Trader
You buy and sell shares, bonds or currencies for a bank or fund, managing risk minute by minute.
Save this career to see your personalized pathway in My Senda.
- Typical pay
- €50k–€110k
- Usual education
- Degree, often maths, engineering or economics
- Outlook
- Fewer seats than before, but electronic and commodities desks still hire.
A day in the life
Early start before markets open, watching prices and news, taking positions and explaining them to your desk head.
Ways in
- Markets graduate scheme at a bank
- Trading internship then a desk offer
- Proprietary trading firm entry test
What to study at 16
The subjects you choose for the final years of secondary school can shape which degrees, exams and careers are easiest to reach. This is about choosing courses, not choosing a school.
Spain
Bachillerato de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales
Portugal
Ciências Socioeconómicas
France
Bac général — spécialités
Germany
Oberstufe — Leistungskurse
Netherlands
Profiel Economie & Maatschappij
Poland
Liceum — rozszerzenia
Skills that matter
Best courses to take
The study routes that lead most directly into this career.
BSc Economics
How markets, money and policy interact, with a strong quantitative core.
Markets, pricing and macro thinking.
Helpful school subjects: Maths, Economics
BSc Finance & Investment
Valuation, markets and corporate finance — the standard route into banking and investing.
Practical grounding in instruments and risk.
Helpful school subjects: Maths, Economics
Places that hire for this
Bank of America
Internships, apprenticeships and graduate programmes open to students in this area.
Barclays
Internships, apprenticeships and graduate programmes open to students in this area.
BNP Paribas
Trading floors in Paris and London.
Citi
Internships, apprenticeships and graduate programmes open to students in this area.
Deutsche Bank
Markets graduate scheme with desk rotations.
Euronext Lisbon
Small Lisbon team with graduate roles in listings, market data and operations.
Goldman Sachs
Internships, apprenticeships and graduate programmes open to students in this area.
J.P. Morgan
Internships, apprenticeships and graduate programmes open to students in this area.
Lazard
Internships, apprenticeships and graduate programmes open to students in this area.
Morgan Stanley
Internships, apprenticeships and graduate programmes open to students in this area.