Anyone work as Trade floor Support?

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by delboy, May 21, 2007.

  1. delboy

    delboy Bit Poster

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    Ive been looking at jobs for trade floor support and in addition to normal IT technical skills they also require application support of Bloomberg and Reuters.

    How the heck do you get such experience in these applications? All the jobs im looking at are aimed at those already knowing there technical stuff in addition to having experience of the apps.

    How does one get into such a position?
     
  2. onoski

    onoski Terabyte Poster

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    Hi Delboy and welcome to cert forums. It would help if you tell us your background and experience in IT or vice versa.
     
    Certifications: MCSE: 2003, MCSA: 2003 Messaging, MCP, HNC BIT, ITIL Fdn V3, SDI Fdn, VCP 4 & VCP 5
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  3. delboy

    delboy Bit Poster

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    Hi, well the trade floor support is something that interests me, but I havent got anything near the experience they are after at the moment, but was just wondering how one would go about getting such expererince.

    Im currently doing 1st line support for an ISP, so at the moment theres not much in the way of experience. Apart from good customer services skills and troubleshooting ability in the ISP area.

    Am studying for some certs, as are most people! Going for the MCDST, and then take it from there.
     
  4. Jonesos

    Jonesos Bit Poster

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    Hey Delboy,
    I have experience of Trade Floor Support (long time ago back in 2001) and have worked in the Financial IT industry for 6 years. I started out as Trade Floor Support in a Futures Trading House, then progressing up the ladder decided to move to a US Hedge Fund in the City. That was ok but after 15 months I decided to return home to Sydney and am now with an Investment Bank.
    I started right out at the bottom and the Trade Floor Support job was my 1st IT job. I suppose I was lucky to get the job. I was just honest and said I didnt know the applications but had looked up and memorised as much info on the apps I could find on the internet. It seemed to work for me.
    Years later when I was the Trading Support Manager I interviewed a fair few people and the main things I was looking for was the ability to work odd hours (as trading can be from 0600 - 2100 hrs or even later if you want to trade CME etc), willingness to learn and some IT background. I didnt really care about Bloomberg or Reuters as that could be taught.
    You didnt mention what type of Trade Floor Support it is. But if it is Futures or Options learn what they are. Learn some of the exchange that exist in Europe/US, some of the products that are traded. A bit about the Apps like TT or GL Trade and so on.
    If you have any questions just let me know.
     
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  5. delboy

    delboy Bit Poster

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    Thanks for the replt Jonesos, you have given me some very valuable insight there.

    Its equity trade support, and I have dealt in stocks and shares for about 5+ years so have good general awarness of the markets.

    So I want a position in the future where I will be able to combine my technical with a bit of equity - would be my ideal job really but still early days.

    Where do you find info about bloomberg and reuters apps? Ive searched but I havent found much.

    Also is trade floor support usually inhouse, or is it outsourced like most other tech support?

    Edit - another quick question, how do you start at the bottom? Most of them specifically say "must have trade floor experience"
     
  6. Jonesos

    Jonesos Bit Poster

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    Not a problem. It can be a tough industry to get into and as with most IT jobs they want prior experience but how can you get experience in the 1st place if you cant get your foot in the door.
    Its good that you have exposure to Equities already as that will stand you in good stead. These sort of jobs can be pretty intense so be aware that they will have a fair bit of stress involved but you will get to play with cutting edge technology and the pay is very, very good.
    I havent looked at Bloomberg & Reuters for quite a few years now as I have no need to but back then I found a fair bit of information. I will have a rummage around to see if I can locate some info. For example:

    http://about.reuters.com/productinfo/3000xtra/description.aspx?

    That is a pretty popular one. There are some pdf's on the right hand side of the webpage with more info.

    Everywhere I have been Trade Floor Support has been inhouse.

    Markets are about to open here in Sydney so I have to go now.
     
    Certifications: MCSE(2K3, 2K),MCSA(2K3, 2K),MCP(NT4)
    WIP: MSc, CCNA, SCNA
  7. Jonesos

    Jonesos Bit Poster

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    Delboy, PM me if you have any questions.

    Mike
     
    Certifications: MCSE(2K3, 2K),MCSA(2K3, 2K),MCP(NT4)
    WIP: MSc, CCNA, SCNA
  8. Pete01

    Pete01 Kilobyte Poster

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    From what I know working for day traders is plenty stressful - mainly for the stress that they place on themselves.

    That's good to know!

    I'm dreading my next gig - if it's a bunch of mouse throwing traders I'll turn it down. I have better ways to earn my money.
     
    Certifications: MCP (NT4) CCNA
    WIP: 70-669, Learning MSI packaging
  9. Jonesos

    Jonesos Bit Poster

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    Hey Pete,
    Yep, stressful indeed. It has calmed down a bit over the last few years. After the LIFFE floor shut and it went electronic we got a fair few of the day traders and back then they would put their fists through the screenguards of the CRT's (showing my age now), rip the mice stright of of the computer and throw them etc if they had a bad trade or felt like they had been "cheated".

    A lot of Bloomberg support these days is call them up or send them an email which is really, really annoying if its something you cant fix straight away.
     
    Certifications: MCSE(2K3, 2K),MCSA(2K3, 2K),MCP(NT4)
    WIP: MSc, CCNA, SCNA
  10. Pete01

    Pete01 Kilobyte Poster

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    hehe

    "Mr Market" is always wrong...

    and he's a cruel teacher

    hehe

    I *should be reading a cert book* but I'm not - I'm studying Benjamin Graham.

    It's harder than the CCNA so far...
     
    Certifications: MCP (NT4) CCNA
    WIP: 70-669, Learning MSI packaging
  11. wizard

    wizard Petabyte Poster

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    If I caught one of the traders doing that to a comp, I'd have probably been sacked because I would have punched the traders lights out :D
     
    Certifications: SIA DS Licence
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  12. Pete01

    Pete01 Kilobyte Poster

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    Those traders are never getting so very stressed out about their own money.

    My advice- make the money - and don't giv eit to them to invest for you- do it yourself.

    If you can subnet TCP/IP (v4) you can read an annual report.
     
    Certifications: MCP (NT4) CCNA
    WIP: 70-669, Learning MSI packaging
  13. Jonesos

    Jonesos Bit Poster

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    Certifications: MCSE(2K3, 2K),MCSA(2K3, 2K),MCP(NT4)
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  14. Pete01

    Pete01 Kilobyte Poster

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    That sounds very German and highly efficient - I might add.

    Sheldon Natenburg - I am not familiar with but I will be before the year is out!

    I don't know if I could deal (pardon the pun) with traders - all that whining and screaming.

    They're like children - in the worst sense when it comes to users - and that's just what I've heard!

    I don't have the patience for them. I'll invest my own money and that's as far as I'll go.

    20-something muppets screaming at me for their own mistakes will never be my problem.
     
    Certifications: MCP (NT4) CCNA
    WIP: 70-669, Learning MSI packaging
  15. Pete01

    Pete01 Kilobyte Poster

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    As irony would have it my top agent (the only one I have in my phone contacts) is now asking me what my notice period is for a trade floor role.....

    It would mean a 6 am start - being there at 6 not getting up at 6.

    Something about it feels right though - maybe it's my obsession with the stock market! :twisted:
     
    Certifications: MCP (NT4) CCNA
    WIP: 70-669, Learning MSI packaging
  16. Jonesos

    Jonesos Bit Poster

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    Hey Pete,
    Being at work at 6am for trade floor support guys is normal. Its a hard slog sometimes but thats the kind of business it is. Plus its a great thing to have on your CV. There are many, many jobs for IT people with Trade Support experience and as you get more experience there are even more.
    Go for it. Is it a bank, hedge fund or trading house?
     
    Certifications: MCSE(2K3, 2K),MCSA(2K3, 2K),MCP(NT4)
    WIP: MSc, CCNA, SCNA
  17. Pete01

    Pete01 Kilobyte Poster

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    Haven't heard back from the agent yet, I'll let you know though.
     
    Certifications: MCP (NT4) CCNA
    WIP: 70-669, Learning MSI packaging
  18. Yorkie

    Yorkie Bit Poster

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    Traders are definalty a hard lot to work for!
    I did two weeks work experince as on the trading floor.
    1 trader threatned to punch someone in 2nd line support becasue hes cordless headset wasnt working and he likes to work round in circles whilst hes on the phone. One decided to drop he's b/w bb because he wanted a colour one. a further two people decided to repeate this when he got the latest blackberry. Then they all complained that battery life wasnt good enough and they wanted to go back to the b/w models. so many more stories of stupid traders all from two weeks experince. But its were i want to work one day because im greedy and the pay is good :)
     
    Certifications: Very bad GCSE's
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  19. zebulebu

    zebulebu Terabyte Poster

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    Yes. I put Traders on the same rung of life's ladder as Estate Agents, Lawyers and IT Recruiters. 'Scum' I think is the word I'm looking for.

    I worked for a firm a couple of years ago for a couple of months between jobs. I liked the job, liked the people and would have stayed there - if it weren't for the fact that two of their main clients were in the city and every single time I went to one of them I wanted to knock someone out within five minutes of being on site. I'm sorry but the fact that you 'earn' a lot of money pushing other people's money around making extremely rich people even richer and creaming some off the top for yourself doesn't impress me enough to let you treat me like shite. One of them was attempting to impress me once with his own brand of bullshit - relating a tale of another firm he worked for once having a trader who called a first line bod in to sort out the cables under his desk - when he didn't do it fast enough for his liking, he started kicking him up the arse. I told him that if he ever kicked my arse I'd rip his leg off at the knee and batter him to a ****ing pulp with it. Essex Boy wankers the lot of em.
     
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  20. Yorkie

    Yorkie Bit Poster

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    I once got a call were a help desk technician and a trader (happens to be from Essex) put together could not start up a computer. so after going all the way to the top floor I diagnose that a cleaner knocked out a power cable. Suppose there good at what they do but most are short tempted little **** with not much common sense, but thats not to be said about all of them

    P.S can we swear on this forum?:twisted:

    sorry going of topic ill shut up now
     
    Certifications: Very bad GCSE's
    WIP: First BTEC in IT Support

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