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"I spent two years and a summer as a junior banker. I knew from the get-go that I never wanted to be a career Wall Streeter. I viewed my time in banking as a c

by dyc 16y ago

"I spent two years and a summer as a junior banker. I knew from the get-go that I never wanted to be a career Wall Streeter. I viewed my time in banking as a continuation of my education. And you know what, from that perspective it was incredible. The nearly undeniable reality is that the skills and knowledge acquired in banking are remarkably valuable and broadly applicable throughout ones career. Contrary to uninformed opinion, it is not all about spreadsheets and powerpoints - it’s about understanding flows of cash through companies, analyzing markets, thinking critically about strategy and competition, and importantly, identifying and valuing opportunities." This is so far from the truth. Most junior bankers come away learning little relevant or valuable towards actual business and the startup world.

leelin 16y ago
I can't speak for bankers, but I can confirm a similar situation from my hedge fund days. I interviewed lots of interns and junior full-time folks who worked in IT or infrastructure groups supporting trading desks. They all claimed it was a great experience learning how markets work, how their asset classes behaved, etc, and wanted to move to front-office. Sadly, the vast majority were completely clueless of how the asset class worked or even what instruments their code was pushing through databases, booking systems, and PNL calculators. Keep in mind I'm not faulting them for being ignorant of the actual trading strategy (which by design the front-office keeps a secret). Fresh college candidates fortunate enough to play around with an options-enabled eTrade account during undergrad have far more market knowledge and passion for finance than say, a 2nd year infrastructure or trading platform coder at a bulge-bracket bank. It stinks that the IT guys get pigeon-holed into the least glamorous part of finance, but after trying to keep an open mind for years, I can understand now why firms are so reluctant to let their back-office shift their way to front-office. For anyone trying to make the move, my advice is take the extra time to learn about the liquid you are plumbing through the system, get truly passionate about the underlying finance and math, and then change firms, because your current one likely won't let you make the leap. EDIT: Responding to comment below. Hard work and a high threshold for pain will get someone pretty far in finance, but I suspect not far enough if there is no underlying passion. Anyone who really wants big bucks and prestige must eventually earn the pilot seat, or at least be in the cockpit (as a co-pilot). Maybe the saddest part of finance is that far too many people want to be pilots and not enough are happy being flight attendants and mechanics.
- Jd 16y ago
  I'm not sure that "market knowledge and passion for finance than" translates into big bucks and prestige, which seems to be what most people going to Wall St. are seeking.
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- noname123 16y ago
  As a programmer at a HFT broker. I completely agree with what you have said. I was wondering if you could get into the more specifics of what one should do, to take the leap from back-office to front-office. Particularly, should one, (1) study and take the Series 7 exam, (2) study and do more statistical/Matlab/Monte Carlo/quant projects on the side, (3) open a IB account, collect some real time data and write your own algo's to trade, (4) take an unpaid internship at a 2nd-tier prop shop as a trader trainee or trade your own account at a trader's arcade. Please let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions. Thanks.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]

by dyc 16y ago

leelin 16y ago

I can't speak for bankers, but I can confirm a similar situation from my hedge fund days. I interviewed lots of interns and junior full-time folks who worked in IT or infrastructure groups supporting trading desks. They all claimed it was a great experience learning how markets work, how their asset classes behaved, etc, and wanted to move to front-office. Sadly, the vast majority were completely clueless of how the asset class worked or even what instruments their code was pushing through databases, booking systems, and PNL calculators. Keep in mind I'm not faulting them for being ignorant of the actual trading strategy (which by design the front-office keeps a secret). Fresh college candidates fortunate enough to play around with an options-enabled eTrade account during undergrad have far more market knowledge and passion for finance than say, a 2nd year infrastructure or trading platform coder at a bulge-bracket bank. It stinks that the IT guys get pigeon-holed into the least glamorous part of finance, but after trying to keep an open mind for years, I can understand now why firms are so reluctant to let their back-office shift their way to front-office. For anyone trying to make the move, my advice is take the extra time to learn about the liquid you are plumbing through the system, get truly passionate about the underlying finance and math, and then change firms, because your current one likely won't let you make the leap. EDIT: Responding to comment below. Hard work and a high threshold for pain will get someone pretty far in finance, but I suspect not far enough if there is no underlying passion. Anyone who really wants big bucks and prestige must eventually earn the pilot seat, or at least be in the cockpit (as a co-pilot). Maybe the saddest part of finance is that far too many people want to be pilots and not enough are happy being flight attendants and mechanics.

Jd 16y ago
I'm not sure that "market knowledge and passion for finance than" translates into big bucks and prestige, which seems to be what most people going to Wall St. are seeking.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
noname123 16y ago
As a programmer at a HFT broker. I completely agree with what you have said. I was wondering if you could get into the more specifics of what one should do, to take the leap from back-office to front-office. Particularly, should one, (1) study and take the Series 7 exam, (2) study and do more statistical/Matlab/Monte Carlo/quant projects on the side, (3) open a IB account, collect some real time data and write your own algo's to trade, (4) take an unpaid internship at a 2nd-tier prop shop as a trader trainee or trade your own account at a trader's arcade. Please let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions. Thanks.
deleted 16y ago
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