hey guys, i’ve just been offered a junior market-maker’s role - for warrants. my understanding of the role is that it invovles providing liquidity by placing bid/ask prices on the security. is this the primary - and the sole - role of a market maker? besides, i understand that the role of a market maker is different from that of a trader, in that a trader manages a book across security-types vs a market maker focusing on a single security. is this a correct understanding? are there any other differences between the role of a market maker and that of a trader? what are the career options for a market maker? does the role typically evolve into a trading role or more of a sales role? also - i am interviewing for a jnr quant analyst position - and have had several rounds so far, but don’t know how many more I should be expecting before they make a decision. i’m actually very keen on this role and believe it will be more analytical and also has better growth and career prospects than market maker’s role. is this a right impression? what role has better $$ and growth prospects - the quant role or the market maker? btw, i am from a management consulting background - with over 2 yrs of experience - but no documented financial background… now looking to move to an exciting position in finance. was initially focused on trading, but since the quant role opened up, i’ve become more interested in it - given its analytical nature.
guys…i desperately need advice with this…appreciate it if i could have your opinions / comments. tks a tonne!
I would rather drink molten lava than be a quant analyst so I’d chose the market maker position…However, I’m not sure what market makers do to exit marker making. I’ve never met anyone who told me they were a market maker. Everyone I’ve ever met started as a market maker and had been doing it in some capacity ever since.
sandeepsg Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i’ve just been offered a junior market-maker’s > role - for warrants. > my understanding of the role is that it invovles > providing liquidity by placing bid/ask prices on > the security. is this the primary - and the sole - > role of a market maker? yes, that’s it in a nutshell. the market makers i work with call themselves “traders” but basically they just fill orders. it’s not the “real” trading that people think of when they hear wall street. market makers will never be taking huge risks like the guys on the prop desk. so while market making is technically a front office position, it seems more like a combination of sales and back office work than true front office work. basically, the institutional sales people work the clients and then the market makers place the trades to fill whatever orders the clients might have. i’m not sure this is really that much better than back office - it seems like a dead end to me. anyway, it may vary from firm to firm, but that’s how it works here. > what are the career options for a market maker? > does the role typically evolve into a trading role > or more of a sales role? I would call it “sales-lite.” you aren’t going to see the big dollars of a rainmaker type sales person and you aren’t going to develop the skills of a trader. personally, i would sell any opportunity to become a market maker and go with the quant position (though i hate quant heavy roles, but if that’s your thing, hey, more power to you). quant apparently is going to have a nice future on the street.
thanks a lot for your comments, RA and asd! any quants in here who can lend me their views/opinions? any traders here? what is your impression of a market-making role ? would you be open to offering a market-maker a position on the trading desk? how much do the salaries differ for the two positions? what should i be expecting as a total package in each of these roles, say 3 years down the road?
guys…any views on this? i’m really undecided - would really appreciate any input. tks a tonne! 
market making is trading. most people dont start on prop desks, only the top market makers get the opportunity to run a prop book/use the firms capital. also, many prop traders are within one/two products so prop trader doesnt mean you can trade any product.
Both sound like awesome jobs. I would choose the quant analyst judging just from the titles. As always, you would have to go to the interview to see what the jobs entail.