Who are the floor traders at the NYSE and how do they get their job?

Robbo_op_98: Who are the floor traders at the NYSE and how do they get their job?
I often wondered how the floor traders on Wall Street get thier position. Are the representatives of major investment companies? Are they hired by the New York Stock Exchange? Who are these people? Any help would be great.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Felix_FINA4242
Floor traders are indeed representatives of major investment companies. The right to directly trade shares on the exchange is conferred upon owners of the 1366 “seats”. The term comes from the fact that up until the 1870s NYSE members sat in chairs to trade; this system was eliminated long ago. In 1868, the number of seats was fixed at 533, and this number was increased several times over the years. In 1953, the exchange stopped at 1366 seats. These seats are a sought-after commodity as they confer the ability to directly trade stock on the NYSE. Seat prices have varied widely over the years, generally falling during recessions and rising during economic expansions. The most expensive inflation-adjusted seat was sold in 1929 for $ 625,000, which, today, would be over six million dollars. In recent times, seats have sold for as high as $ 4 million in the late 1990s and $ 1 million in 2001. In 2005, seat prices shot up to $ 3.25 million as the exchange was set to merge with Archipelago and become a for-profit, publicly traded company. Seat owners received $ 500,000 cash per seat and 77,000 shares of the newly formed corporation. The NYSE now sells one-year licenses to trade directly on the exchange.