an aspiring stockbroker

[Sniper]

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this is near impossible w/out years of positive track records. All the billion dollar fundmanagers started at a shop,

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You don't need to become a fund manager, in order to trade for your own account! [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[edtost]

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Is going to a top business school where I should go from here to be a trader/investor, someone that works with the #s?

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for trading, listen to paluka, he knows way more about that field than me or others here.

for "working with #s", which I'll take to mean quantitative research, most of the really successful people in that field, afaik, have been physics/math phds, though something like a financial engineering masters wouldn't be bad preparation.

also, as far as getting into a "top business school", HBS and the like want work experience before they admit you, they really dont take kids straight out of undergrad as a rule.

[CallYNotRaise06]

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have you thought maybe its not a good idea that he not get into trading?

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thats up to him, he has to do it the rest of his life. ill support him in whatever he wants to do. if he told me he wanted to be a pro poker player, id support him(but id make him get a degree as a back up)

[SonofJen]

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ill support him in whatever he wants to do.


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I think that is the most important part. However, at age 17 he really needs to keep his options open. Why, for instance, does he want to become a stock broker or trader? What interests and motivates him in life other than to ideally work for himself and make a lot of money?

More important than majoring in finance or math or going to a school that just has a good program in hard sciences, is to choose a school that fits with everything that your son is looking for. In the end, it is simply what you make of your experiences that matters most.

I know really solid people who majored in Art History and now work at Goldman Sachs, majored in Public Policy and now work at DE Shaw. Hell, I majored in Philosophy and work for a software start-up (granted, I'm hoping to go back to school for my MBA next fall). Consequently, I am a firm believer that, especially for one's undergraduate education, you should major in the subject or area that interests you most. To hedge your bets, however, sure, go ahead and take Accounting, Math, and Finance classes on the side (and as you should with all of your classes and endeavors, try to do as well as possible in these classes). The bottom line again is that whatever your son decides to do he should decide to do it well.

I should also stress the importance of internships while in college. Real work experience will help out a lot especially come senior year when your son needs to find a job. Freshman and sophomore summers are great times to explore various career paths and make sure that his current path is still in fact what he wants. Summer of junior year is the time to nail the best internship he can in the field that he wants to go into. (A lot of times this coveted internship is actually harder to get than the full time job offer when he graduates). To also assist in this self-discovery and skill building time of his life, encourage him to do informational interviews with professionals in the field but also encourage him to keep his horizons open and explore other opportunities as well. Most people job switch something on the order of 5-7 times with a few of those being substantial career switches. Whatever he decides to do at any stage in his life, he'll need a good foundation.

As far as trading specific advice, I agree a lot with what Sniper said. That type of learning happens both inside and outside of the classroom.

Lastly, good luck to your son. Make sure he realizes what an amazing opportunity for personal, academic, social, and professional growth the next four years will be regardless of where he goes or what he majors in. All the more important to make sure that he doesn't go through those four years with blinders on.