Financial markets back office administrator to foreign exchange trader
A financial markets back office administrator already meets 58% of what the foreign exchange trader role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
39.5/ 100
1 How much of what a foreign exchange trader is expected to do is already part of a financial markets back office administrator’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 foreign exchange trader role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A foreign exchange trader role treats 7 of its required skills as things a financial markets back office administrator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- commercial law
- economics
- financial jurisdiction
- financial markets
- foreign valuta
- handle financial transactions
What stands in the way is 6 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 18 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A foreign exchange trader role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a financial markets back office administrator background worth leading with.
- already held trade foreign currencies communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held foreign valuta business, administration and law
- already held trade securities communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held stock market business, administration and law
- already held commercial law business, administration and law
- already held maintain records of financial transactions information skills
All 18 carried skills, including the 7 the foreign exchange trader role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 11 missing skills fall into 4 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 analyse economic trends required
- still to learn analyse financial risk required
- still to learn analyse market financial trends required
- still to learn forecast economic trends required
- still to learn manage financial risk required
- still to learn perform financial risk management in international trade required
- optional, not held monitor stock market optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
- optional, not held international trade optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held operate financial instruments optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a foreign exchange trader role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 analyse economic trends practise this
- 02 analyse financial risk practise this
- 03 analyse market financial trends 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 18 skills that carry over
- already held commercial law knowledge
- already held economics knowledge
- already held financial jurisdiction knowledge
- already held financial markets knowledge
- already held foreign valuta knowledge
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held trade foreign currencies skill
- already held accounting knowledge
- already held actuarial science knowledge
- already held banking activities knowledge
- already held financial products knowledge
- already held international commercial transactions rules knowledge
- already held maintain records of financial transactions skill
- already held securities knowledge
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held stock market knowledge
- already held trace financial transactions skill
- already held trade securities skill
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held international trade optional
- optional, not held monitor stock market optional
- optional, not held operate financial instruments optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
11 held skills the foreign exchange trader role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role communicate with banking professionals skill
- not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role handle paperwork skill
- not needed by the target role manage administrative systems skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role manage securities trading skill
- not needed by the target role office administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role office software knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform clerical duties skill
- not needed by the target role provide financial product information skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held international trade optional
Other moves recorded from financial markets back office administrator
- foreign exchange cashier 71% covered · adjacent
- securities underwriter 54% covered · moderate
- foreign exchange broker 53% covered · moderate
- securities broker 50% covered · moderate
Full index of moves from financial markets back office administrator
Common questions about this move
Can a financial markets back office administrator become a foreign exchange trader?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A financial markets back office administrator already covers 58% of what a foreign exchange trader is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 7 of which the foreign exchange trader role treats as required.
What skills does a financial markets back office administrator need to become a foreign exchange trader?
6 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is analyse economic trends.
How hard is the move from financial markets back office administrator to foreign exchange trader?
Its learning distance is 39.5 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.