A Top Priority: Personal Mentor (s). Try to develop personal relationships with a traders who win right now and have a track record. This does not mean buying advice from the many scam/used to win/never won gurus-for-hire. _____ What I am saying can be done alongside most other good ideas.
100k is a ridiculous salary for a 26 year old without a degree. Doesnt indicate tough working conditions.
"Trainee traders" ... occasionally - not at the moment. Mostly recent graduates, typically aged around 23, maybe a little older. The general policy is that we strongly prefer what we see as "more academically rigorous" (and less "vocationally intended/targeted") degrees, almost regardless of precise subject. Just our perspective, and probably based on previous experiences, I'd guess. I started as a "trader" rather than as a "trainee trader" myself, already having quite a bit of experience under my belt. (My first degree was in HPS - "history & philosophy of science".) I haven't been here long enough to comment in any more detail than that and probably wouldn't be allowed to, anyway.