HI newwurldmn, Sorry I didn't get back sooner. It helps to know of your and your friends' experiences. The problem is that I am at a bank that is in really bad shape, so pay is pretty poor compared to the rest of the street. If my strategy works ok (not great, not bad), my pay will be about the same. I also hate my job and have been considering changing careers or moving to a different area of the bank before I even stumbled on this strategy. I used to work in the middle/back office where pay was worse but I enjoyed life a lot more. I think if this strat fails it should be pretty easy to find another job in middle/back office functions. I haven't said this in the thread due to privacy concerns, so please respect that. Thanks.
I was an ex-bank trader who went on his own. I know several who did as well. My income is higher today than at the bank, largely due to the success of a small business I bought. Everyone else I know did worse on their own. Many went back or are trying to start hedgefunds (unsuccessfully). The annuity at the bank is good. It's tough to beat the bonuses achieved from interacting with customer flow and trading a little prop on the side.
