My good friend Michelle Marquez has been a stock broker now for over 10 years and throughout that time she has worked her way up from the bottom. We often like to look at different careers here and today this is the career we are going to be focussing on, and seeing just what life is like in the world of a stock broker. Some days Michelle works on the compliance team at her firm, ensuring that all trades are done in accordance with the law, avoiding fraud and make sure that the SEC the Securities and Exchange Commission, are happy with the way that her group is trading. Let’s have a quick look at what Michelle’s day looks like on the days where she is on the trading floor.
Rise and Shine
Michelle will generally get up and get to the office for 5am to start poring over data reports about the financial markets. She says that this is her favorite time of the day because it is in the morning that there is a real calmness, where she can focus on getting her predictions and forecasts right. The bell rings at 9am so she will have breakfast around 8, and then prepare to pick up the phones.
Trading Day
For Michelle the trading hours are the most manic and it is this mania which brought her in to this industry in the first place. What Michelle says that she loves the most is a combination of closing deals, and getting her forecasts or predictions right on the money, occasionally she adds, both happen in the same day.
Paperwork
As the trading bell rings to close the day, Michelle will head back to the office where she will compile her reports for the day. This paperwork may be labor some but it is essential for her job and the compliance of it. Years ago disputes would be settled by arbitration and the paperwork would be so vital to proceedings, this is why Michelle will get it out of the way as soon as possible.
Burning the Midnight Oil
The day is not over once the trading floor is closed and there is still plenty of time left to be calling clients and studying market research. We live in a 24 hour world now where one market closes and another opens. Michelle has enjoyed exploiting this by trading across different markets and including international customers in her client list. Whilst this decision has helped Michelle to become more successful, it does mean very long days in the office.
Home
After such a long day Michelle has to find ways to switch off, and she tells us that the best way in which to do that is with a cuddle with her dog on the sofa, watching a few episodes of her favorite Netflix shows. After unwinding, Michelle heads to bed around 12, ready to start off all over again tomorrow.