I’m 26 years old and currently working as a credit analyst at a large corporation ($20B+ in revenues). I consider it a middle office job as I travel 50%+ of the time meeting with management from the companies. I basically do research and financial analysis and then give out a credit line to a company. Ideally I’d like to end up doing equity research within the next couple years. However, today I was approached by a sell-side firm and asked to submit my resume for a trading analyst position. I don’t know much about what trading analysts do, and I don’t want to get pigeon-holed. I was told that if you go into trading then you generally stay there for life. I’m paid fairly well and don’t really want to step down to being an assistant (I currently have 2 analysts who report to me) but I really don’t mind doing that if it’ll get me to where I ultimately want to go (Equity Research). That being said, some of the duties for this position are: Use and develop excel spreadsheets to analyze securities, evaluate risk, and identify securities meeting inquires; perform security analysis via bloomberg, assist in processing and reporting trades, and assist in security setup. Is this something worth pursuing, or should I pass on it?
It depends on the type of business, the company, and the specific position. If it’s a well capitalized company with a legitimate business model, it could be a good opportunity - even an opportunity of a lifetime for some people. However, some positions in “trading” are characterized by extreme risk, high turnover, and limited career progression. You should also clarify if this position will lead to more responsibility later on, or if you will remain as an assistant indefinitely. Your description does not mention trade execution or any sort of discretionary responsibilities, and this is a reason to pause and ask questions.
Generally speaking, there is no path from trading to equity research. The two fields are not related in the slightest. In an ideal situation, I would not know why you would want to make that transition anyway. It is fair to say that the opportunities to enter different fields from being a trader are limited in variety. However, it is still feasible to do something else afterwards, especially if you have complementary skills that enable you to perform diverse jobs.
Thanks for your input, that’s exactly what I wanted to know. I didn’t think there was any relation between the two, but as I said I don’t know much about trading anyway so I figured I’d ask here to get some advice.