Futures trader to foreign exchange trader
A futures trader already meets 69% of what the foreign exchange trader role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
31.3/ 100
1 How much of what a foreign exchange trader is expected to do is already part of a futures 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 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 9 of its required skills as things a futures trader already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse economic trends
- analyse financial risk
- analyse market financial trends
- commercial law
- economics
- financial jurisdiction
What stands in the way is 4 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 20 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 futures trader background worth leading with.
- already held operate financial instruments management skills
- already held trade securities communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held forecast economic trends information skills
- already held international trade business, administration and law
- already held analyse economic trends information skills
- already held commercial law business, administration and law
All 20 carried skills, including the 9 the foreign exchange trader role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 9 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 foreign valuta required
- optional, not held accounting optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
- still to learn manage financial risk required
- optional, not held monitor stock market optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
- still to learn trade foreign currencies required
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- still to learn handle financial transactions required
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 foreign valuta study this
- 02 trade foreign currencies practise this
- 03 handle financial transactions 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 20 skills that carry over
- already held analyse economic trends skill
- already held analyse financial risk skill
- already held analyse market financial trends skill
- already held commercial law knowledge
- already held economics knowledge
- already held financial jurisdiction knowledge
- already held financial markets knowledge
- already held forecast economic trends skill
- already held perform financial risk management in international trade skill
- already held actuarial science knowledge
- already held banking activities knowledge
- already held financial products knowledge
- already held international commercial transactions rules knowledge
- already held international trade knowledge
- already held maintain records of financial transactions skill
- already held operate financial instruments skill
- already held securities knowledge
- already held statistics knowledge
- already held trace financial transactions skill
- already held trade securities skill
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held accounting optional
- optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
- optional, not held monitor stock market optional
- optional, not held perform stock valuation optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
5 held skills the foreign exchange trader role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role financial forecasting knowledge
- not needed by the target role international law knowledge
- not needed by the target role negotiate sale of commodities skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate sales contracts skill
- not needed by the target role trade future commodities skill
3 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 foreign valuta required
- optional, not held accounting optional
- optional, not held stock market optional
Common questions about this move
Can a futures trader become a foreign exchange trader?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A futures trader already covers 69% of what a foreign exchange trader is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 9 of which the foreign exchange trader role treats as required.
What skills does a futures trader need to become a foreign exchange trader?
4 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by business, administration and law. The single most important is foreign valuta.
How hard is the move from futures trader to foreign exchange trader?
Its learning distance is 31.3 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.