:
College -> Grad School -> recruited by Goldman -> Get licenses -> Trade for a few years -> Retire a millionaire at age 42.

Is this about right?

Thanks,
Keith
More...

Statistics, basic programming, psychology, math, what you said is not how it goes down. In this line of work you succeed with VERY HARD WORK but on your own.

10 to 20 thousand hours of screentime, capital and absolute killer discipline and money management.
 
kmiklas said:
Heya Peeps,

1. What would a career trader typically study as a college/university undergrad (in the USA)?
2. What would they study in grad school?

Also,
3. What is the typical career path for a trader? I imagine:
College -> Grad School -> recruited by Goldman -> Get licenses -> Trade for a few years -> Retire a millionaire at age 42.

Is this about right?

Thanks,
Keith
More...

Do something impressive with computer software/ hardware while in high school. --> Study programming or engineering at MIT, Cornell, etc. --> Get a job at Jump and make $5Million by the time you are 25.
 
Most financial institutions require a degree (preferably post-graduate) in the following for financial trading related jobs.

Mathematics
Computer Science (programming)
Quantitative Finance
Economics
Econometrics/Statistics
Engineering

That's not to say you need a degree to be a good trader but due to the competitive nature of the industry, its now a filtering prerequisite.

Due to almost everything being automated these days , they also require you to know a programming language such as C++, R, Python or Excel (advanced to expert).

They don't ask for much.
 
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kmiklas said:
Heya Peeps,

1. What would a career trader typically study as a college/university undergrad (in the USA)?
2. What would they study in grad school?

Also,
3. What is the typical career path for a trader? I imagine:
College -> Grad School -> recruited by Goldman -> Get licenses -> Trade for a few years -> Retire a millionaire at age 42.
More...

You're making the same mistake Dick Whittington made, thinking the streets of London/NY/Tokyo etc are paved with Gold and all you have to do is go there and pick up the cash.

For everyone that heads to university/grad school and then on to work for a bank/brokerage/fund who makes millions by their 40s I'll show you 100+ that don't, maybe even 1000+.

If you really want the chance to retire at 40 with millions in the bank, your best bet is to do what Freak says - 10/20 thousand hours of screen time, capital and absolute killer discipline and money management. They are the real attributes you need rather than a slew of degrees which aren't that valuable when it comes to proper trading, ie starting with a blank sheet of paper everyday working out what to do versus ripping your clients off, playing the bid-offer thinking you're a trader or all the other games the banks play to their advantage.
 
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The institutions demand so much these days because really what they want is for you to improve their operations and long-term profitability. If you're a really good trader but that's it then as soon as you leave they've lost their asset.
 
20 years ago I wanted to work for a small private bank/broker. According to them I had not the profile they were looking for. I even proposed to work for them on a no cure no pay base with a limited capital for 6 months, and then make an evaluation. They were not interested.

20 years later that private bank/broker is still very small and I generate on my own 20% of the 2015 total net profits of this private bank.
The difference is I am alone and they are with hundreds of people. The best paid man in this private bank has less yearly salary than my average monthly net profit. I was not happy when they refused me, but thanks to that refusal I am where I am now. I am now grateful for their stupidity. They did me a huge favor by refusing me.
 
kmiklas said:
Heya Peeps,

1. What would a career trader typically study as a college/university undergrad (in the USA)?
2. What would they study in grad school?

Also,
3. What is the typical career path for a trader? I imagine:
College -> Grad School -> recruited by Goldman -> Get licenses -> Trade for a few years -> Retire a millionaire at age 42.

Is this about right?

Thanks,
Keith
More...

The so called career trader in realty is mostly executioner of orders. Monkey can do that.

The path to career trading is thru feeder colleges. And often not just colleges but the specific fraternities or the college's sport teams. Grad school often not required. Licenses requirements are negligible or incidental again people from the street can pass series 7 and everything else...

Yes this guys usually do very well. The problem is in periods when job market shrink , big chunk of them are liquidated and never get into this job again... Those who did not amass enough money to retire at 42 and especially those who have a big debt obligation has to sell a lot of stuff, go to work as waiters etc and adjust to a different standard of living... some of them try to trade on their own.. that's when it becomes clear what kind of traders they are, since most of those got decimated...
 
My understanding of a "Trader" has been challenged here in this thread. I thought that a Trader:

1. Is given a lump of capital to work with
2. Analyzes the market, perhaps specializing in some slice thereof.
3. Buys and sells financial instruments in an attempt to profit.

It seems that this is not the case; others make the decisions, and the traders execute the orders?

If not the Traders, then who are the people who make the buy/sell decisions?
 
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