One of my favorite movies is Trading Places. I was introduced to the movie by my Econ 101 professor when he played a clip in class, and it still amazes me how much fun it is to learn about the world of high finance and commodities markets from Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. These days it seems that entire markets are as volatile as the concentrated frozen orange juice market was in the movie, but that just makes things more interesting. Trying to play the markets right now might be fun, but there aren’t a ton of companies in the financial industry hiring right now, and you don’t need that stress anyway. If you’d still like a front row view of the daily excitement that is capitalism, then you should consider a job with the CME Group, “a combined entity formed by the 2007 merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).” Instead of playing the market, you can be the market.

Encouraging Capitalism

My one complaint about CME Group’s website is that their About page doesn’t do a very good job of describing what they actually do. We had to do a little digging to make sure that we were accurately portraying the CME Group’s business, so we went to Wikipedia and the Chicago Tribune for answers (and you should too). First and foremost, CME Group is a financial exchange. They allow trading of financial instruments such as interest rates, equities, currencies, and commodities. This was originally done with the “open outcry method,” which is the complete madness that you’ve probably seen portrayed in movies (like Trading Places). This method is in the process of being replaced by CME Globex, which is CME Group’s proprietary electronic trading platform. With that change has come a new focus on technology as a key driver of CME Group’s business.

Working in the Pits? Wearing Funny Clothes? Waving Your Hands Like a Lunatic?

Traditionally traders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have worked in the “pits,” worn funny looking jackets to identify their roles, and used intricate hand signals to communicate. All of these traditions are, sadly, on their way out, as CME Group has moved most of their trading to an online system. If you’ve always wanted to wear a funny jacket to work, you’re going to have to look for a job as a popcorn salesman, but if you want to learn more about how markets work, CME Group is the place for you.

The CME Group’s Careers site and Job Listings are both top notch. They’re easy to navigate, user-friendly, and information rich. That’s why we weren’t surprised to read that CME Group has been named the 2007 Winner of the Best and Brightest Places to Work for in Chicago and one of the Best Places to Work in IT for a third straight year. We easily found a number of entry level or near entry level opportunities on their site, including Exchange Fee Analyst, General Investigator, Market Reporter (part-time), Business Systems Analyst, Business Analyst, Data Editor – Credit Market Analysis (New York, NY), and Quality Assurance Tester. This is just a sampling of the types of jobs that CME Group has to offer. All of the jobs are based out of Chicago unless otherwise noted, and you can find out how to apply by visiting the individual job descriptions (some have an online application and others require e-mail).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• CMEGroup.com
• Careers at CME Group
• Job Openings at CME Group
• About CME Group
• A Timeline of CME Group Accomplishments
• CME Group Magazine
• Video on Why to Work for CME Group
• The CME Group Team
• Interactive Tour of CME Group’s Website
• CME Group’s Wikipedia Entry

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One response to “CME Group”

1. Jori says:

   August 16, 2010 at 9:57 am

   Thanks for the great resource Wally! I recently began working at the CME Group and having a resource like yours available, prior to accepting a position, is integral to the “job hunt.” Keep up the excellent work.

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