If presented with an entry level (not completely entry, risk manager or trader, not assistant per se) opprotunity to either, trade plain vanilla derivatives strictly (prop trading, market making) or manage the entire company's plain vanilla derivatives risks (catastrophic event management, overall book balancing), which would provide for the most growth potential in the future?

Up side of the trading position sounds potentially better. Down side of the trading job: You take the risk management job.

would you rather be the goalie or the striker?

i would think very carefully about what kind of trading operationwould have a first timer in charge of managing anything, let alonethe "entire company's plain vanilla derivatives risks". Risk managementis all about understanding risk: something that takes experience.So given that they seem to be a bit sloppy on the risk side, this lookslike an ideal place to start trading!

Quote Originally posted by:Man: If presented with an entry level (not completely entry, risk manager or trader, not assistant per se) opprotunity to either, trade plain vanilla derivatives strictly (prop trading, market making) or manage the entire company's plain vanilla derivatives risks (catastrophic event management, overall book balancing), which would provide for the most growth potential in the future? ...this really sounds like a "boxer or brief?"-type question: entirely dependant upon your own preferences......if you like the idea of minimizing a company's FX/interest-rate/event risks then take the portfolio gig. If you see those same FX/interest-rate/event risks as golden opportunities to make money, take the prop gig......but please don't confuse the two: once-upon-a-time, Dell's stock took a shellacking (and a couple of folks were invited to leave) when it came out that its Finance group was speculating in the FX markets, rather than hedging risk.......not to sterreotype or anything, but the company risk position sounds more suitable to a CPA/CFO/Accountancy-type (more interested in bank-reconciliations and statements-generation), with the prop trader job appealing to a different animal altogether...