Increasing numbers of young people are deciding that they want to take on a career in trading.

This isn’t all too surprising. After all, the average fixed income trader takes home takes home between $60,000 to $75,000 a year. They also tend to receive bonuses amounting to between 50 percent and 100 percent of their annual salary. So, how can you bag such a lucrative position?

Well, you don’t necessarily need a degree in order to become a trader. But if you want to work for a big bank, a significant hedge fund, or a notable asset management company, you’re going to be up against some stiff competition and a degree on your resume can really help you to stand out from the crowd. So, let’s focus on college degrees that you can take in order to bag yourself one of these lucrative positions and establish yourself within the field of trading!

Choose a Course

First things first, you need to choose a course to apply for. There aren’t really specific degrees in trading. So, you will have to take an alternative course and apply your skills to this area of expertise yourself. Here are some of the most appropriate.

Economics

Economics is the study of production, consumption, and the distribution of wealth. Seeing as you’ll quite literally be dealing with the consumer market on a daily basis and distributing wealth yourself in a trading role, this is a logical route to take, as it will familiarize you with how the different trading markets work.

Finance or Business Administration

Finance and business admin programs teach you all sorts of necessary concepts to succeed in trading, such as what derivatives are, how fixed income securities work, and how to deal with accounting statements.

Self-Education

Now, none of these courses are going to show you directly how to trade. You can apply the skills from your degree to trading and use them to your advantage, and they will decorate your resume nicely, but trading itself is a skill you will have to pick up of your own accord. This, of course, will take plenty of self-education online. You will also want to practice your skills before actually attempting to trade assets. Here are a couple of things that can help you.

Trading Software

Download trading software such as that supplied by CMC Markets. This will help you to get a feel for the trading software that you will be using on a daily basis down the line. This will help the first steps into trading easier, as you can make use of risk management tools, benefit from automated execution, and benefit from competitive spreads.

Stock Simulators

If you are specializing in trading on the stock market, you can also make use of stock simulators. These allow you to trade on the stock market in real time without using any real assets or cash. This gives you plenty of good practice, and as well know, practice makes perfect.

These steps may take some time, but the salary that you could take home annually at the end of your efforts will be more than worth it. So, start searching for appropriate degrees and practicing as soon as possible!