How's your stochastic calculus? If it’s up to scratch – or at least you don’t have to hit Wikipedia to know what on Earth it is – you’re over the first hurdle. Market analysts need to be mathematically literate; many have degrees in finance or maths, although this is not always the case. They also need professional training, diligence and good judgment, says Nitin Mehta, a managing director of the CFA Institute.

“A typical job [for a market analyst] is to understand the financial markets and what makes them move,” he says. “To do this you need a very good framework in your mind of why they move. That means a good understanding of finance, economics and even psychology.” Most investment houses enrol their graduate trainee market analysts in the CFA or another professional qualification programme to build this framework.

Ryan Kneale, a market analyst at betsfortraders.com, a financial betting business, says that much of his work is computerised (“All the prices are driven using algorithms that we developed”) but that he and his colleagues still need to use their own knowledge and judgment. “We need to have some idea of how volatile the market is going to be,” he says. “We look at the options market and the news. We also have to hedge risk, and part of my role is working out the most risk-efficient and financially efficient way to do it.”

It’s a high-pressure job in that any mistakes made by a market analyst are obvious and potentially expensive – they will affect the company’s profits and quite probably your own bonus as well. Mehta says that it can be stressful. “The markets are constantly moving, just waves and waves of volatility. There’s a lot going on and trying to keep on top of it can be stressful.” Resilience is an important personal characteristic, as is the ability to learn from mistakes.

Graduates can expect to start on a salary around £35,000 and, if they’re any good, could be earning three times that once they have some decent experience. Very large bonuses boost the take-home package significantly. www.cfainstitute.org

Times Recommends

• Inspirational leadership
• How to get a new job
• The reluctant CEO