NexusFi: Find Your Edge


Home Menu

 





Trader Programmer Job Information


Discussion in Traders Hideout

Updated
    1. trending_up 3,066 views
    2. thumb_up 5 thanks given
    3. group 3 followers
    1. forum 1 posts
    2. attach_file 0 attachments




 
Search this Thread

Trader Programmer Job Information

  #1 (permalink)
 tickleboy 
Seattle, Washington
 
Experience: Advanced
Platform: NinjaTrader, TradeStation
Broker: Kinetick
Trading: ES
Posts: 18 since Oct 2011
Thanks Given: 16
Thanks Received: 10

Hey everyone. After doing some software development and then getting involved in trading, I'm become interested in looking at a trading system software developer position. However, I'd like to ask the community to see if there is anyone out there with experience in a trader system developer job. Here are some of the questions I am looking to have answered:
  • What is the position like? What's a typical day like?
  • What are some of the benefits of working in a trading software developer position? What are some of the pitfalls?
  • What is it like working with traders/analysis/etc?
  • What are the most important skills for this type of position?
  • Would you recommend for someone else to pursue a trading programmer related position?
Any other information would be greatly appreciated!

Follow me on Twitter Started this thread Reply With Quote

Can you help answer these questions
from other members on NexusFi?
Exit Strategy
NinjaTrader
NexusFi Journal Challenge - April 2024
Feedback and Announcements
NT7 Indicator Script Troubleshooting - Camarilla Pivots
NinjaTrader
The space time continuum and the dynamics of a financial …
Emini and Emicro Index
Futures True Range Report
The Elite Circle
 
  #2 (permalink)
 artemiso 
New York, NY
 
Experience: Beginner
Platform: Vanguard 401k
Broker: Yahoo Finance
Trading: Mutual funds
Posts: 1,152 since Jul 2012
Thanks Given: 784
Thanks Received: 2,685

The spectrum of programmers in finance is an interval between two extremes: quants and developers. I'll try to describe the job that's close to the middle of the two extremes, but leaning more towards the development side.

What is the position like? What's a typical day like?
Regular hours. Debug, lunch, work on your designated project. Go home on pager duty. Sleep. Wake up. Repeat.

What are some of the benefits of working in a trading software developer position? What are some of the pitfalls?
Benefits - depends on the firm you're working for and position you're hired for - back-of-the-envelope, 5% of them offer much more exciting programming problems and better bonuses than their Silicon Valley competitors. Pitfalls - lower job security i.e. higher turnover rate, lower base salary than a tech startup or large software development company.

What is it like working with traders/analysis/etc?
Depends. I personally think software development in a trading firm feels more like a programmer-customer relationship (see: How a Web Design Goes Straight to Hell - The Oatmeal) with your colleagues than a colleague-colleague relationship. It's frustrating sometimes because you'll feel that the expectations are unclear, or require some trivial piece of financial knowledge that is unbeknownst-to-you to bridge.

What are the most important skills for this type of position?
1. An object-oriented language like C++, C# or Java is common. A scripting language and SQL is also common. UNIX if you're doing more backend stuff. 2. You must find 'interfacing' work enjoyable. 3. You should have a passion for finance even though your job will entail little about learning more about capital markets. 4. You must be good with dealing with picky 'customers'.

Would you recommend for someone else to pursue a trading programmer related position?
Most of the time, no. And hence for good reason, even the top firms in finance find it difficult to compete away programmers from Google, Facebook etc.

Source: I hire a few full-time programmers. I do a decent amount of programming myself.

Reply With Quote




Last Updated on July 8, 2013


© 2024 NexusFi™, s.a., All Rights Reserved.
Av Ricardo J. Alfaro, Century Tower, Panama City, Panama, Ph: +507 833-9432 (Panama and Intl), +1 888-312-3001 (USA and Canada)
All information is for educational use only and is not investment advice. There is a substantial risk of loss in trading commodity futures, stocks, options and foreign exchange products. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
About Us - Contact Us - Site Rules, Acceptable Use, and Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy - Downloads - Top
no new posts