Tell us about your job

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I broke into trading basically through a lot of hard work
and persistence. I knew I wanted to be a trader and decided I would do whatever it took to make that happen. By not having a good GPA or a degree from a highly regarded college I knew I had to target smaller firms, I spent an enormous amount of time sending out resumes and follow up emails to most of the firms listed as members of the CBOT, CME, and CBOE.

I had an idea of what kind of products I wanted to trade, I ended up trading equity options which was not my favorite product, but I really liked the firm and it was a great learning experience.

To trade options we used a variety of strategies but a large part of what my firm did was based on historical vol vs current implied vols and taking advantage of pricing inefficiences. When shorting options which was the majority of what my firm did we would be holding till expiration a lot of the time, I would estimate 80%+. The options firm had very good returns, averaging over 50% since inception.

As far as college degrees go you dont have to have an economics or business to get into finance but it doesnt hurt. I know people with undergrad degrees in all kinds of random subjects that are traders.

Trading jobs are easier to come by than investment banking in general. The upper level IBSs are pretty much only hiring Ivies, while trading firms seem to be a little more open in hiring people from different backgrounds. I wouldnt have gotten a phone interview with a lot of investment banks.