Anyone heard of being a ship broker?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Then you don't stand a chance in this line... you should go and take up a "clean" government job...

that bad?????

[excalibur324]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am in chartering/freight trading field (tankers).
Shipbrokers - need tenacity/relationship/communications skill
Prior maritime knowledge - good to have, but can pick up on job
Broking jobs start with stint on Ops to understand how things work & if good, firm will bump u up to be broker.
No life. Good broker works & entertains hard. To excel, do not think about work life balence, especially when you just start. Clientele base & support is everything.
Education - spans from O levels to degree holders. Know some non grads that are doing extremely well in this line; ie, its a people business and being streetwise helps.
Principles these days (charterers & owners) talk direct nowadays and view broking as a necessary evil. Gone are the days when there is co-broking.
Renumeration - trainee takes rubbish. Experienced people can command as high as USD20K/mth excluding comms/bonus. Professional firm setup. Star brokers pulling in more business usually get a much higher cut/basic.

is it even possible to be a good broker without going for the entertainment and stuff?

how is the trainee rubbish renumeration like?
how long does it take to rise from trainee to broker?

bump this thread!

Anyway, is it better to enter the big 5 first or get exposure from smaller, private owned shipbroking shops?

How long to rise from trainee to mid-level? and whats the average pay in big 5?

thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Agree, no brains job, must know tok cock sing song, crack silly or dirty jokes, drink 1/2 bottle of whisky in one sitting, know all mama sans well, you can earn alot
I know as i work in commodity house before, and go out with Gfi, bcg, acm brokers on boys night out

only charterers or shipowners with no brains will use broker with no brains. this apply to this author who wrote this statement. but to be fair to the author, since he say he work in a commodity house, he is facing those freight future brokers (who are different category).

shipbroking is a highly skilled job that need the technical know how. there are so many terminology to know and negotiating terms on the contract etc...

to progress from a trainee to full pledge broker - normally take about 2 years.

but importantly is to have your first customer.

work hours can be from 8am to 8pm or anything upto 2am

Originally Posted by Unregistered

only charterers or shipowners with no brains will use broker with no brains. this apply to this author who wrote this statement. but to be fair to the author, since he say he work in a commodity house, he is facing those freight future brokers (who are different category).

shipbroking is a highly skilled job that need the technical know how. there are so many terminology to know and negotiating terms on the contract etc...

to progress from a trainee to full pledge broker - normally take about 2 years.

but importantly is to have your first customer.

work hours can be from 8am to 8pm or anything upto 2am

Commodity traders do both physical and futures freights.. they have no brains? Haha, some of your clients should from commodity houses, and never never talk bad about them, else u can lose business

[Qaz]

what are the shipping broking firms in sg?

Originally Posted by potential shipbroker

Any one knows on the prospects of being a shipbroker?

1) Career progression
2) Salary progression
3) qualities needed to excel
4) Future of ship brokering
5) best shipbrokerage to work in
6) a comparison of charterer and shipbroker

I am a shipbroker (offshore) and yes, I can tell you nobody cares about promotions and career progression as brokers are generally very money-driven people. Promotions means you need to guide people/ take care of people/ spend time doing admin work. Roughly, if you are good, you should be a section head in about 3-5 years. Probably 10 years or so, managerial position should not be a problem as well.

Basic salary can be between 3-10k per month (depending on rank). Bonuses, depends on how much you bring in for the brokerage. Unwritten rule is 1/3 of the commission you bring into the co is yours. So actually, earning 100-300k in bonuses when you have less than 5 years experience is normal.

Qualities to excel: very hardworking (most brokers I know, will still turn up at 830 for work looking fresh like they didn't get drunk the night before), PR skills is very important, initiative, good time management. Good shipbrokers are generally very smart (street + book) as well. They read widely, listen/read news every day and have a good general knowledge of the industry and non-related stuff as well. This is so that you can carry out decent conversions with your clients and it gains their trust. Such shipbrokers usually rack in about 500k onwards in bonuses alone.

Don't think there is any ranking for brokerages as after all, shipbroking is a very "me" profession. You will do well as long as you are smart and willing to work hard.

Oh by the way, I am female and I earn a 6 figure salary annually. I can assure you that staying "pure" in the job is not difficult as long as you are not tempted.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am a shipbroker (offshore) and yes, I can tell you nobody cares about promotions and career progression as brokers are generally very money-driven people. Promotions means you need to guide people/ take care of people/ spend time doing admin work. Roughly, if you are good, you should be a section head in about 3-5 years. Probably 10 years or so, managerial position should not be a problem as well.

Basic salary can be between 3-10k per month (depending on rank). Bonuses, depends on how much you bring in for the brokerage. Unwritten rule is 1/3 of the commission you bring into the co is yours. So actually, earning 100-300k in bonuses when you have less than 5 years experience is normal.

Qualities to excel: very hardworking (most brokers I know, will still turn up at 830 for work looking fresh like they didn't get drunk the night before), PR skills is very important, initiative, good time management. Good shipbrokers are generally very smart (street + book) as well. They read widely, listen/read news every day and have a good general knowledge of the industry and non-related stuff as well. This is so that you can carry out decent conversions with your clients and it gains their trust. Such shipbrokers usually rack in about 500k onwards in bonuses alone.

Don't think there is any ranking for brokerages as after all, shipbroking is a very "me" profession. You will do well as long as you are smart and willing to work hard.

Oh by the way, I am female and I earn a 6 figure salary annually. I can assure you that staying "pure" in the job is not difficult as long as you are not tempted.

Sounds like a lot of wheeling and dealing kind of job. And the $$$ tantalising. But really how long can one keep at it? Is it like the professional sportsmen (eg footballer, basket ball players) who rake in big bucks but have short shelf life - 10 years or less?

If one gets too "old" for the wheeling and dealing, where then do they progress to?

And on a personal note, are you married? Do you have time to go on dates, raise a family?

[haiz1234]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am a shipbroker (offshore) and yes, I can tell you nobody cares about promotions and career progression as brokers are generally very money-driven people. Promotions means you need to guide people/ take care of people/ spend time doing admin work. Roughly, if you are good, you should be a section head in about 3-5 years. Probably 10 years or so, managerial position should not be a problem as well.

Basic salary can be between 3-10k per month (depending on rank). Bonuses, depends on how much you bring in for the brokerage. Unwritten rule is 1/3 of the commission you bring into the co is yours. So actually, earning 100-300k in bonuses when you have less than 5 years experience is normal.

Qualities to excel: very hardworking (most brokers I know, will still turn up at 830 for work looking fresh like they didn't get drunk the night before), PR skills is very important, initiative, good time management. Good shipbrokers are generally very smart (street + book) as well. They read widely, listen/read news every day and have a good general knowledge of the industry and non-related stuff as well. This is so that you can carry out decent conversions with your clients and it gains their trust. Such shipbrokers usually rack in about 500k onwards in bonuses alone.

Don't think there is any ranking for brokerages as after all, shipbroking is a very "me" profession. You will do well as long as you are smart and willing to work hard.

Oh by the way, I am female and I earn a 6 figure salary annually. I can assure you that staying "pure" in the job is not difficult as long as you are not tempted.

I sort of fit the bill like above and I went to temasek for interview being a ship broker but I flung technically when I met the 2nd female head.. The guy manager with engineering degree quit his engineering field job at age of 30+ changed to ship brokering and interviewed me.. He liked me and I passed his round, but I can't answer some brokering cost benefit analysis etc because I just don't have the background!

Give up anyway

hi, how high is the 6 figure salary you are talking about? isnt it tough as a female?

also, would you have any knowledge on oil brokering? can i assume its along the same lines in terms of entertainment?

Thank you