Futures Trader
Snapshot
Futures traders undertake daily trading activities in the futures trading market by buying and selling futures contracts. They speculate on the futures contracts' direction, trying to make a profit by buying futures contracts they foresee to rise in price and sell contracts they foresee to fall in price.
Futures traders are involved in the daily buying and selling of futures contracts across various markets. This role demands a keen understanding of market trends, risk management, and the ability to react swiftly to changing conditions. They speculate on the future price movements of these contracts, seeking to profit from accurately predicting whether prices will rise or fall. This is typically a fast-paced and demanding role requiring constant monitoring and analysis.
- • Analyzing market data and identifying trading opportunities.
- • Executing trades based on market analysis and established strategies.
- • Monitoring positions and adjusting strategies in response to market changes.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Figures cover Business and administration associate professionals — 200 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Denmark, Italy.
Longest-running shortage: Denmark, 2 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person’s chances. It describes a market.
Reported demand · Typical pay · Where it is heading (United States, Ireland, Australia, Malta, United Kingdom)
| Reported demand | Typical pay | Where it is heading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not reported | $78,660 2025-05 | +3.3% 2024–2034 · BLS 2024-2034 |
| Ireland | Not reported | — | +26.5% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| Australia | Assessed as balanced Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 * | — | — |
| Malta | Shortage reported ELA/EURES 2024 * | — | +9.2% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| United Kingdom | Not reported | £51,026 2025-provisional | — |
* Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS)
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Open Government Licence v3.0
Do you guide students, clients or employees? Use this occupation data in your organisation.
Future Outlook for futures trader
The outlook for futures trader reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could futures trader change as AI adoption grows?
Several task areas may shift toward AI-assisted workflows, so reskilling becomes more important.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Several task areas may shift toward AI-assisted workflows, so reskilling becomes more important.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Model-based estimate. Use it as a planning signal, not a guarantee.
Compare this to your profile
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- trade future commodities
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- perform financial risk management in international trade
- analyse economic trends
- analyse financial risk
Tasks most exposed to automation
No single task here is highly automatable yet.
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Financial Services
A typical day as a futures trader
09 09:00 · Morning trade future commodities
10 10:30 · Mid-morning analyse economic trends
12 12:00 · Midday analyse financial risk
14 14:00 · Afternoon analyse market financial trends
15 15:30 · Late afternoon forecast economic trends
17 17:00 · Wrap-up perform financial risk management in international trade
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
What you need to do this work
The skills, knowledge and tools this role calls for — and the traits and rewards that come with it.
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perform financial risk management in international trade
Evaluate and manage the possibility of financial loss and non-payment following international transactions, in the context of foreign exchange market. Apply instruments like letters of credit.
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analyse financial risk
Identify and analyse risks that could impact an organisation or individual financially, such as credit and market risks, and propose solutions to cover against those risks.
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analyse economic trends
Analyse developments in national or international trade, business relations, banking, and developments in public finance and how these factors interact with one another in a given economic context.
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forecast economic trends
Gather and analyse economic data in order to predict economic trends and events.
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analyse market financial trends
Monitor and forecast the tendencies of a financial market to move in a particular direction over time.
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trade future commodities
Buy or sell future commodity contracts on the futures market on your own account or on behalf of a customer or institution in order to make a profit.
commercial law
The legal regulations that govern a specific commercial activity.
actuarial science
The rules of applying mathematical and statistical techniques to determine potential or existing risks in various industries, such as finance or insurance.
international commercial transactions rules
Pre-defined commercial terms used in international commercial transactions which stipulate clear tasks, costs and risks associated with the delivery of goods and services.
- economics
- financial markets
- international trade
- banking activities
- financial forecasting
- financial jurisdiction
- financial products
- international law
- securities
Path to become a futures trader
What it typically takes to qualify: education level, where it is a regulated profession, and where to study.
Short-cycle tertiary education
486 programmes in 23 countries teach the core skills of this job. Plus 54 short courses that build single skills.
A few examples, taught in the language of this page:
Higher Diploma in Business in International Financial Services
South East Technological University · Ireland
These are 6 of 540.
Sources
- 1. Source: Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Education), CRICOS, data.gov.au, CC BY 2.5 AU. Data as at 01/09/2026. Adapted by NexPath.
- 2. Source: South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), All Qualifications and Unit Standards (allqs.saqa.org.za).
- 3. Bron: DUO open onderwijsdata
- 4. Source: Europass Qualification Dataset Register (European Commission)
- 5. Source: Study with New Zealand (studywithnewzealand.govt.nz), Education New Zealand. Copyright in the material is owned by Education New Zealand (All content (c) Education New Zealand). Listings are provided by the education providers, are for information and promotional purposes only, and are not endorsed by Education New Zealand; each provider is responsible for its own content.
- 6. Contains information from MySkillsFuture Course Run accessed on 2026-09-28 from data.gov.sg which is made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0 (https://data.gov.sg/open-data-licence)
Growth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does futures trader fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
For organisations
The data on this page, working for your students, clients and staff.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of education or background is helpful for becoming a futures trader?
Is this a career I can pursue as an employee, or is it mostly freelance?
What are some key personal characteristics that contribute to success as a futures trader?
Is there a shortage of Futures Trader in Europe?
How much does Futures Trader pay in the United States?
Sources: ESCO O*NET ELA/EURES Cedefop BLS Data updated October 3, 2026 About our data