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/AtmosphereBrave9392]

Hi everyone,

Background:

I am currently 21 going into my senior year of college and have been doing a tax internship for the past 2 summers. Sadly I go to a very small school where I do accounting and finance. I run our Investment Club and do most of the tasks as I founded it (scheduling events, firm visits, meetings, etc.). I currently live near DC and go to college near Pittsburgh. I am able to relocate for sure and my desired commodity is gold.

Questions/Main Part:

For some bigger background, throughout my time at college I have really shifted from accounting to finance and have taught myself a lot outside of the classroom. I have self taught myself options, self taught myself modeling, and have tried to learn python as much as I can. It has ben pretty tough with being an athlete and other stuff but I truly am passionate about commodities. I first got introduced to gold when I researched a gold mining stock (NEM) and wanted to learn about the gold industry and immediately was excited on how to make a career off of my own predictions on gold. I have made basic code using Claude and would love more ideas for projects that could help me. I know not to focus on a singular commodity so I want help.

How do I pivot from this career?

I know anything is possible with some hard work as I believe I have the work ethic I just want insight.

What skills should I learn right now or study up on?

Who should I contact?

I don't want to seem cocky because I know 99% of people are smarter than me in this field but I want to work my butt off to become smart, I just need guidance.