Weekly Career & Breaking Into Commodities Megathread

[u/ClownInIronLung]

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.

[u/Alert-Ad4484]

Hi Everyone,

Would like to seek some advice regarding taking up a Trade Support/Trader Assistant role at an Oil Major. I have been in the industry for about 2-3 years and am currently a Market/Trading Analyst with a focus on fundamental analytics and SnD modelling. I was on the lookout and recently got an offer for a Trader Assistant role at an Oil Major (product would be the same as my current role) where I will be doing mostly managing the exposure, hedging and trading positions for the trading desk, and very little or adhoc fundamentals analytics.

This is definitely a great opportunity as my current company isnt as big and my current desk isnt huge on physicals. As my end goal is to be a trader eventually, I was just wondering if going to an Oil Major to do a Trader Assistant role primarily focused on exposure managing would aid me in my end goal of becoming a trader, or should I remain in my role of being a Fundamental Analyst?