What post should I apply for?

Dear Friends

I have been lurking on this site for a few years now and I have found this website to singularly be the most comprehensive website on trading in India.

The wealth of experience that many senior members bring in this forum is unparallelled and today I wish to request that very knowledge to help me in my career change.

I am a BCOM (India) and a MBA Finance (London). I am currently 42 years old. I have had a long career of around 22 years. The career was in SAP implementation as Financial Functional Consultant.

I took a long, hard look at my future and decided that this is no longer what I wish to continue doing for the rest of my life.

The trading line interests me very much and I would like to get gainful employment there. However, being a total newbie to the trading field, I have no ideas what position (post) and with which institution I should apply for. My aim is not to become a broker in the near future. But to remain an employee in a large firm that is in the trading line. Most important, I want to be in the middle of the action. Not just file reports and make sales calls.

To that effect, I have found out that I can join:

1. Large brokers
2. Banks (Treasury Departments)
3. Financial Institutions
4. Exchanges themselves.

In order to get jobs in the above 4, I need to first understand what post I should apply for.

Because of God's grace, I am financially very secure and don't really need to work. Therefore, starting at the lowest position with not even a salary, but a stipend, should also do. My prime aim is learning for the next 3-4 years.

Can some of you please advise me that if I write an employment request letter to the above 4 types of institutions, what post should I ask for? And is writing a letter the best way to do it?

My qualities are:

1. Excellent analytical ability
2. Fantastic with Spreadsheet (no ideas about trading software or entry systems etc)
3. Very good communications skills (at Television presentation levels and/or magazine article levels). Worked with CEO/Presidents face to face of Fortune 100 companies so am confident in that area also.
4. Very good reporting and MIS skills

Thanks to all in advance.

Best Regards

LH

My humble frank advice would be forget about it.

At 42 yrs your chances of switching careers (as an employee) to a unrelated industry are very poor.

If you want to trade for your self then that's fine but if you want to work "in the trading line" your chances of meaningful employment with a well regarded company are almost zero.

You will easily find employment at very low wages or no wages with chotta-motta organizations but no large employer will take you even if you gather experience for the next 4-5 years.

Reason being age is a very big factor. If you had professional experience in trading I might have said yes but with your back ground chances are zero.

What will happen is if you quit a good job at a senior position you currently have and work here and there in small positions in small companies (because they are the only ones who will take you) for a couple of years, you'll have to compete with freshers 20 years younger than you and most of your bosses will be younger than you & you'll have to take a lot of **** from them. Even if you endure all this for a few years without losing your cool and look for a mid level position in a large respected corporation ...no one will take you because of your lack of experience (for e.g at 45 yrs old you'll only have 3 yrs relevant exp.)

You'll end up even more frustrated than you are now, so think carefully.

BTW: where in London did you do MBA was it London Business School? If you still want to try it may be better to get in touch with your alumni association to get you placed somewhere rather than traderji

I agree... great reply