Can't bring myself to leave my job.

Rimshaker,

Thanks for starting the thread because some of the advice above has been helpful to me in putting things into perspective.

I too want to quit my job (after 20 years consulting) and branch out into trading full-time. Unfortunately I had a big reality check last year where what I thought would take 6-12 months to be consistently profitable with 3-5 ER2 contracts per day has turned into a must slower process.

I would happily trade for a living for half of what I make at the moment consulting. When I get to that point “consistently” I’m going to make it happen.

I’ve already won so far because I’ve learnt more about myself in the last year trading than in the 19 before that !!

BTW I don’t think your being a wuss…..good luck whichever way you go.

Cheers

J

 

Read my post at the beginning of the thread. You live in Michigan where most recent engineering grads can afford to buy a house without a problem. I know. I lived in Michigan after my undergrad and bought two houses. Cheap credit, dirt cheap homes, why not?

Alas its not that way on the coasts. They cannot fathom the idea of a $110,000 3 bedroom, 2 bath, attached garage in a good neighborhood newish house. Its a foreign concept on the coasts.

But yes, I definitely take advantage of the ladder theory. One of the bonuses in our line of work if you are successful. A nerdy, high reward, high "risk" (risk management) but without the "negatives" that our culture bestows upon engineers.

Why fight millions of years of evolution?

 

LOL! Your situation is a lot like mine, though I have had the benefit of having "been there, done that."

Some words of advice:

1) Keep your housing costs as low as possible.

2) Keep your car costs as low as possible. Even if you can buy a nice car with cash, a luxury car costs more to maintain ($2600/year just for repairs for my former, sporty BMW 323i), and the premium gas in a big city can run around $120/month even for a short commute thanks to the heavy traffic.

3) Watch out for spoiled big-city women! This is a major problem in Southern California, where every gorgeous chick I've met and/or dated has had impossible-to-maintain spending habits, especially when it comes to the homes they want me to buy for them. And with SoCal homes running around $500K to $600K in typical middle-class neighborhoods, it's easy to get a huge mortgage with nasty property taxes and $200/month association dues.

Many of my friends at work are unable to trade thanks to their mortgage, stay-at-home-housewives, kids, and associated expenses, and as a result, they will stay trapped in the rat race probably for the rest of their lives.

I was almost drawn down that slippery slope into that rat trap, having been $20K in debt (ex-girlfriend was a shopaholic) and buried under a $2000/month housing cost. I was unable to fund any trading until after we split up, I moved into a teeny studio apartment, and I paid off all my debts while driving a cheaper, used car.

Now, I'm finally flush with cash, happily trading again, and freely able to quit my job when I want to to become a full time trader.

But this time, I am not nearly as eager to saddle myself down with the expensive obligations you mentioned. I say: sock away a ton more cash so that you can survive most any emergency (including medical, and possibly shopaholic girlfriends), then try the vacation/leave of absence test, and then quit!

 

Well, it looks to me like you want to trade full time. There is a bull market in process, commodities (metals) are in a bull market, there are also international markets...If your heart is in trading and you have no debt.
It isn't like you wouldn't find another job along the way , you sound like a bright person. Best of wishes , follow your dreams(but plan too)

 

Don't foget the golden rule!!!!
Who ever has the gold (well more likely money..) make the rules
(quoted from Aladdin Dineys lol...)

 

Didn't sleeep hardly a wink last night thanks to all the advice I've read ... probably tonight too.

This is one of those HUGE forks in the road in life I guess. Only experienced maybe 2 others in the past. I already know I can hold down a professional job.. why do I have to continue proving it for the next 20+ years with the rest of the herd?

Like someone said before, the lifestyle change is priority #1 anyway, then comes the trading. When I boil it down, I'd rather say I failed at something I tried to do... rather than wonder if I would've failed had I tried to do it.

 

You shouldn't be foolhardy either. Before you quit your job you should be 100% convinced that you will be making money trading. Otherwise, just do it on the side til you get that conviction.

 

"why do I have to continue proving it for the next 20+ years with the rest of the herd?"


Very well stated. You are right, people in today's world are like a herd of cattle with hooks in their nose being led around on a leash. Why would you even want to prove that you can fit in with this herd... You sound like a smart guy, follow your brain, not the herd.

 

It's good to have a reality check. Really, trading for a living is much much more difficult than it seems. Making consistent profits is hard enough. Taking money off your trading capital to fund your living ALMOST CERTAINLY spells failure. Unless, you have a huge capital to start. This is my understanding. It is good to have dreams and work towards that, but trading is unlike many other business or endeavours you want to do, where if you put in lots and lots of efforts, your chances of success increases. That might not be the case with trading because TIME and Capital is not on your side when you are trying to trade for a living.

 

I lost my EE job so I'm "forced" to trade fulltime for the past 5 weeks. It's certainly exciting at first because of the dreams of making it on your own without being tied down 9-to-5 working for a company.

But after 5 profitable weeks, the money no longer gave the push. I'd received a severage package, and have sizable savings from previous daytrade/swing trading. Now it's the boredom that's killing me everyday.

There's just no human interactions during trading hours, and after. So much free time I'm bored to mad. I was an EE Manager and used to screaming at my staff or suppliers. Now I don't have any colleagues to talk to, or any time-wasting/politics meetings to attend.

It's only 5 weeks out of job and I'm getting depressed. Lack of social contact is hard to deal with in my case.

So, I'm your reverse. I'm going back to work, and trading part-time.