Energy trader to financial trader
An energy trader already meets 46% of what the financial trader role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
54.6/ 100
1 How much of what a financial trader is expected to do is already part of an energy trader’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the financial trader role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A financial trader role treats 8 of its required skills as things an energy trader already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse economic trends
- communicate with customers
- economics
- financial jurisdiction
- financial products
- handle financial transactions
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A financial trader role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an energy trader background worth leading with.
- already held operate financial instruments management skills
- already held trade securities communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held monitor stock market information skills
- already held investment analysis business, administration and law
- already held modern portfolio theory business, administration and law
- already held stock market business, administration and law
All 16 carried skills, including the 8 the financial trader role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn offer financial services required
- still to learn advise on financial matters required
- still to learn protect client interests required
- still to learn provide financial product information required
- optional, not held advise on investment optional
- optional, not held communicate with banking professionals optional
- still to learn cryptocurrency required
- still to learn financial markets required
- optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held securities optional
- still to learn analyse market financial trends required
- still to learn maintain records of financial transactions required
- optional, not held assess risks of clients' assets optional
- optional, not held forecast economic trends optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
- still to learn actuarial science required
- optional, not held develop investment portfolio optional
- optional, not held make investment decisions optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a financial trader role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 actuarial science study this
- 02 cryptocurrency study this
- 03 offer financial services practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held analyse economic trends skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held economics knowledge
- already held financial jurisdiction knowledge
- already held financial products knowledge
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held obtain financial information skill
- already held operate financial instruments skill
- already held create a financial plan skill
- already held investment analysis knowledge
- already held manage financial risk skill
- already held modern portfolio theory knowledge
- already held monitor stock market skill
- already held review investment portfolios skill
- already held stock market knowledge
- already held trade securities skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on investment optional
- optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
- optional, not held assess risks of clients' assets optional
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held communicate with banking professionals optional
- optional, not held develop investment portfolio optional
- optional, not held forecast economic trends optional
- optional, not held make investment decisions optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
- optional, not held securities optional
15 held skills the financial trader role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse energy market trends skill
- not needed by the target role electricity market knowledge
- not needed by the target role energy conservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role energy market knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- not needed by the target role forecast energy prices skill
- not needed by the target role gas market knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle financial disputes skill
- not needed by the target role maintain financial records skill
- not needed by the target role market analysis knowledge
- not needed by the target role mathematics knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
- not needed by the target role provide support in financial calculation skill
- not needed by the target role review meteorological forecast data skill
- not needed by the target role state estimation knowledge
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn actuarial science required
- still to learn cryptocurrency required
- still to learn financial markets required
- optional, not held fundamental analysis optional
- optional, not held banking activities optional
- optional, not held securities optional
Common questions about this move
Can an energy trader become a financial trader?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An energy trader already covers 46% of what a financial trader is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 8 of which the financial trader role treats as required.
What skills does an energy trader need to become a financial trader?
9 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is actuarial science.
How hard is the move from energy trader to financial trader?
Its learning distance is 54.6 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.