Trader Careers Information
Financial markets have never been as integral to the world economy, or as complicated to understand, as they are today. As the products traded and the laws regulating those trades have become increasingly complex, global markets are becoming ever more intertwined, meaning it takes well-trained specialists to work effectively within the market.
Trader Careers & Degrees
- American Intercontinental University: Online
Colorado Technical University - Undergraduate: Undergraduate - Online
- Associate of Science (ASBA) - Business Administration
- B.S. in Business Administration - Finance
- B.S. in Business Administration - Health Care Management
- B.S. in Business Administration - Human Resource Management
Traders are a crucial part of the financial mechanism: they are the ones actually buying and selling securities, and as such, they interact with a wide range of people and are required to make split-second decisions. Traders must keep up-to-date with the constantly changing market conditions and prices, and be able to keep track of multiple accounts and markets in order to make the greatest gains for their clients.
The work environment for traders is growing ever more diverse as technology becomes more and more ingrained in the business world. Traders often work on a trading floor, a hectic and often noisy center where multiple traders make deals. As such, the day-to-day work environment can be incredibly frenetic and stressful. Other traders work far removed from the trading floor, from offices in company headquarters or branch offices, and some even work remotely, from their laptops or desktop computers.
Traders can work for a variety of clients; many buy and sell for private investors directly, some trade for the accounts of large banks, while others work for the clients of large banks. While each type of client will require certain minor changes to the job duties, overall the job of the trader is to stay current on up-to-the-minute changes in the market, and make the best decisions in terms of buying and selling for their clients. Traders are often defined by the time frames in which they seek to work:
Day Traders buy and sell short, and try to cover within a single day. Risks are rarely taken overnight, and trades on very short-term data, seeking to make gains based on nearly instantaneous changes in market conditions.
Swing Traders trade at a slightly longer term than day traders, but trades are still covered within a work week. Though not as concerned with minute-to-minute activity as a day trader, swing traders still must pay very close attention to short-term conditions of the markets.
Position Traders take the longest-term approach of all three. Can hold trades for weeks and months, and seeks more long-term than short-term gains. While this is nearly equivalent to long-term investing, the distinction is still important, as position traders will still seek to sell short if conditions necessitate.
Trader Careers Path
A bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, finance, or economics is crucial to be competitive for trading jobs. A master’s degree in business administration (MBA) is often necessary to be considered for higher-level jobs and potentially lucrative promotions.
Traders are also often required to acquire certain licenses, but these vary greatly by specialty and location.
Trader Careers: Compatible Personality Traits
Strong interpersonal and communication skills, works well both independently and with others, excellent with numbers and quantitative analysis, multi-tasker, trustworthy, clean credit history
Trader Careers: Salary Expectations
The median annual salary for traders is just under $67,000, with the middle 50 percent earning between $39,310 and $118,640 per year.
The salary for traders can vary widely based on the specific industry within which the work is done, and the worker’s location. In addition, part of a trader’s salary is often commission-based, meaning the more money they make for their clients, the more money they’ll see in their paycheck.
Trader Careers: Job Outlook
Employment opportunities for traders is likely to grow on pace with average employment for the next decade or so, meaning jobs will be created for those seeking to become traders. However, the current numbers of applicants to these jobs far exceeds the number of positions, and that is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future, so competition will be very intense.
Smaller firms will most likely provide more job opportunities than larger firms, as the larger companies seek to streamline and minimize their operations to remain competitive.
Those seeking to become traders should strive to maintain excellent academic credentials, and seek to apply to schools with very strong reputations and strong programs in economics, finance, and business management.
Slightly off the Footpath
Sources: bls.gov/oco/ocos122.htm
