a lot of good advice here. i am in the same situation, also 30...but with a wife and chitlin. making at times $1000, $600, $1500 per day (in my country a good monthly wage is $2000 per month...and my house and cars are all paid off...so imagine my feelings!). very few down days. I am overseas...so i make the money nomally at the open..in about 30 minutes...then i go to my normal job as a bond broker. we are in an amazing bull market in many sectors... dont get cocky, we are not geniuses...just riding the wave my friend. being on your own is different for many people... it is fun to have a "real" job and also have a hobby job where you actually make money. enjoy your fortune...have fun with it (i bought a race car..actually two, i wrecked one), but dont be silly. EE is a great career, and you are smart for staying in it. A job is more than a paycheck at times. it is friends, structure, discipline...and maybe a good reason why you are profitable....that is what it is for me. set your stops, enjoy life...go get em, Dan
How about do swing trading under the table at your day job and don't quit until you are 100% comfortable with the full-time trader career?
Work both jobs and accumulate funds until you can live off those funds using risk-free returns from T-Bills or something similar. Make a plan to get to a liquid net worth of ~1.2 mil. Put 1mil into a 5%/year "guaranteed" return and cover all bills using the 50k. Trade the 200k with no monthly income stress and pay for the lifestyle frills with the profits. Add excess to the "guaranteed" account, or whatever vehicle that is relatively safe. Seems fairly simple to me...
The acronym of a J.O.B. = Just. Over. Broke. Leave that hell hole of a place you call job. God knows deep inside you must hate it. (has we all...). Most of the people I see are always affraid (bunch of chinken littles, always the f*cken sky is fallen.) Has a trader you manage risk right..? of profit right..!! Do i need to draw you a picture ? ok well... No kids.., no wife.., no obligation (well.. rent, food, etc... no counting), no morgage.. where in the falling sky is the risk ? (that assuming the you are a proefficient trader...) just my 2 cents. P.S. i didn't meen to be rude or if you find this to be rude my applogies,
:eek: oh my god.. you almost literally read my mind! I came up with a long-term goal just like that back when I was just starting college. The trading aspect though didn't present itself until closer to graduation. Accumulating over 1mil liquid in less than a lifetime is pretty tough, especially for small fry like me. Unless you're riding the last phase of a secular move like in 1998-2000.
You're absolutely right! I've heard that from others too. You only get to be young, healthy and obligation-free just once in life... I couldn't even begin to think about leaving a job if I had a wifey and kids. The risk you ask? Biggest risk I foresee is not having an "official" job on paper, where you can tell someone you work and show them a pay stub. The world isn't trader-friendly. Everything from getting a house, or an apartment, getting a loan.. they all require proof of income, which everyone assumes is a traditional job.
Umm.... I think you need to put in your two week notice and jet out of town. If your young and single you need to live in a town with a great nightlife and a lot of young ladies! You live only once... Don't let this job steal your youth. Go find another job in EE somewhere else. It's not a good job if your living environment is sh*t. I think the trading aspect is secondary to the above condition. good luck.
It is funny though how those wonderful young ladies come out of the woodwork when they see a young, single, successful guy dangling his Bimmer keys walk by. Sad but true. I know living in Middle America has saved you a great amount of money, and I personally know just how well you can live there on "poverty income" but the big coastal cities are where the life, action, and young ladies are. Its like two different worlds.
Oh...btw... Once you move, buy a house. I'm a 25 year old ChemE and I just bought a house in East Lansing, MI, home of Michigan State University. The chicks really dig it! It all goes back to the ladder theory (www.laddertheory.com) that was posted on another thread. Dude, your missing out!
I think you should quit your job and trade. If you are good at something you can do for yourself, and you can be your own boss that is great. Once you have money to spare, start a business of some kind. Trading is good, but there is some risk, and its not really honest work. The way this whole world is set up now is like a feudal system. The bank owns your house and your car, visa owns everything else you "have" and you are worked to death and taxed to death. Anyone with guts goes out of this sytem, only buys what he can afford with his own money and WORKS FOR HIMSELF. It could be a store, a restaurant, consulting, trading, whatever. Most people could find something. As for a wife, find ONE girl that you love, and keep her. Being single sucks and the type of girls on the dating/bar/party scene are all gross and "icky." Not itchy, icky. They are probably itchy too though, from their various diseases. Interestingly, I am very close to 30 and just manage to quit my job. I told my boss: "you piece of shit, I quit!" Felt great! I made $10,000 today! Took me almost a month before.