23-Year-Old Lauren Simmons is the Youngest and only Female full-time Trader at the New York Stock Exchange

23-year-old Lauren Simmons is a graduate of Genetics with a minor in Statistics, and has become the youngest and the only female full-time trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Lauren described her experience as “surreal” to CNBC, adding that when she tells people what she does for a living, “they are always surprised.”

Lauren works as an equity trader for Rosenblatt Securities, despite her educational background.

Her plan had been to pursue a career in the medical field, but after discovering it wasn’t for her, she started applying to positions in finance.

Before her employment was made permanent, Lauren said she had a month to take the exam all floor brokers must pass, the Series 19, and, she said:

When I tell you a lot of people did not think I was going to pass, they really did not think I was going to pass.

But she passed! And now, she’s breaking boundaries.

Watch her tell her story below:

This 23-year-old is both the youngest and the only full-time female equity trader at the New York Stock Exchange. https://t.co/ckKHOqT6JG pic.twitter.com/ATkxviC9Fj

— CNBC (@CNBC) June 19, 2018