ie., are there firms out there that will take novice traders with very little trading knowledge/experience and train them with the idea that the trader will work for them? I only ask because i have been applying to place like SMB, JC, CY etc., and none of them do that sort of thing. Instead I got reffered to affinity trading group and their educational programs run upto 12k. what do you all reccommend?
It seems there are quite a few now that are doing it for around the £3500 mark. However you could spend that on the training and still not be able to make money, in fact that is by far the most likely scenario. Amplify Trading are one, I have also seen others advertising on Trade2win.com but dont recall their names. Bright Trading also offer some sort of deal but I never really looked into it too deeply. These companies are mostly doing the training remotely via hotcomm etc, the idea is that you will trade company funds but only if you are successful, if youre not you'll be dropped at the end of the training period.
another eager beaver left twisting in the wind... pity. find a mentor. the only way to learn is from someone better than you, and doing whatever is necessary on your own to learn the basics. then practice. kaching.com, the cnbc trading contest, any broker with demo software, try spot forex for $200 on a mini account, there are a number of possible ways to learn by practice, even if the money isn't real, you're still getting the experience and learning by trial and error. but going to a prop shop, no. none of these prop shops have any kind of training programs. their business models are based on commission income, not profitability, which in my opinion is stupidity, which is why there are so few successful places to trade. i've tried myself to take on "students" and charge them a consulting fee, but again, it ends up not being worth my time to teach them, or they end up waffling on some lame excuse or personal problem that disctracts them from what should be their only goal. so i guess i don't have a suggestion, other than, learn it all on your own, or go to a top computer or business school. don't piss your money away on some training program for a fee. it's a bait and switch. total waste of time and money. good luck.
FYI....the OP was asking about "Prop" trading, not a retail stock broker trainee, but thanks for the info. Any firm will give you a desk to generate commissions and lose money, find a mentor as suggested.
Once again (just trying to help). Starting to Trade for a Living: http://www.traders.com/Documentation/FEEDbk_docs/2009/10/close.html Don
It really depends what you are looking to learn. If you looking to find a magic formula that will always make you money you are dreaming it isn't going to happen despite what anybody may tell you. No firm would give you the keys to the car for only a couple of thousand. Now if you are looking for firms that will provide you with a basic market understanding where you can build your own stategy from there, they are a dime a dozen waiting to teach you. The only way to really get good in the market is to have a ton of screen time
tycoonman, Most people on this forum like to keep it a secret, but yes, there are. I don't know where you live, but in the NYC area, there are firms such as Jane Street Capital, First New York, and Trillium Trading. Chimera Securities isn't, I think, considered quite as elite as the ones I listed above, but still possibly a good option. All of these firms WILL train you and do NOT require any kind of a deposit/training fee. They're real jobs. And, in fact, they WANT novices! Of course, they're not at all easy to get into, but that's another story. I'm just giving you the leads. The decision will be up to their hiring coordinator.
TsTrader, thank you for that information. i contacted chamerica but did not get a reply as yet. ill try for the the other ones you mentioned as well. it seems really competitive. almost like im applying to an i-bank of sorts--a competitive one at that.