Financial trader : Salary and conditions

Range of typical starting salaries: £30,000 - £45,000, plus a small signing-on bonus.
Range of typical salaries for experienced traders: £45,000 - £75,000.
Typical salary for an associate with experience selling credits is £140,000 in a top tier bank or £230,000 if they work in more lucrative derivatives.
Very high earnings are possible, especially for proprietary traders, who are often paid a bonus equivalent to a proportion of the profits made.
Additional fringe benefits, e.g. non-contributory pension and mortgage subsidy, are common.
With experience, working hours typically are 7am to 5.30pm but may be considerably longer for newcomers. FX (foreign exchange) is 6.30am to 5pm. Oil can be 8am to 6.30pm or 9.30am to 8pm.
The work is office-based and the vast majority of opportunities are in London.
Self-employment/freelance work is unusual without years of experience.
Part-time work is not feasible, although job sharing is possible and career breaks are becoming more common.
The work is demanding - managing large amounts of other people's money is not a career for the faint-hearted.
Overseas travel is occasional and, depending on the client base, is likely at least once a month for traders in sales.

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AGCAS

Written by AGCAS editors

Date:

September 2010