Does anyone work in the 'city' as a banker/trader/whatever?

[SideWinder]

I've always been curious about a banker's life; investment banking, the career, the lifestyle and working as a trader.

I am aware it takes a lot of hours, little to no time to yourself, a lot of stress but obviously this can be pay off if you're good.

So does anyone work in the city in banking? How easy is it to get in to? What would i need to do?

I'm sure this thread would enlighten many people.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Do you have a 1st from UCL or similar?

 

[SideWinder]

Do you have a 1st from UCL or similar?

I have a career already and i'm perfectly happy. I'm just curious about what it takes. So a 1st from UCL in business i assume? Or economics? ...then what? What/how would i get into the industry? What role would i be looking out for?

 

[thedoc46]

I've always been curious about a banker's life; investment banking, the career, the lifestyle and working as a trader.

I am aware it takes a lot of hours, little to no time to yourself, a lot of stress but obviously this can be pay off if you're good.

So does anyone work in the city in banking? How easy is it to get in to? What would i need to do?

I'm sure this thread would enlighten many people.

Nope but its' something I wish i would have done.. I remember often going upto the stock exchange as a kid, and loving my commerce lessons at school.. I also love to buy and sell and ever since being a kid have always had a hand in buying and selling something or another.. Its something i think i would have succeeded in.

Anyway go for it.. Though it won't be easy to get into. But nothing in life thats worth anything is easy to get into.

 

[DB_SamX]

I don't think the degree has to be in a related subject. My ex graduated from Oxford with a degree in Russian with French. After a year of no work, she got one as a banker with a Japanese bank. Maybe not one of the big shot roles but still within the industry. I personally found it a bit of an odd choice of career, but as she badly wanted a job, she went for it. Could have done a lot worse of course.

 

[SideWinder]

I don't think the degree has to be in a related subject. My ex graduated from Oxford with a degree in Russian with French. After a year of no work, she got one as a banker with a Japanese bank. Maybe not one of the big shot roles but still within the industry. I personally found it a bit of an odd choice of career, but as she badly wanted a job, she went for it. Could have done a lot worse of course.

So she just applied to be a 'banker'? If that is even the job title?

 

[Burnsy2023]

I have two friends who do this. One works for JPMorgan (global securities) and the other UBS.

A 2:1 and a graduate programme seems a good bet.

 

[[TW]Fox]

This is a hugely high flying world where only the very best make it.

By needing to ask us how, you've already failed the first test. But don't be ashamed, most of us wouldnt make it either.

 

[Burnsy2023]

This is a hugely high flying world where only the very best make it.

By needing to ask us how, you've already failed the first test. But don't be ashamed, most of us wouldnt make it either.

It's not quite as hard as you make out.

 

[SideWinder]

I have two friends who do this. One works for JPMorgan (global securities) and the other UBS.

A 2:1 and a graduate programme seems a good bet.

Okay, thanks.

This is a hugely high flying world where only the very best make it.

By needing to ask us how, you've already failed the first test. But don't be ashamed, most of us wouldnt make it either.

As i stated above, i am not looking for a new career. Read what i posted.

 

[[FnG]magnolia]

This has come up before and there were two guys in particular who were very knowledgeable as they actually worked in this sector. I can't remember the name of either of them unfortunately I think the basic message was : you need to be extremely bright, very lucky, be prepared to work ungodly hours and give up any thought of a social life. In return you get a stonking salary and bonus. IIRC, one really enjoyed it and the other was thinking of giving it up due to the insane hours.

Anyone remember the thread I'm talking about?

 

[Theophany]

Do you have a 1st from UCL or similar?

Irrelevant, you don't need one. Don't even need a degree tbh.

Depends on what area you wish to go into. I've got my first interview coming up with a very large insurance company for a job that would lead me into becoming a fund manager. They prefer to take people on as blank slates to train them up from scratch to manage their portfolios etc.

That being said, so many of the big banks (JP Morgan Chase, Golden Sacks, Barclays Wealth etc) take influxes of applicants throughout the year to go through their ultra-competitive recruitment process.

It's all really dependent. Obviously having higher levels of certified education will by no means harm you, but a great deal of the guys earning big bucks don't have university degrees. I was told by one fund manager that they didn't really care enough about university education to offer a graduate recruitment scheme, as far as they were concerned as long as you could prove an aptitude for finance you were as qualified as anybody with a degree and to a large extent, that's true.

It's all relative to what you want to go into though. Stockbrokers hours are pretty much from the market's opening to its closing each day but the vast majority of them don't earn the phenomenal bonuses to supplement their salaries. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have forex traders who spend days on end watching monitors for slight fluctuations in currency but who earn astronomical salaries if they're good at it.

I started job hunting in finance when it was pointed out to me that 'what better industry could there be to make money in than one that is entirely based around money.' My father is an IFA, which was once a great profession - you could earn a boatload of money if you had rich clients and set their investments up with great portfolio managers charging commission as low as 3-4% per investment. Sadly that industry is being hit very hard by the Retail Distribution Review to the point where it will become difficult for financial advisers to even consider charging commission above 0.5%.

Finally, bear in mind that very few people who work the long hours and make exorbitant amounts of money in the financial sector pursue it as a lifelong career path. They get in young, make a buttload of cash and get out whilst they're still able to have some fun. Working and playing as hard as those guys do will kill you if you don't!

 

[[TW]Fox]

It's not quite as hard as you make out.

I think it is - or we'd all be doing it. You've not made it, neither have I...

You don't just walk into a job as a top trader in a decent bank and earn a pile of money. Not unless you are very good.

 

[flibbage0]

I think it is - or we'd all be doing it. You've not made it, neither have I...

You don't just walk into a job as a top trader in a decent bank and earn a pile of money. Not unless you are very good.

Obviously not, but you don't need a 1st at UCL lol.

My friend, his dad is a banker and he only did GCSE's.

Worked his way up and got there, now he is planning on getting an M5 or an XKR.

I'm sure Fox could help on that matter.

 

[Streeteh]

My sister is a investment banker and her husband is... something similar (i forget the name) and from what i can tell they're considered pretty good at it (my sister has been headhunted by the two previous companies she works for). They share a house right next to central London and work in central.

The hours are nowhere near as harsh as people claim, it's very easy to persuade them down to the pub and they're always 'about' during sociable hours. But they're intelligent, and i mean incredibly intelligent. They also 'think' about work a lot of the time, they'll always have some form of contact to their workplace with them. It doesn't eat their lives any more than my much less lucrative job (teacher), but i doubt i'm anywhere near creative, dedicated and intelligent enough to hold down their jobs.

 

[Burnsy2023]

I think it is - or we'd all be doing it. You've not made it, neither have I...

You don't just walk into a job as a top trader in a decent bank and earn a pile of money. Not unless you are very good.

It's not a job for everyone, but that doesn't mean it only for the brightest. Like has been said it's very long and unsociable hours.

 

[p4radox]

About 6 people I know are now working in the city: investment banking, private wealth, financial consultancy etc. The graduate recruitment process is fiercely competitive for these posts, most applicants seem to have firsts or 2:1s from Oxbridge, LSE, UCL etc.

It's not for me, that's for sure

 

[alx]

I think it is - or we'd all be doing it. You've not made it, neither have I...

You don't just walk into a job as a top trader in a decent bank and earn a pile of money. Not unless you are very good.

You don't need a first, you just need the right attributes. A few of my mates from uni do Economics, and one of the most unlikely guys from their year got a job at Goldman Sachs doing investment banking. Has was a very average 2:1 candidate but talked the talk so to speak and got the job. From what I've heard they are not so concerned with what degree mark you have, more with what type of character your are, whether you talk the talk and will fit in. Obviously you need to be 'sharp' and know what you're talking about but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to have top marks in your degree.

 

[DB_SamX]

So she just applied to be a 'banker'? If that is even the job title?

I don't know what the job title was unfortunately; I used banker loosely.

 

[Twinblade]

Irrelevant, you don't need one. Don't even need a degree tbh.

Depends on what area you wish to go into. I've got my first interview coming up with a very large insurance company for a job that would lead me into becoming a fund manager. They prefer to take people on as blank slates to train them up from scratch to manage their portfolios etc.

That being said, so many of the big banks (JP Morgan Chase, Golden Sacks, Barclays Wealth etc) take influxes of applicants throughout the year to go through their ultra-competitive recruitment process.

It's all really dependent. Obviously having higher levels of certified education will by no means harm you, but a great deal of the guys earning big bucks don't have university degrees. I was told by one fund manager that they didn't really care enough about university education to offer a graduate recruitment scheme, as far as they were concerned as long as you could prove an aptitude for finance you were as qualified as anybody with a degree and to a large extent, that's true.

It's all relative to what you want to go into though. Stockbrokers hours are pretty much from the market's opening to its closing each day but the vast majority of them don't earn the phenomenal bonuses to supplement their salaries. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have forex traders who spend days on end watching monitors for slight fluctuations in currency but who earn astronomical salaries if they're good at it.

I started job hunting in finance when it was pointed out to me that 'what better industry could there be to make money in than one that is entirely based around money.' My father is an IFA, which was once a great profession - you could earn a boatload of money if you had rich clients and set their investments up with great portfolio managers charging commission as low as 3-4% per investment. Sadly that industry is being hit very hard by the Retail Distribution Review to the point where it will become difficult for financial advisers to even consider charging commission above 0.5%.

Finally, bear in mind that very few people who work the long hours and make exorbitant amounts of money in the financial sector pursue it as a lifelong career path. They get in young, make a buttload of cash and get out whilst they're still able to have some fun. Working and playing as hard as those guys do will kill you if you don't!

Echo pretty much what has been said here. I worked in the industry (M&A) for a period until a few years ago, worked very long hours and resulted in me spending more time on airplanes and in hotel rooms that I did at home with my family.

Once my first born turned 1 I decided I had spent too much time away from my family and resigned my position. I was earning very good money, not as much as some of my colleagues but more than enough, but was working 18 hour days if you factored in travelling and that wasn't the life I wanted, as money isn't everything. Some of my colleagues were clearing twice what I was earning and not one of them had a degree, one of them got into the job by accident, coming from a job as a secretary witin the firm.

Now I am a lot happier, working a traditional 9-5 job earning a reasonable salary for an Insurance firm. I go home at the end of the day, see my family and enjoy life a lot more, something you would expect someone approaching 30 to do.