

Ask HN: Startup CEO or algorithmic trader, which has more money? - justtemp

For someone with a degree in CS: Is a startup CEO more likely to make more money? Or is an algorithmic trader more likely to make more money?<p>(http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.quora.com&#x2F;For-someone-with-a-degree-in-CS-Is-a-startup-CEO-more-likely-to-make-more-money-Or-is-an-algorithmic-trader-more-likely-to-make-more-money?share=1)
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SEJeff
The answer is very much "it depends". I work in the electronic trading
industry and have for ~6.5 years.

If your math skills are very good and you want to work as hard as you would as
a CEO in an early stage startup, your pretty much guaranteed to make a LOT
more money in finance. Ditto if your solely a quant and not a trader or a
quant/trader.

That being said, if your startup makes a glorified text messaging program that
Facebook buys for a cool billion $$$, you'll be sitting pretty. Statistically,
you're much more likely to succeed and make a lot of money in finance. Each
company is different, but many firms let traders keep 3-6% of their PnL as end
of year bonuses. Extremely good compensation is the name of the game in
finance, but in a startup it is like playing roulette. Your wins can be a lot
bigger, but so can your losses.

If it was me, I'd go finance, but I'm a technologist at heart and absolutely
love the tech I'm able to work on with the tech budget of a solid financial
firm.

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johndolan
Do you mind expanding on what exactly you do?(in an anonymous fashion if
necessary) As someone currently looking for a career this sounds intriguing.

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coralreef
Most startups fail. Therefore the average earnings of a startup founder is
near zero.

