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Can anyone give me a rough guide for how much a trader with about 2-3 years experience may earn in Europe?For example, someone at a trading firm like Optiver, or a hedge fund like Vega?

basic is between 50K and 100K bonus usually between 4% and 8% of PnL.obviously some markets dish out more than others

Well, Optiver say on their website that they prefer people without previous work experience (!!?), and I believe that 4-8% PnL bonus for 2-3 years work experience are unjustified, or at least very rich. A profit threshold is not unusual at all. If you are single, 50K is pretty fine to survive in London (and 75K Euro should do it in Amsterdam) if you get a nice unlimited upside and a great trading environment. People here do not like job-hopping much, so it pays off to chose carefully. The more traditional houses (e.g. banks) might also reward the quality of your work experience and the degree you have. If both suit your prospective employer, I guess 60-70K would be fair value for the less exotic markets.I posted a thread a couple of weeks ago about London prop shops. Refco just closed their graduate admissions yesterday, but always take on experienced guys. Other names hiring are Futex, League Traders, and MET Traders. Schneider, Mako and London Capital Group might take on experienced prop traders. In these companies, you "earn" between -1000 and +1000 per month (depending on whether you have to pay commissions etc.) and work your way up the ladder from say 1 lot to infinite lots and share 50:50 until the contract period expires, you buy your own island, or go bust. They may require you to undergo a training period of 3-6 months without actual income, or a tiny compensation. These opportunities exist aplenty in Gibraltar, Dublin, and other business-friendly places as well.