In 1999 I "retired", after 6 months of doing nothing but day/long term trading, I got so incredible bored. I went to three weeks of school at night and got a CDL. I hold degrees in Business and Science, but trucking is very fun and it is like trading, there are niches in most of anything one does in USA, you can be making close to nothing or you can make $150k a year driving a truck. I found it a lot of fun to see USA and get paid/beenies just to sit. I would day trade in mornings for 2-3 hours using wifi and take off after that. Now with so many interesting devices to get data, costs coming down and Siruis radio, you can stay on top of the markets throughout the day.
Truck driving is going to be around only few more years and then self driving vehicles will take over. But nothing wrong doing it part time for now. Sniper should find something right away to earn money in weekends and evening, to keep some income coming in. In the meantime 2-3 months looks around to find what suits and what would not bore him out. Actual trading is boring but trade prep like system development and fine tuning etc. is very creative work. Doing monotonous jobs can be extremely testing for mind for sometime in the beginning. Btw, keep your money and saving tight to the chest. I would not spend $20K a year on education. Self educate on internet. For even 1 certified plumber or electrician out there there is atleast 1 who is not certified. Self education works well without creating financial stress that can be taxing on the family situation. Make use of Youtube videos to learn things. Best!
If you have an econ/finance degree, there might be certificate programs to add on to that for a discounted 'education is BS' experience. I've seen loads of job postings where they want something like 'business analytics' or 'data analysis' or 'big data' something. If you know statistics, I think it will transfer over well. There are lots of online schools that offer a certificate in something like this for 3-4 courses that take 1 year or so, for around $10k. And these jobs are in all industries, not just banks or finance companies. UW: http://www.pce.uw.edu/certificates/data-science.html stanford: http://scpd.stanford.edu/certificates/graduateCertificates.jsp many more, those are the 2 I know of right now free: coursera.org or udacity.com or videos at ocw.mit (many more, this type of free open university course availability is expanding all over right now) I really get a lot from these ones, for my own knowledge and projects. But I think to apply to a job I'd have to show work to prove it, not just a certificate. machine learning book: http://statweb.stanford.edu/~tibs/ElemStatLearn/ I read the first couple of chapters and it is very interesting, I get drawn into it, but unfortunately my math is not strong enough to become proficient or productive with it. I don't know if any of these have actually helped anyone, and I'm assuming keeping the studying active is better than not. If nothing else, hopefully the free ones are interesting and stimulating and will keep you positive and open to new unexpected opportunities. Good luck, I hope it works out.
How the hell did you save six figures if you weren't successful I'm calling bullshit on this sob story
Let me give you some real good advice here before it is too late. A job ant nothing but work and it don't pay $hit. It sounds good now but after having the freedom of a trader you will hate it. If you get a job it will do nothing but motivate you to want to trade again... See music video below that was meant for traders. LOL The politics and BS of the workplace suck. Everything is about you kissing someones ass who most likely know less then you and being their bitch. The workplace is not what it was 10 years ago. Here are some Real Good Ideas if you still have that 100K. 1. Subscribe to http://www.collective2.com/ and manage other peoples trading systems with your money. 2. Buy a established business that has real income, product and service. A small established business will pay a lot more then a job and you are still your own boss. http://www.bizbuysell.com/ 3. Buy a franchise or vending route. You still have the cash and enough time to save your A$$! http://www.bizbuysell.com/ 4. Become a webmaster and buy a couple of small well established Google AdSense sites. They typically sell for about 10 months earnings. Yeah that number is correct. There is risk here and there are a lot of scams so you need to do your homework. www.seobook.com is a place to ask for help in this area. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/lrfhf1Gv4Tw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Sniper, you say you have an Econ degree, and have traded for 10 yrs, that is all good stuff, don't down play either one. I have a history degree and all my work past is in mortgage banking and trading. I understand your frustration, there is something out there in your future that will make you happy. I've been there and I'm looking to do something new too. Safe to guess you do have an inventory of skills, go somewhere quiet , write down things you like to do-work related or not, write down things you liked about trading, and things you didn't. With a little luck you'll see a pattern, use that to find the road to what's next. Hard to say without knowing you; I'd bet you can find something to do you'll enjoy that is sales related. Go on interviews even if you clearly don't want the job, get practice talking to strangers about yourself. I know changing career directions is tough, I'm doing myself now and I'm not sure where the road will lead, but I sure as shit don't like what I'm doing now, I'm using the negative energy to push me to something positive. Best wishes and hang in there.
Crap, just got the email back, "not a match". In this case, the free courses have not helped me. Of course, can't expect employers to trust them much, but at least was hoping for the chance to go in and show work and projects I've done based on what I learned. Oh well, just have to pick up and carry on next week.
I'm sorry that you experienced one of the greatest negatives of pursuing a trading career, and that is 'opportunity loss'. How could you have made better use of the time. It really doesn't do a lot of good to look back with regret. There's no upside in that. Everyone has regrets. Hundreds. Thousands. Welcome to the human race. I second the recommendation that you pursue a specific trade. More general education is a copout and further waste of your time. Try to stay away from anything that is directly related to economic conditions, like building, or that can be shipped overseas, or that can be negatively impacted by regulations. Pick the right path and in a few years you'll be doing much better than the average retail trader, and you'll have a much more secure future. Move on with a smile, and good luck.
Therein lies the key. The best thing a young person could do today is not an education, but to find a well-paid job, most likely a trade, work his ass off for 4-5 years, save as much as possible, then collect rent / dividends with the saved money. You could easily live more comfortably than the one who chose to get an education, got heavily in debt and is now stuck at starbucks. In the future, ownership of property will be key to survival, not an education or job.