Help. NYC or Chicago. I honestly don't know what to do.

Hey all, so I have an offer for an Option MM in Chicago and BB in NYC for equities trading. Both are very prominent in the MM space. I already accepted my offer from the BB over the summer and I just received my offer from the Chicago MM. I'm conflicted if I should renege on the BB offer or not. 

I love NYC and would love to live there for some time. Is the "networking" aspect really real there or is it just a facade?

The Chicago MM is more in line with what I want to do, but I grew up in Chicago and now kind of find the city a bit boring. 

In the end, I know this is a good problem to have. I know that less and less proprietary trading firms are hiring experienced traders vs. only hiring graduates. 

If I renege, I will be ruining a good chunk of my "connections."

What are your thoughts? Thanks

 

Personally, I'd take Chicago, but I know I just wouldn't really like trading at a bank, and it matters how good of a firm it actually is. I think any firm good enough to be worth reneging for would pay significantly more than your BB offered. I work in the options prop market-making space now, and I really don't know anyone at my place that made the jump from a bank here, but I know that's not universal. If you're a good trader within a good firm, you won't really need connections for anything in the future.

Congrats on your offers!

 
Most Helpful

If you take the Chicago gig, there are two ways it could go. One, you are good at prop trading and make a lot of money. Two, you are not good at prop trading, and then you are not in a great spot, because there are very few ways to pivot from a prop trading seat. At a bank there are more things you could do, such as change products, sales, syndicate or structuring, or research, or try to lateral to a buyside shop. I also think prop might limit your career choices in the future. If you're successful, you could start your own prop shop, or maybe make a ton of money and then just walk away? But there aren't as many exit opportunities, and you won't build as many relationships as you would in S&T. But prop trading could be the right move if you really dream of being a prop trader. Hope that is some help.

 

If it’s a solid firm Chicago 100%. Knowing people that have done trading at both, there are few upsides to the bank. Lower payouts, more politics, more regulatory restrictions.

 

Chicago all the way. You get paid more, have bigger apartments, and more respect & dignity.

直指人心,見性成佛
 

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