Vendors' virtues

When working for a vendor is a good idea...

MiFID preparations are helping drive demand, as is spending on trading technology - analyst firm Tabb Group reports that annual spending on trading technology will increase from US$860m in 2006 to more than US$1.3bn in 2010 in the US alone.

Demand is most perky at the junior end, with vacancies for people with hands-on programming experience in Java, C# and .NET, says Mike Thompson, a principal at recruitment firm Druid IB. "There is a shortage of good junior people, much more so than for mid-ranking project managers or programme leaders," he says. "The other opportunities are at the top of the pile, for seasoned technical architects."

Thompson says there are many advantages to working for a software house - if only for a couple of years. "You will get exposure to many more clients, products and projects, and software houses will tend to have more structured promotion schemes, whereas in banks you're often stuck waiting for someone to die."

Rob Lycett, a consultant with City recruitment specialist Astbury Marsden, agrees: "We're definitely seeing an increasing number of job openings in software houses, as part of the general increased investment in IT." Software houses can offer a less stressful working environment than banks, he adds, with shorter working hours and a better work/life balance.

The downside of working for a vendor? "The salaries may compare on a basic level, but you won't get any sort of bonus," Thompson says. However, in the long term, it still could be worth it: "If you work in a software house for three years then return to a bank, you'll return to a higher position than you would have achieved by staying put," Thompson argues.