What jobs/education is needed to work with stocks?

Question

i am going to college next year and am very interested in the stock market. what jobs are in the market, whats the salary, and what would the major be to get these jobs?

Answer 1

There are various ways to get into "the market" or to Wall Street.

First, it is best to decide what area of interest most likely suits you.

Financial Advisor - pay starts slow at around 40k or so but builds as your client base builds. It is not uncommon to be in your 30s (an advisor for 5+ years) and make 125-150k. Some make a lot more, most make in the 60-100k range over time.

Financial Analyst (associate) - depending on where you start changes things. If you start at an investment bank--sell side-- (associate), pay starts at 55-60k base salary with about 10-15k bonus. By your 3rd year, you are making about 100k base and 25-50k bonus. After about 5 years you are usually promoted to Analyst and make 200k+base and 50k+bonus. If you start at a buy side firm (such as Fidelity), you start at about 35-40k. The upside is more limited and you don't progress as fast as a sell-side firm, but the hours are usually more agreeable.

Trader- This is one of the hardest to break into, but also potentially the most lucrative. The pay scale ranges greatly and solely depends on your abilities. You could do institutional trading and work on the i-bank's floor or work as a proprietary trader for a small, private firm. Income is completely dependent on performance.

Sales - More of a middleman who communicates the research of financial analysts to the firms' clients. Pay is much like financial advisory, but you typically start higher and have more of a ceiling.

No matter which area, the best major to get into would be Finance and/or Accounting. It is absolutely necessary to have a good accounting background if getting into Financial Analysis. I would suggest a dual major, a Corporate Finance major, or a Finance major with Accounting minor.

But also keep in mind to get into these places, grades and coursework are just the basics to be considered. It will come down to "fit" (personality), extra-curriculars, and outside talents you bring to the firm. Because when you think about it, there are thousands of people with the same coursework applying to the same job.

Also--it is a must to secure relevant internships--even starting as a Freshman. As a Freshman/Sophomore, you may have to take a non-paying internship, but it will be worth it to have such experience early on your resume. Sacrificing 10-20 hours a week early on will help tremendously. The biggest seller in an interview is past, relevant work experience that you can discuss and use as a launching pad.

Answer 2

I suggest you to try project payday, simply because you don't need any money up front and you can start making money within 15 minutes. I average around 2000 dollars every month with it. Check it out at http://lin.cr/0fk

Answer 3

I think the financial industry is going to be in a lot of trouble for a long time.  And they aren't going to be hiring a lot of people.

If you really are interested in trading on the stock market.  Then you should prepare yourself to be self-employed.  Which is possible if you understand the stock market well enough to make money in it.

I suggest that you get an economics degree.   It will give you a general understanding of what the various players in the economy are trying to do.  Which is what you need to know in order to become good at predicting future economic events and profiting from your predictions by trading on the stock market.