Breaking into Banking.. Any tips?

[Moscow Mule]

Why?, because I presented some valid counter-arguments to invalid criticism that someone else had made of what I said what I'd said? I could equally say that jumping in and offering opinion on a discussion between two people that you weren't involved in without backing that opinion up with specific facts makes you 'argumentative', but I wont, because I'm not arrogant or deluded enough to presume to be able to comment accurately on other people's personality traits based solely on reading a limited number of posts they've made on one specific topic on the internet.

My "attitude" hasn't stopped me being a successful contractor who gets along well with the vast majority of her clients and is able to make a good living producing valuable solutions for them. So, if it's all the same to you, in spite of your well-researched and eloquently-argued assessment of my core personality, I'll just keep doing my thing. The secret of successful contracting, IMHO, isn't about bending yourself over backwards to fit the odd unreasonable client's irrational demands; it's about planting yourself in fertile ground and being able to grow there. I'll leave trying to appease unreasonable employers to permies.

Well done.

You might want to work on working out when somebody is winding you up.

[Gentile]

Well done.

You might want to work on working out when somebody is winding you up.

Maybe instead you could work on simply saying what you mean and standing by what you say, instead of talking nonsense then claiming you were only "winding people up" when they call you on it.

[Moscow Mule]

Maybe instead you could work on simply saying what you mean and standing by what you say, instead of talking nonsense then claiming you were only "winding people up" when they call you on it.

Bit defensive aren't you?

And lacking in brevity.

[Lockhouse]

Are front office rates much different from middle office rates? In MO I see rates in the region of £500 - £750 a day. The average is probably £550, but seeing as no one discusses rates that's just my guess.

Pretty much the same actually. I would say that £600-£650 is a decent rate for a desk programmer with perhaps a little more for specific knowledge. It's no more or less hassle, just a different environment. I used to try and get a front office contract every couple of years to keep my hand in but I've found a decent franchise so am sticking with it for now.

[aussielong]

Aren't they one and the same thing now with all the bailouts?


But I've got a question to those working in in this sector: Does any of this inefficiency in Investment Banking IT management/systems lead to inefficiencies in the trading (automatic or manual) that these banks do?
The reason I ask is that I do a little trading on the financial markets myself, using an automated trading system that I am writing, and I want to know especially the types of stupid things "the other guys" do that I can capitalise on. Potentially.
I don't need to know the specifics, just the general areas.

For example a bank might have code that monitors groups of shares, buying others when one rises sharply. But due to bad code there is a 10-second delay before the others are bought (giving me an edge if I am quick enough). That sort of thing.

Or is all the low hanging fruit in this department all taken now?

Most of the wholesale side where the banks are trading is OTC I think. They do high volumes of FX though.

You are talking about high frequency trading. The problem you have is you are competing with traders that have their servers located at the exchange, they can execute orders a lot fast than you probly.

[lexington_spurs]

Anybody got any tips for increasing my chances.

Move to Bangalore, unlearn English, and take on a role to which you are not trained for one of the major outsourcing companies.

P.s purely going for banking to try to increase rate.

Oh. In that case ignore the above.