Now i feel the last 5 months are different from the past few years i have experienced. Many rules of the game have changed.

* Now just about any financial system pays almost as high as front office trading systems
* Now no-financial-experience is ok and can win big interviews and high contract rates
* Now contractors are significantly higher paid than many full time VP jobs
* Now web java skills fetch about the same rate as core-java
* Now wall street interview questions are not a whole lot tougher than other sectors in US

Nevertheless, I’m unconvinced. I’d still want to focus on front office, multi-threading systems, with some exposure to analytics.

2 years in Commission processing is less valuable than 2 years in front-office trading; x years experience in threading is more valuable than x years with … XML or Cognos or Perl or …. I keep a mental list of high-value skills. I will try to stay close to these hot areas. “Hot” is different from “mainstream”

Even though some back office positions may pay more, I need to keep a long term view and try to stay in front office.

Even though some hedge funds may pay more, I will stay with big reputable banks. When job market declines, I need the big names to strengthen my resume.