Intern unsure if trading is right for them
I'm a math major at target with an okay GPA (3.7), and I'm doing a sales and trading internship at JPM/GS/MS this summer. The experience is going fine, but I'm not sure if it suits me. My ultimate goal is to leverage the fact that I go to a target to enter a field that will maximize my earnings. So, it would be cool to work on the buyside sometime in the future.
The best part of sales and trading for me has been thinking about how news, the Fed, data, etc., influence markets. The idea of taking risks as a full-time trader is a bit daunting, and I'm not sure I'm the type of person who would handle high-stress situations like that super well. Being a desk analyst seems cool as well, but I don't know much about the viability of the role in comparison to trading. The hardest part is the massive learning curve. I've pitched a few trade ideas throughout the summer, and the process has been fine. It's not my favorite thing to do, but I learned a lot. Also, no desk/product stands out to me as something I 100% want to do. So far, bond trading desks seem to be the most interesting, but I haven't explored things like equity derivs, FX, or commodities yet.
I would appreciate advice on:
- Whether trading is a good path for me, considering it's something I could see myself liking but maybe not loving.
- Which desks might be worth exploring more during the last few weeks of my internship to help clarify my direction?
- What other careers should I be considering? If I didn't do trading, I'd look into economic research roles and maybe even management/strategy/econ consulting. Never really considered banking but that (and consulting) seem to give more options down the line than trading.
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