Electricity Trading

[eyesiceeyes]

Hi everyone!

I have been offered a position as an executive electricity trader with one of the power generating company and there are two questions I hope to gain some opinions from fellow readers here.

Q1: I am a fresh grad from local uni, didn't do hons, and I am offered 2.7k/mth, with AWS and VB (1-2mths, not sure about this). Do you think this compensation is fair, considering the average is 2.8k~3.0k/mth?

Q2: What exit opportunities & transferable skills do you think will be available for a position like this?

Thank you for enlightening this greenhorn!

Originally Posted by eyesiceeyes

Hi everyone!

I have been offered a position as an executive electricity trader with one of the power generating company and there are two questions I hope to gain some opinions from fellow readers here.

Q1: I am a fresh grad from local uni, didn't do hons, and I am offered 2.7k/mth, with AWS and VB (1-2mths, not sure about this). Do you think this compensation is fair, considering the average is 2.8k~3.0k/mth?

Q2: What exit opportunities & transferable skills do you think will be available for a position like this?

Thank you for enlightening this greenhorn!

This will be a niche job. Some skills may be transferable to the financial industry since you are doing some "trading" but it may be hard for you to get your foot in the door.

[eyesiceeyes]

It is a niche job. It deals with bidding strategies as well as futures, partly also dealing with gas. I suppose there is an option to switch over to gas trading as LNG/LPG trader?

Not that I am looking to exit before taking on the offer, I am only checking if I'm signing myself into a one way trip.

Originally Posted by eyesiceeyes

It is a niche job. It deals with bidding strategies as well as futures, partly also dealing with gas. I suppose there is an option to switch over to gas trading as LNG/LPG trader?

Not that I am looking to exit before taking on the offer, I am only checking if I'm signing myself into a one way trip.

Electricity is very different from energy trading like oil & gas, even the remuneration is very different as the equivalent of an entry level energy trader is maybe 2-3x your offer.

Whether the offer is good or not really depends on your expectations. Electricity traders tend to move around within the utilities provider space and because it’s a niche skill, pay progression is quite standard compare to most jobs, should have no problem getting employment. However if you are thinking this is going to be a stepping stone to being a gas trader for big oil or some of the niche trading houses, then no it is very unlikely to happen.

[eyesiceeyes]

An entry level O&G trader won't/ hardly take in fresh grads. These normally require a good 2-5 years of experience in the related field, which explains why the starting salary is at least 2-3X, am I mistaken?

Stepping stone, not really. I am only afraid I might get stuck in that job forever, stuck with the same pay scale. That's why I'm checking what other alternatives are there after this. From what you've mentioned this seems to be the case.

O&G trading operates as a tightly knitted old boys club. Essentially you need to have a mentor to bring you in as an apprentice and keep you under his wing. That’s how most people get into this space. So in reality normal grads have no chance of joining O&G trading because they always ask for at least few years exp, but fresh grads need somewhere to get their experience and that is through a sponsor/mentor.

An apprentice is normally paid 5k+, but trading bonus are very rich even for entry level, so the typical freshie total package adds up to 100-120k. Electricity trading is a different animal altogether as you can see from your own offer. If you just want a stable job that pays normally, can go for this electricity trading role. My only caution is do not take it up thinking you will be joining big oil soon as a top shot trader. Different world.

[eyesiceeyes]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

O&G trading operates as a tightly knitted old boys club. Essentially you need to have a mentor to bring you in as an apprentice and keep you under his wing. That’s how most people get into this space. So in reality normal grads have no chance of joining O&G trading because they always ask for at least few years exp, but fresh grads need somewhere to get their experience and that is through a sponsor/mentor.

An apprentice is normally paid 5k+, but trading bonus are very rich even for entry level, so the typical freshie total package adds up to 100-120k. Electricity trading is a different animal altogether as you can see from your own offer. If you just want a stable job that pays normally, can go for this electricity trading role. My only caution is do not take it up thinking you will be joining big oil soon as a top shot trader. Different world.

I guess I am one of those without the golden ticket into the club then, sadly.

It is different altogether but I am curious what transferable skills can I take away so that it will aid me in whatever switch I may take in the future. I understand your concern, by no means this will even be a stepping stone.

TBH the payscale for this offer makes me cringe. Even with VB it is only expected to be 1-2 mths. What else can I do?

Originally Posted by eyesiceeyes

I guess I am one of those without the golden ticket into the club then, sadly.

It is different altogether but I am curious what transferable skills can I take away so that it will aid me in whatever switch I may take in the future. I understand your concern, by no means this will even be a stepping stone.

TBH the payscale for this offer makes me cringe. Even with VB it is only expected to be 1-2 mths. What else can I do?

Well it really isn't that bad compared to most other office jobs, it's all about what you are comparing with. Utilities industry is a mid level pay sector, so although the stability and employability is there, very hard to get big pay & bonus in this industry.

In terms of transferable skills I can't think of anything except maybe trading ops in banks or sell side brokerages or maybe some treasury department in finance. But the skillset is not direct transfer, so maybe you need to start from scratch if you make the switch. All these alternatives are normal ops/bo jobs, so pay & bonus is also soso average I guess.