Without a system or proven technique/strategy, you should just quit right now. The market moves with such randomness at times, you'll just get chopped to pieces.
I disagree with you. You are here to play it safe for yourself without even adding value by naming the firm so others can avoid in the future. On a very basic level why are you expecting or hoping others to help and make a leap of faith by outing themselves saying they have been in the same situation if you are not even willing to name the firm? Makes zero sense other than you being scared for the wrong reasons. As Maverick said, what they think of you makes zero impact on the legal situation and arbitration outcome.
Lol, guys like OP will be eaten alive in Downtown Manhattan. One day the firm was about to take him out, the other day "these guys went above and beyond for me." Looks like former "Engineering Directors" can be influenced at will.
I give you 2 more months before you blow out. Enjoy the ride while it lasts and then back to "Engineering Director" and your cozy corporate environment where bullshit really does work.
You cannot take "all thoughts and emotions out of the equation" when you daytrade equities, unless you can write code and use an algo program, such as what some of the hedge funds use to buy and sell stocks. However, the algo is only as good as the programmer, so the program has to adapt to a dynamic market, and even hedge funds close shop, so there are no guarantees even with an automatic strategy that attempts to take "thoughts and emotions" out of the equation. If you are trading stocks and jumping around to find the next "runner" of the day, then you run a high probability of blowing up the account in commissions alone. Look into trading futures once your lock up expires, and limit yourself to watching just a few products to increase the odds of success, especially if you're going to daytrade.