No I want more but that just sounded really grim, but this is why I'm wondering about trading to make a lot more money. Thanks for the advice though.
Even if you have a 140 IQ, are an expert programmer with a PhD in statistics, the trading learning curve could still be extremely tough and could take several years. Most probably a smoother path to success: work in accountancy for 3+ years, enjoy life, save, learn to trade on the side and build up a track record. Good luck.
I find it rather rather odd that certain people fall out of bed one day and say to themselves "I want to be a trader!". It is not a profession that you select. More likely, the profession selects you. There is an incredibly high wash out rate. Anybody who has worked in an institutional setting has seen tons of people "move on". Those who have "made it" tend to become more conservative allocators of capital and refuse to admit to anybody (except maybe themselves) that they may have just experienced a string of good luck. Additionally, these guys know that just 15-20 years ago, the guys who got into trading where the ones who couldn't get into institutional sales or research. In any case, most end up in operations or IT after washing out. So please if you have a child or young relative say that he wants to be a trader, kick him in the nuts and tell him to become a lawyer.
I've considered it for a while now, along with other careers in finance like IB and PE so I'm not totally clueless about it.
I am 60 and I'm here to tell you that life is *not* over at 30, or even at 60. I hope to be as lucky as my dad, who was still running his own business at 90. However, dbphoenix and JTrades are dispensing good advice. You need some experience and a backup plan. Get some kind of job, if for no other reason, to prove to yourself that that you "don't want to be lazy any more" (I have my doubts) and to allow you to save some money which you may use to trade. You don't need a high-powered job that eats up all your time, nor are you likely to get one with crummy grades. The hours may be better if you choose something modest, thereby allowing you to trade when you are not at work. Maybe go to work for a small company, eventually work your way up to controller if you want. When you get your trading figured out and have proven to yourself that you can make money through thick and thin, you can always quit. However, if your trading does not immediately work out, and you have nothing to show for the next few years on your resume, your prospects for employment will be even more reduced.
You said you were from a small school with poor grades. I would say forget IB or PE. I was blessed with good looks, but you don't see me going off to Hollywood. But if your really determined to be in high finance, you will ship off to live in a rat hole in NJ. Work as a scrub in ops to learn the business and build credentials from there. ( BTW, this is probably 80% of the Baruch students.) My cousin was an Auditor for the back office when he started and we were laughing when he majored in Management. He ended up managing one of the biggest bond funds in the country. Your late in the game. People who get those jobs usually know what they are pursuing while in high school and advised by relatives who are already in the business. Making all the right moves along the way. These are the usually the 1%-ers.
I know the path, top school - few years in IB - MBA - then PE, but there are a lot of small PE boutiques that make a lot of money (I've had CEOs of said boutiques reply to my emails) so I'm not expecting Blackstone or Goldman but who knows.
Of course it's not over at 30. But it's far more difficult to get started today than it used to be. And if one isn't on the path by 30, he faces increasing competition from those younger, particularly if they have more drive. There are a lot of people out there who are eager to work for practically nothing just to get the experience and, if they're lucky, the contacts. They are the competition.
It wasn't easy to get started 40 years ago, either. It was never easy, and it still isn't, but I constantly hear its-not-like-it-used-to-be as an excuse. If that were true, then nobody these days would ever "make it." But some do: those who are determined and ambitious (and fortunate enough to be of sound mind and body). No, we did not all have rich parents or go to Harvard or know important people. No, we did not all see the path clearly before we started, or even in the middle sometimes. Yes, it seemed impossible at times, but no, it's not.