As a financial trader, you get to invest in securities, commodities, and various assets on behalf of a financial institution or your clients. Financial traders can also work on their behalf if they wish to.
It takes a certain level of expertise and dedication if you want to become a good financial trader, however, and you have to be prepared for the tough road ahead if you want to embark on this career path. Here’s how you can achieve a career as a financial trader.
Start Honing Your Skills Early
If you’re still in high school, now is the perfect time to start perfecting your math skills as you will need them a lot in your role as a trader. Take classes in economics and business. If you’ve been out of school for a while, you may have to take some refreshment classes so you can get your skills back up to par.
You should also start or join an investment club wherever you are. Your first trades should be on paper but you will need to trade some of your money at some point, so you get an idea of how it feels to invest real funds. You could start trading from home via retail platforms and work on different strategies. This will allow you to tell if you have actual talent and interest in trading.
Look at the Education Path
If you want to work for yourself, then you don’t need to get a diploma. But, you will need to show credentials if you want to work with clients or a financial institution.
Know that there are two educational pathways that you can choose from to get your credentials as a financial trader. You can either go to university for three years or go through a vocational education and training program for two years.
If you want to go the university route, you will need to get a degree in finance, commerce, or accounting. You can then supplement this with a qualification or certification from the relevant regulatory authority for financial activity in your country. This might be mandatory in certain jurisdictions.
Choose What Type of Trader You Want to Be
You should also know that there are two main types of institutional financial traders. You have traders who work directly with clients and others who use a bank's assets to make investments. They are very different and will have different sets of responsibilities.
Flow traders as they're called are traders who invest on behalf of a bank's clients. They do not have direct contacts or relationships with clients and mainly work on analysis and price making. Sales traders, on the other hand, are more involved with advising clients.
This is a very important distinction to make as some people may assume that they will be in contact with the public and might be disappointed once they learn that they have to work behind the scenes.
This is what you need to do if you want to get a career as a financial trader. This can be an exciting and very rewarding field for those who have the skills and passion for it, so look at what will be expected of you and if you truly have what it takes.
