The forex markets can be exciting and lucrative for trading if you thoroughly understand how to buy and sell currencies. If you’re drawn to this area, you might even want to make it your career.
There are other career opportunities in the forex, though. Forex brokerages and forex regulators need a variety of skilled professionals to help keep the currency markets ticking.
Key Takeaways
- The foreign exchange, or forex, market is the world’s largest asset marketplace by trading volume and liquidity and is open 24/7 worldwide.
- Trading on the forex is risky and requires a high degree of skill, discipline, and training. No formal training or degree is required.
- In addition to trading, there are jobs in market research, account management, regulation, and software development.
Working in the Forex
Forex markets are open 24 hours a day, five days a week. The jobs are fast-paced and involve long days and strange work hours.
They require knowledge of and compliance with laws and regulations governing financial accounts and transactions. Some jobs require candidates to have passed one or more exams, such as the Series 3, Series7, Series 34, or Series 63 exams administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
If you are eligible to work in a foreign country, a career in forex can bring the added excitement of living abroad. No matter where you work, knowing a foreign language is helpful. The most sought-after language skills are in German, French, Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese, and Japanese,
There are at least five professional jobs associated with the forex market.
1. Forex Market Analyst/Currency Researcher/Currency Strategist
A forex market analyst, also called a currency researcher or currency strategist, works for a forex brokerage conducting research and analysis and writing daily market commentary about the economic and political issues that may currently affect currency values.
These professionals use technical, fundamental, and quantitative analysis to inform their opinions and must be able to produce high-quality content very quickly to keep up with the fast pace of the forex market. Both individual and institutional traders use this news and analysis to inform their trading decisions.
An analyst might also conduct educational seminars and webinars to help clients and potential clients get more comfortable with forex trading.
Analysts also work to establish a media presence to become a trusted source of forex information and promote their employers. Thus, there is a large marketing component to being a forex analyst.
Qualifications
An analyst should have a bachelor’s degree in economics, finance, or a similar area.
Candidates may also be expected to have at least one year of experience working in the financial markets as a trader or analyst and be an active forex trader.
Communication and presentation skills are desirable in any job but are particularly important for an analyst.
Analysts must also be well-versed in economics, international finance, and international politics.
2. Forex Account Manager/Professional Trader/Institutional Trader
If you have been consistently successful trading forex on your own, you may have what it takes to become a professional forex trader. Currency mutual funds and hedge funds that deal in forex trading need account managers and forex traders to make buy and sell decisions.
Institutional investors such as banks, multinational corporations, and central banks that need to hedge against foreign currency value fluctuations also hire forex traders.
Some account managers even manage individual accounts, making trade decisions and executing trades based on the goals and risk tolerance of their clients.
It’s important to note that these positions have very high stakes. Account managers are responsible for large amounts of money, and their professional reputations and those of their employers rely on how well they handle those funds.
They are expected to meet profit targets while working with an appropriate level of risk.
Qualifications
These jobs may require experience with trading platforms, work experience in finance, and a bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, or business.
Institutional traders may not only need to be effective traders in currencies but also in commodities, options, derivatives, and other financial instruments.
3. Forex Industry Regulator
The forex market is subject to regulation from both public and private-sector agencies in many countries.
In the U.S., the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is the government agency with jurisdiction over the forex. An industry group, the National Futures Association (NFA), sets regulation standards and screens forex dealer members.
CFTC Qualifications
The CFTC hires attorneys, auditors, economists, futures trading specialists/investigators, and management professionals.
Auditors ensure compliance with CFTC regulations and must have at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting, though a master’s degree and a certified public accountant (CPA) designation are preferred.
Economists analyze the economic impacts of CFTC rules. Candidates must have at least a bachelor’s degree in economics.
Futures trading specialists/investigators perform oversight and investigate alleged fraud, market manipulation, and trade practice violations. Work experience and educational requirements vary by position.
CFTC jobs are located in Washington, DC, Chicago, Kansas City, and New York, and require U.S. citizenship and a background check.
The CFTC also provides consumer education and fraud alerts to the public. Since the CFTC oversees the entire commodity futures and options markets in the U.S., it is necessary to have an understanding of not just forex, but all aspects of these markets.
About the NFA
Like the CFTC, the NFA oversees the broader futures and commodities markets. Unlike the CFTC, it is a private-sector self-regulatory organization authorized by Congress.
The NFA’s mission is to maintain market integrity, fight fraud and abuse, and resolve disputes through arbitration. It also protects and educates investors and helps them to research brokers (including forex brokers) online.
Most NFA jobs are located in New York, but some are in Chicago.
International Regulator Jobs
Internationally, a regulator could work for any of the following agencies:
- Financial Conduct Authority (FSA) in the U.K.
- Financial Services Agency (FSA) in Japan
- Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia
4. Forex Exchange Operations, Trade Audit Associate, and Exchange Operations Manager
These are basically high-level customer service jobs requiring FX knowledge for back-office work at Forex brokerages.
The job of an exchange operations associate includes processing new customer accounts, verifying customer identities as required by federal regulations, processing customer withdrawals, transfers and deposits, and providing customer service.
The job usually requires a bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or business, problem-solving and analytical skills, and an understanding of financial markets and instruments, especially the forex. It may also require previous brokerage experience.
A related position is a trade audit associate, which involves working with customers to resolve trade-related disputes. Trade audit associates must be good with people and able to work quickly and think on their feet to solve problems.
Unsurprisingly, they must also thoroughly understand forex trading and the company’s trading platform.
An exchange operations manager has more experience and greater responsibilities than an exchange operations associate. They execute, fund, settle, and reconcile forex transactions.
The job may require familiarity with forex-related software, such as the widely-used Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system.
5. Forex Software Developer
Software quality is a major differentiator for forex brokerages and a key to the company’s success. Software developers are employed by forex brokerages to create proprietary trading platforms for their users. The platforms allow users to access currency pricing data, use charting and indicators to analyze potential trades, and trade forex online.
Qualifications include a bachelor’s in computer science, computer engineering, or a similar degree; operating system knowledge such as UNIX, Linux, and/or Solaris; knowledge of programming languages such as Javascript, Perl, SQL, Python, and/or Ruby; and an understanding in many other technical areas, including back-end frameworks, front-end frameworks, databases, and web servers.
Software developers may not be required to have financial, trading, or forex knowledge to work for a forex brokerage, but knowledge in this area will be a major advantage.
Other positions in forex that require computer-driven experience include user-experience designers, web developers, network and systems administrators, and support technicians.
What Are Some Jobs in the Forex That Don’t Involve Trading?
In addition to the specialized jobs described above, forex brokerages, like all companies, need human resources personnel, accountants, security experts, and other professionals to keep the business humming.
If you’re interested in a career in forex but don’t yet have the required background or experience for a technical position, consider getting your feet wet in a general business position.
Is Forex Trading a Good Career?
Forex trading can be a good career if you have realistic expectations and a sound trading strategy, including a system in place to prevent catastrophic losses.
What Are the Dangers of Forex Trading?
The most common danger when trading forex is overleveraging a position and not accepting a loss until it has become significant.
Many traders use a 1/1.5 rule. They will sell any position that drops 1%, and they will take profits on any position that has delivered a gain of 1.5%.
If a forex trader is 50% successful in their trades, this strategy can be quite profitable. However, it requires strict adherence to trading strategies.
The Bottom Line
Having a career in the foreign exchange market doesn’t necessarily mean being a trader. You can analyze financials, work for a regulator, or even develop the trading software brokers use.
Those who do trade need to develop a sound strategy for how they will trade, when they will book gains, and when they will sell at a loss.
