Non-finance backgrounds
Can You Get Into Sales and Trading Without a Finance Degree?
Yes. I studied History and Politics at UCL, with no finance degree and no family in the industry, and I am now a graduate on a sales and trading desk. This is what banks look for and how to show it.
What banks actually screen for
Most UK banks do not require a finance or economics degree for markets roles. Eligibility pages tend to ask for any degree subject, a minimum classification (often a 2:1, predicted or achieved), and the right to work in the UK. Check each programme's page, because the requirements differ and change.
What they test is whether you can do the job: numeracy, understanding of markets, communication, and how you cope with pressure. A finance degree is a shortcut for showing some of that. Without one, you supply the evidence another way.
Where a non-finance degree helps
Humanities and social science degrees train you to build an argument from evidence, write clearly against a deadline, and take a position and defend it. A trade pitch is the same exercise: take a position, support it with evidence and deal with the counterargument, all in a couple of minutes. Politics and history also feed straight into macro views, since elections, trade policy and geopolitics move currencies and interest rates.
Where you need to close the gap
Numeracy comes first. Banks test it with timed online tests and mental maths in interviews. If your degree has no quantitative content, practise the test formats until they feel familiar. If you took maths at A-level, say so. If you did not, show numeracy another way, through a quantitative module, an online course or work experience.
Next is market knowledge. Learn how bonds are priced, what drives currencies, how central banks set rates and how basic equity valuation works. That is a few weeks of focused work, and the interview questions guide shows the areas you will be tested on.
Last is evidence of interest. Something you have done counts for much more than something you say you care about: a markets society, a personal investing account or a paper portfolio, a trading simulation, a weekly note on what moved, or conversations with people on desks.
How to explain your degree in an interview
Prepare a two-sentence answer covering why you chose your subject and what it gave you that is relevant to the desk. Then back it up in the same answer with your evidence of numeracy and market interest. Do not apologise for the degree. Opening with "I know I don't have a finance background, but" turns it into a weakness before the interviewer has raised it.
Do not overclaim either. Interviewers spot buzzwords quickly, and if you mention duration or carry, expect a follow-up on it.
Common mistakes
- Treating the degree as something to hide.
- Learning definitions without understanding them. The second question is always the one that catches people out.
- Skipping the online tests. They are the first filter, and they take no account of your degree.
- Starting late. Applicants without a finance background need more time to build market knowledge, so start before applications open.
A rough plan for the first month
- Week one: learn what the job is. Module 1 of the course is free, and the guide to sales and trading covers the basics.
- Week two: learn bond basics and start a daily reading habit, with two lines a day on what moved and why.
- Week three: do timed numerical tests every day, and learn the main drivers of FX and central bank policy.
- Week four: draft your answers to why sales and trading and why this bank, update your CV, and speak to two people who work on desks.
Adjust the order to fit your weak spots. The application module of the course covers how to position a non-traditional degree, along with CVs, cover letters and networking.
For the full sequence of stages and dates, see the UK route into sales and trading.
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