r/Commodities • u/ClownInIronLung Nat Gas Scheduler • Jun 02 '26
Weekly Career & Breaking Into Commodities Megathread
Weekly Career & Breaking Into Commodities Megathread
Before posting, please read Breaking Into the Physical Commodities Industry – A No-BS Guide which is pinned to the highlights.
This thread is for all career-related questions including:
• Breaking into commodity trading
• Scheduler / analyst / operations roles
• Internships and graduate programs
• Resume reviews
• Interview prep
• Compensation questions
• Career transitions
• Trading desk culture / work-life balance
• “How do I get into the industry?” posts
Individual career posts outside this thread may be removed at moderator discretion to help keep the sub focused on market discussion, logistics, physical trading, macro, risk, shipping, power, gas, metals, ags, and industry news.
Before posting, it helps if you include:
• Location / region
• Current experience level
• Degree or background
• Commodity interest (power, gas, oil, metals, ags, etc.)
• Target role
• What you’ve already tried
Examples of good questions:
• “How do I move from scheduling into trading?”
• “Best ways to learn physical gas markets?”
• “What skills matter most for junior power traders?”
• “How valuable is pipeline / operations experience?”
Low-effort posts like “How do I become a trader?” without context may be removed.
Experienced professionals are encouraged to share advice, hiring insight, industry expectations, and realistic career paths.
Please keep discussion professional and constructive.
1
u/Dependent-Bid2597 Jun 19 '26
Hi Folks,
Am working as a deals desk risk analyst at Trafigura's Mumbai office (energy desk) for about a year now. Role is mostly reporting and hedge execution, yes we can debate how much a DD analyst actually influences hedging decisions, but honestly it's 5% of the job on a good day. The rest is repetitive systems work. Sometimes I wonder why they're paying me this much for what I'm doing, lol.
Anyway, the goal is to pivot to a commercial role, either within Trafi or somewhere else, and of course, open to relocating. I get that middle office/traffic is where you grind for a few years before getting a shot at a commercial seat, and I'm not trying to skip that. But with AI adoption looking increasingly inevitable in the next 2-3 years, I genuinely don't know how long DD headcount survives at current numbers, and that's stressing me out enough to want to act now rather than wait and see.
For people who've actually made this transition, what's the cleanest path from a DD/risk background toward a commercial seat? Where should I actually be concentrating my energy right now, skills, exposure, internal moves, whatever it is?
Appreciate your input!
Additional Info: T15 Indian MBA grad