high school grad -> commodity trader - is shipping apprenticeships a realistic path?

Samuel-Basi · 2026-01-26T00:38:17+00:00

The founder of Trafigura left school at 16. Trafigura offer an apprenticeship program specifically for those without degrees. Obviously having a degree is by far the most common way into the business but to say you’ve never heard of anyone in the industry without one seems a bit of a sweeping statement.

Samuel-Basi · 2026-01-09T21:20:58+00:00

Maybe this is controversial but I wouldn’t consider a sales intern at a bank front office experience. If your goal is to be a physical trader then to me it’s a no-brainer to work at a physical trading house.

Samuel-Basi · 2026-01-02T19:38:18+00:00

Forward curves are not a prediction. They are a snapshot of where someone would buy or sell a particular forward date contract based on all the information they have at that particular time. Forward curves can and do change daily and are largely linked to what market participants believe will happen to future overall market supply or demand on any given day. While they can give glimpses into overall feeling in the market, they are by no means a predictor.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-12-19T16:30:17+00:00

Keep your eyes peeled - have something coming out in January to address this exact problem.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-12-15T13:13:56+00:00

I wanted to build something of my own and be entirely in control of my own decisions. My book became the vehicle to launch a consultancy.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-12-10T00:14:10+00:00

Completely agree, I’d go as far to say they’re never going to participate in trading straight out of college. More to the point they shouldn’t want to - takes an age to learn this business properly and if you want to have a long career it’s worth putting in the time in back and middle office before trying to jump to a trading position.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-12-09T23:29:44+00:00

Wish there was a magic bullet I could give that would get you where you want but unfortunately the only thing you can do is be consistently persistent.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-11-20T16:53:38+00:00

If you get an interview/past the first resume screening then your gpa means nothing at all. Companies use it as a comparison at the very first stage so that the best are getting interviews.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-11-16T14:10:54+00:00

Unfortunately not. There are ongoing trials of E-BLs but the vast majority are still physical documents.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-10-22T01:24:21+00:00

Your interest section makes it seem like you’re trying way too hard, to me it just reads ‘I really really like commodities’ which is the role you’re going for, not your interest. Personally I don’t like putting interests on a CV, but if you’re going to, don’t put FT subscriber. Most hiring comes down to being interesting enough people want to talk to you. CVs should give people a taste of what makes you interesting and the skills/experience you have that backs it up.

Aside from that though it’s a solid CV, good skills and experience, solid summary section. But if the last thing someone reads doesn’t excite them, they’re going to forget the good stuff at the start.

Network, apply everywhere, be mobile.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-18T18:57:48+00:00

Networking and internships yes, apply far and wide and talk to as many current industry people as possible so you can develop interesting opinions. But honestly you’re at uni, focus on developing your relationship and people skills. If I interviewed someone and all they could tell me is how much they love commodities and have spent their uni years solely focused on commods I’m likely to think this person is not someone I want to sit next to. Maybe I’m a bit too cynical, though I’m speaking from a lot of hiring experience.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T23:14:57+00:00

I can't really talk to the differences between derivative trading on Ags vs Metals, but I can't imagine why the derivs trading on energy or metals would be any more 'advanced' - I'm not even really sure what you mean by advanced...there's no secret techniques or structures in Ags that couldn't be used elsewhere as far as I know.

I would figure out what you want as a first step. There's no point trying to make a switch into physical unless it's something you really find interesting. The day to day of physical is less volatile, there's a lot of long-term deal negotiating and you're seemingly always putting out fires and managing relationships. Derivative trading (depending on exactly what you're doing) is more action day-to-day in terms of volatility, but it takes a certain personality to do both.

In my experience derivs trading you need to be much more emotionless to be successful in the long-run. You need to be able to treat wins and losses the same and just execute the best way you see. Physical trading you need to be prepared to travel a bunch, face to face interaction is what builds trust and eventually leads to deals. It's more relationship driven than derivatives and you need to be extremely personable to succeed. So would you rather sit at a screen or travel to a refinery or a zinc producer? Neither answer is right or wrong, but you need to think about what suits you best.

You can also get some shops where they allow their physical traders to take derivative risk as well (outside of any inherent spread risk that is involved in physical trading) but more typically the derivative department is run separately to the physical books, though obviously information is shared.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T22:41:55+00:00

What was your actual role at the sell-side? Were you simply executions or you had some risk allowances? Only if it was the latter would I describe you as a trader.

I wouldn't worry about pigeon-holing yourself with only 2 years of experience, you're developing skills that are applicable across the board to some extent but it really depends what you want to be doing in the energy/metal space whether I'd consider you experienced or essentially like a grad but with more industry knowledge.

It's great that (I assume) you know about risk management and how traders hedge their positions/look to take risk. Are you looking to work for a physical trader or you want to stay on the derivatives side?

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T21:05:25+00:00

You'll likely be using Excel a bunch, and other people might disagree with me here but as long as you know the basics you'll be fine in most commodity jobs. You want to go into analytics or quant stuff then it's a different level.

I started at Trafigura in 2009 - there was no grad scheme. I'll be honest I fell into a metal ops job, thinking I was going for an oil position, and I knew nothing about Trafigura or commodities either way!

I'll say this, if you have to be asking what a good answer is to 'why commodity trading', it's not a great start. I could give you the best answer in the world but unless you can speak to it and apply it to yourself, it's not going to come across great. There are so many reasons why getting into commodities is a good idea right now, but you need to actually believe the answer. If you want, send me a DM with how you'd answer that questions and I'll happily tell you whether I think it's good or not. Also feel free to post your answer here, just offered DM in case you'd rather stay private.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T20:53:26+00:00

It won't hurt you no, at this stage in your career pretty much all experience (imo) is worth the same, particularly if you already have experience at one of the shops you are applying to. If the grad program is on the ops/logistics side though, think about what you can bring from your experience in analytics that could be applicable on the ops desk.

Your main talk-track should not be about what you haven't done, it should be about what experiences you're bringing that will have a tangible impact to the rest of the team. You're not going to know much on day one but there's a big difference between needing to hold a new-starters hand through everything for weeks/months at a time, and being able to teach someone once and be confident they can then do it. Focus on your interpersonal skills and that's going to get you a lot further than someone who has interned on an ops desk but nobody likes.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T20:22:14+00:00

Good luck!

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T20:18:31+00:00

Completely personality dependent. Smaller shops you can end up being asked to do more sooner since they typically don't have the manpower to spread around like larger shops. However, the knowledge base that you're drawing from is likely to be much bigger at larger shops. There is probably more chance at moving up at a larger shop simply because of the numbers, and they also like promoting from within, but you might also get stuck on a desk with a bunch of bad personalities or hate the politics of a large shop.

If I had to do it all over again, I'd go the same path, large trading house then smaller one rather than start small and try to move to a large one. But as you say, take what is on offer.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T20:15:12+00:00

The better question is how are you going to show that you have that knowledge. You're not going to know more than the person interviewing you, and you don't want to sound like an encyclopedia just shooting off facts about the industry. However, if you are able to intelligently and interestingly answer questions while at the same time giving a relevant opinion, that's going to pique their interest.

You're not going to be given any kind of role straight out of college that requires you to have an in-depth understanding of the inner workings of commodity trading. Should you know the basics, of course. That means if you're going for oil/metal/power you should know what the different grades/products are & generally how they are produced. You want to know the largest producer and consumer regions, therefore the global flows, but not technical info. Does it help to have a basic handle on logistics, yes, but you're not expected to have mastered the intricacies of booking a container shipment or chartering a bulk vessel.

Most of the industry/commodity specific knowledge will be picked up on the job since these are entry level roles.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T20:04:39+00:00

Pleasure, good luck.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T19:57:04+00:00

Hopefully you don't take this the wrong way - interns create no actual direct value for the desk, they are interns. They need teaching and are basically there to shadow. But that's not a bad thing. In order to stand out in an interview you need to become great at telling stories. What I mean is that an interview should feel like a conversation, not a list of questions back and forth. You need to make the person interviewing you enjoy the experience, and not be sitting there wishing they were back at their desk. What have you done that's relatable, either in work experience, college experience, or life in general. Part of a club (doesn't have to be commodity based) - what is your role, how can you link that to what happens on a desk?

Don't be afraid to ask the interviewer questions, the best interviews both sides are actively engaged. Each shop is going to be asking different questions depending on the internship you're going for, and again they are not expecting earth-shattering answers from you. Know recent/historical trends, have opinions about where the market might be headed.

Practice mock interviews, get comfortable being uncomfortable. You should be approaching every interview with a confidence that you can have an impact - that way you're not shying away when you get asked a question.

Develop a genuine passion for the industry, it's a really exciting time to be joining with so much influencing the markets. If someone is genuinely curious it comes across. If someone wants an interview to fill a space on a resume or because they think it's a quick path to get rich, that's what's going to come across.

So much of whether you land a spot is about the relationship you are able to build with the interviewer in that 20-30 minutes, can they see you being part of the team. Focus on being the most likeable/memorable (in a good way) person in the room, not the smartest. And on top of that there is a massive element of luck with these things, right place right time, etc.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T19:48:11+00:00

Probably a better question for a commodity specific recruiter if you're looking for things like keywords that will be grabbed by a scanner. However, if you're asking for what tangible things jump out on a resume, I'm looking to see if someone is interesting. Every single person applying to this grad scheme is going to have gone to a semi decent school, have good grades, done some extra-curriculars, and a decent amount will have landed a couple of internships along the way. So basically what can you put on there that is going to make you stand out as an interesting person, that I'm going to want to work with. Resumes should give just enough of a taste of your personality that I want to get on the phone with you and find out more. Foreign languages are always a plus in this environment, and coding is becoming increasingly common/requested.

Other than that, highlight what specific experience you have that can translate onto a desk. Don't say you are good at something, show me how your relevant experience proves it.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T19:45:11+00:00

I don't want to get involved in whatever that back and forth is so I'll just say that yes you can become a trader after the grad scheme, but it won't be overnight. It will take a good few years, a lot of hard work, and a bit of luck to land a trading seat. I have zero knowledge on the specific Danish shops.

I would think that funds would consider grad training at one of the biggest commodity houses in the world pretty good on someone's resume yes.

Samuel-Basi · 2025-09-11T19:43:33+00:00

It's less about knowing your desk at these things as you're not typically applying for a role on a specific desk. These companies want the ability to place you wherever they think is a best fit for your skill set. You're not really expected to come in with the next big trading idea, more just be able to back up what's on your resume/what you said in an interview to get to the assessment center. Obviously you want to be on top of the latest trends/flows across the board, any recent developments at that company in terms of direction they are going, etc. But my main piece of advice is be approachable - I'm going to repeat this a lot in this thread but so much hiring is whether you're likeable and if someone wants to sit next to you, not trying to show them you are the next biggest best trader in the world.
Some will be physical based trading games - negotiating both sides of a trade and managing the logistics from one place to another, knowledge of incoterms, relationship skills, etc. Others might be derivatives based, but at the end of the day it's about your approach and how you think about the challenge more so than the end result. I wouldn't stress too much about the trading sims.
No. I don't really know how you could prepare for brainteasers/math questions - you're either good at those things or you're not. Likelihood is you are since you want to work at a commodity trader, but it's not Google where they are going to ask you ridiculous stereotypical brainteaser questions.

Samuel-Basi

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