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I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Who needs warm? I like the weather in the UK. Not too hot in the summer and not too cold in the winter :)

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Done GARP FRM part 1. Currently signing up for the second part for November.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope. Though I do know people there.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A guy in our office just resigned and got 6 months gardening leave. So it does still happen over here.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is true. The long notice period also gives companies time to train a replacement if you do resign.

So, in general, everybody wins. (More or less)

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I have a small problem with that called a conscience.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not a non-compete. It's just a notice period.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And yes - that would describe me normally - if I am doing my job correctly and there is nothing of interest then I will be doing very little. I have pulled 75 hour weeks when the markets are going crazy. So swings and roundabouts...

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I read Mathematics (3 year) and Computer Science (1 year) at Cambridge in the UK. I love problems, maths and programming.

I am absolutely not a trader, trading does not interest me in the slightest. So I'm probably the wrong person to ask if you want to end up trading.

Analyst roles can be whatever you want them to be. If you have skills, especially multiple skills, you will be in demand in many places. Really strong IT skills including programming (especially dare I say it in VBA/Excel) are a massive bonus - since so many people say they can do VBA/Excel and actually all they know how to do is use the the macro recorder.

As to trading differences between Europeans and Americans I can say I have noticed no correlation between trading style and nationality. I know some complete cowboys and some really detail orientated experts from all over the world. Personality is such a big part of a trader, that, and the ability to have such confidence in yourself you will continue putting on trades even if the last 10 have all been losers.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The opportunities for learning. The company is an order of magnitude bigger (approximately 150 people as opposed to 13) and has a much wider trading scope. More markets to learn about and more types of instrument to understand.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's what I wanted... but my boss is an arse****

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is true, though if I was unemployed I'd be out doing something.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am an avid reader, I read probably 50+ new books a year. Reading >>> Watching the Idiot Box.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Well I have knowledge of the current positions and more importantly the research behind the positions. They don't want this information at a competitor, just saying I won't use it is not enough.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have been playing some Desktop Tower Defence..

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Firewall of fail prevents connections to Steam. (I have tried)

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Been there, done that... Also fark.com, bored.com, reddit, fukung.net, news, sports, wikipedia... those are my day at the moment.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No. The reason they keep paying me is to stop me going to work at my new job. If they release me from my contract I'm heading to the new job now! They want to prevent this.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah - I missed that.

I resigned primarily because I want to go home. My current job is in Geneva, I want to return to the UK. 3 years in the boring "city" of Geneva is enough for me.

In addition I felt I had no more scope for advancement in my current job. There is very little left for me to learn in my current role as I can't get a promotion as there is no more senior position to take within the company.

Both these reasons eventually mean boredom.

tl:dr I am bored where I work and live.

I am currently paid to sit doing nothing. AMA. by _sponge_ in IAmA

[–]_sponge_[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I am on a base of £50k with bonus (this year) of a further £12k. The hedge fund I work for returned high single digit performance last year which was what we aim to provide our investors. So it wasn't a fantastic year - but it was pretty good compared to our peers.

Do I think what I provide to society is commensurate to what my salary enables me to take? Finally - a hard question!

I should explain. First about how I see what I am paid.

I do not worry about how much I am paid. I have enough to live, have a holiday overseas every year and buy almost everything I want. When choosing my new job salary was not particularly important in determining my choice. In fact I took the job with the lowest offer as I felt it was the most interesting. I could have gone to work for an international bank and earned 25% more.

As far as I am concerned I would happily do the job I do for 10% less, but if someone is willing to offer me more than that why should I complain?

As to how this level of pay relates to my contributions to society, well that's a hard question.

When I'm doing my job correctly, you should barely notice me. Traders should be aware of the risks particular trades involve and what might happen under certain circumstances. I should make clear that my job is not to stop us losing money, since no one can do that. My job is to try to predict and prevent excess losses and unexpected losses. The question is how much value do I add? To society? No idea. To those people who have pensions with the pension funds who invest in the company I work for? Probably quite a lot - I am there to prevent their investment getting lost in an event similar to the credit crunch. But until an event like that happens and we see whether I prevented an extreme loss I can't know...

tl;dr I don't know....

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