How Quickly Can I Become A Trader?

This is one of the most common questions I get in one-on-one consulting sessions—especially from students eager to break into the industry.

I completely understand the excitement. Running a trading book is an incredible career goal. But 𝗷𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁-𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿.

I've even had students ask if they can trade straight out of university. But going straight to the front office without relevant experience is like trying to drive an F1 car the day you get your driver's license. 🚀🏎️

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗽
The most successful traders I know have spent time in multiple departments—𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗣&𝗟 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

I won’t pretend I wasn’t in the same mindset 16 years ago. A few months into my time at Trafigura, I was eager to start trading. But the best career advice I ever received was to 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗸.

That experience—across both the physical and derivatives side—set me up for long-term success.

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀? 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸.
If you’re looking for personalized career guidance and insights from someone who’s been there, I can help. Contact me at samuel.basi@perfectlyhedged.com, and let’s accelerate your career.

💬 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆:

"𝘚𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭. 𝘏𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘝 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭—𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺."