Nah, hes right. You just have some superiority complex and playing on semantics of the term, but thats something you need to work out on your part. A trader is someone who trades. A trader says nothing about one's profitability. E.g. you can be a 'failed trader' and lose money, or 'super trader' and bank the bucks. Reminds me of when 'professional engineers', but often only those who have a BSc in engineering, get angry about train conductors being called 'engineers' also and go on a hissy fit. Who cares. Its just a term. Learn to live with yourself and stop worrying about silly stuff like what a term means.
Exactly. I subscribe to this description too. Someone doing trades on a demo account is the hobbyist. Someone laying down real money on the line becomes a trader.
Like an entrepreneur I guess a trader should be able to adjust to changing market places. If the strategy isn't working, might have to invent new strategies to make money. If you watch the documentaries on pit traders, it showed how some floor traders couldn't adapt when they transitioned open outcry to electronic trading. But some still make it when they adapt. Some just can't adapt because they were used to the chaos in the open outcry system and found an edge that they lost with electronic trading. Evolving to survive is important I guess.
I got used to trading, slow range bound DAX for weeks, Wednesday when it decides to move outside the range and start fast trending, although my method is setup to handle that, was a big of a shock to the system, nearly took a big account hit like BIG. Repeated first trade on Thursday, took the day off to think on it. Watched the action on Friday am for the new market conditions then, then adapted and overcome and made some good $$$ Friday PM. If you can't adapt, don't even think of making a living off this.
A job is more stress free for most. I mean, jobs have stresses of their own, but people who work for a salary have no concept of the completely different kind of stress of having to be self-reliant to make a living like a trader or entrepreneur of eating what you hunt. Some jobs have pretty good job security, like union jobs, gov jobs, or tenured university professorship. Its hard to get fired when you get into those fat cow positions because you are pretty much set unless you are a huge delinquent. Other jobs in the private sector are much more competitive according to market dynamics of supply & demand of a free economy. You can get cut easily from a decision from corporate to improve bottom line and it won't mean anything and thousands can be laid off. Or if you work deadbeat low wage jobs like flipping burgers, you are just as disposable too.
Really, I believe it comes down to your needs to feel happy and fulfilled. If you can make half of what you made at your day job and feel happy without all the corporate politics on half your salary...then you are being paid equivalently. Remember the freedom you have as a trader vs. as a cubicle slave. Can a price tag even be put on that?
At face-value I agree. But if the "trades" being placed are initiated as, or worse, turn into "investments", then you are an investor. The IRS says so, and you will be treated (taxed) as such. And demo accounts. They are not a factor regarding trading as a hobby or not. Demo accounts have a place for hobbyists and non-hobbyists alike. If a demo is used with near exclusivity, "student" would be a more appropriate label than hobbyist, imo.
Some are low stress, but myself and a work mate had nervous break downs due to work stress as a project out of our control went very badly wrong, 20years ago I guess. Go full time soon, make enough $$$'s for some nice things for once, ie car, holiday few other treats and not to have to worry about cash every month then I'll be much much happier. Something else will go wrong to compensate ofcourse, that's just life for you. LOL
Being from the UK, that's only an issue if your in the USA But yeah any long term suckers I mean holders are investors by nature. I think student is only an option, if there undergoing some kinda training by someone else, then fair enough. Hobby trader for years, although not demo $100 throw away account so might aswell of been demo.